Steve Nash vs. Ben Simmons Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Simmons and Steve Nash, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Steve Nash played 18 years in the NBA, 11 more than Ben Simmons, who played 7. Steve Nash had the first of his seasons in 1996-97, while Ben Simmons had his rookie season in 2017-18. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Steve Nash	Ben Simmons
Season	1996-97	2017-18
Team	Phoenix Suns	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	65	10.5	3.3	0.2	0.7	1.0	2.1	0.3	0.0	1.0	1.4	1.1	2.7	.423	0.4	0.8	.418	0.6	0.8	.824
difference:	+16	+23.2	+12.5	+1.6	+5.6	+7.1	+6.1	+1.4	+0.9	-2.4	-1.2	+5.6	+9.6	+.122	+0.4	+0.7	+.418	+1.8	+3.4	+.264
Ben Simmons	81	33.7	15.8	1.8	6.3	8.1	8.2	1.7	0.9	3.4	2.6	6.7	12.3	.545	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	4.2	.560
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	4	3.8	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.5	1.3	0.5	2.3	.222	0.3	1.0	.250	0.0	0.0	-
difference:	+6	+33.1	+15.0	+1.3	+7.8	+9.1	+7.4	+1.4	+0.5	-3.9	-2.1	+5.6	+10.2	+.266	+0.3	+0.9	+.250	+4.1	+5.8
Ben Simmons	10	36.9	16.3	1.6	7.8	9.4	7.7	1.7	0.8	4.4	3.4	6.1	12.5	.488	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.8	.707

Season 2
	Steve Nash	Ben Simmons
Season	1997-98	2018-19
Team	Phoenix Suns	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	76	21.9	9.1	0.4	1.7	2.1	3.4	0.8	0.1	1.3	1.9	3.5	7.7	.459	1.1	2.6	.415	1.0	1.1	.860
difference:	+3	+12.3	+7.8	+1.8	+4.9	+6.7	+4.3	+0.6	+0.7	-2.2	-0.7	+3.3	+4.5	+.104	+1.1	+2.5	+.415	+2.3	+4.3	+.260
Ben Simmons	79	34.2	16.9	2.2	6.6	8.8	7.7	1.4	0.8	3.5	2.6	6.8	12.2	.563	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	5.4	.600
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	4	12.8	5.5	0.5	2.0	2.5	1.8	0.5	0.0	0.8	1.8	2.0	4.5	.444	0.3	1.3	.200	1.3	2.0	.625
difference:	+8	+22.3	+8.4	+1.4	+3.1	+4.5	+4.2	+0.8	+1.0	-1.9	-2.0	+4.0	+5.2	+.177	+0.3	+1.3		+0.6	+1.3	+.050
Ben Simmons	12	35.1	13.9	1.9	5.1	7.0	6.0	1.3	1.0	2.7	3.8	6.0	9.7	.621	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	3.3	.575

Season 3
	Steve Nash	Ben Simmons
Season	1998-99	2019-20
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	40	31.7	7.9	0.8	2.1	2.9	5.5	0.9	0.1	2.1	2.5	2.9	7.9	.363	1.2	3.3	.374	1.0	1.2	.826
difference:	+17	+3.7	+8.5	+1.2	+3.7	+4.9	+2.5	+1.2	+0.5	-1.4	-0.8	+3.7	+3.5	+.217	+1.2	+3.2	+.088	+2.2	+4.0	+.205
Ben Simmons	57	35.4	16.4	2.0	5.8	7.8	8.0	2.1	0.6	3.5	3.3	6.6	11.4	.580	0.0	0.1	.286	3.2	5.2	.621
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Steve Nash nor Ben Simmons played in the postseason in their season 3

Season 4
	Steve Nash	Ben Simmons
Season	1999-00	2020-21
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	56	27.4	8.6	0.6	1.6	2.2	4.9	0.7	0.1	1.8	2.2	3.1	6.5	.477	1.1	2.7	.403	1.3	1.5	.882
difference:	+2	+5.0	+5.7	+1.0	+4.0	+5.0	+2.0	+0.9	+0.5	-1.2	-0.7	+2.5	+3.6	+.080	+1.0	+2.5	+.103	+1.7	+3.4	+.269
Ben Simmons	58	32.4	14.3	1.6	5.6	7.2	6.9	1.6	0.6	3.0	2.9	5.6	10.1	.557	0.1	0.2	.300	3.0	4.9	.613
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ben Simmons	12	33.5	11.9	2.1	5.8	7.9	8.8	1.3	0.8	2.3	3.3	4.9	7.9	.621	0.0	0.1	.000	2.1	6.1	.342

Note: Ben Simmons didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 6
	Steve Nash	Ben Simmons
Season	2001-02	2023-24
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	82	34.6	17.9	0.6	2.5	3.1	7.7	0.6	0.0	2.8	2.0	6.4	13.3	.483	1.9	4.2	.455	3.2	3.6	.887
difference:	+67	+10.7	+11.8	+1.5	+3.4	+4.8	+2.0	+0.2	+0.6	-1.0	-0.4	+3.5	+8.4	+.098	+1.9	+4.2		+2.8	+2.6	+.487
Ben Simmons	15	23.9	6.1	2.1	5.9	7.9	5.7	0.8	0.6	1.8	2.4	2.9	4.9	.581	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.0	.400
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	8	40.5	19.5	0.9	3.1	4.0	8.8	0.5	0.0	3.8	2.5	6.4	14.8	.432	2.5	5.6	.444	4.3	4.4	.971
Ben Simmons	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Steve Nash	Ben Simmons
Season	2002-03	2024-25
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	82	33.1	17.7	0.8	2.1	2.9	7.3	1.0	0.1	2.3	1.6	6.3	13.6	.465	1.4	3.3	.413	3.8	4.1	.909
difference:	+31	+11.1	+12.7	+0.1	+1.7	+1.8	+1.7	+0.3	+0.4	-0.3	-0.5	+4.0	+9.2	+.055	+1.4	+3.3		+3.3	+3.5	+.182
Ben Simmons	51	22.0	5.0	0.9	3.8	4.7	5.6	0.7	0.5	2.0	2.1	2.3	4.4	.520	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.6	.727
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	20	36.4	16.1	0.8	2.8	3.5	7.3	0.9	0.1	2.6	2.4	5.8	12.9	.447	1.9	3.8	.487	2.8	3.2	.873
difference:	+15	+28.0	+15.3	+0.2	+2.0	+2.1	+6.5	+0.7	+0.7	-2.2	-0.2	+5.4	+11.7	+.114	+1.9	+3.8		+2.8	+3.2
Ben Simmons	5	8.4	0.8	0.6	0.8	1.4	0.8	0.2	0.8	0.4	2.2	0.4	1.2	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

Additional Years
* Steve Nash played 11 seasons more than Ben Simmons in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 8 to 18, from 2004 to 2014—Steve Nash played in 7 Playoffs. In those 11 extra years over Ben Simmons, Steve Nash got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Season MVP 3 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 5 Assists Leader 6 All-Star Game