Tim Duncan vs. Jeremy Lin Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jeremy Lin and Tim Duncan, 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.

Tim Duncan played 19 years in the NBA, 10 more than Jeremy Lin, who played 9. Tim Duncan had the first of his seasons in 1997-98, while Jeremy Lin had his rookie season in 2010-11. 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
	Tim Duncan	Jeremy Lin
Season	1997-98	2010-11
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Tim Duncan	82	39.1	21.1	3.3	8.6	11.9	2.7	0.7	2.5	3.4	3.1	8.6	15.7	.549	0.0	0.1	.000	3.9	5.9	.662
difference:	+53	+29.3	+18.5	+2.9	+7.8	+10.7	+1.3	+0.4	+2.2	-2.8	-2.0	+7.6	+13.2	+.160		+0.1	+.200	+3.2	+5.0	+.098
Jeremy Lin	29	9.8	2.6	0.4	0.8	1.2	1.4	1.1	0.3	0.6	1.1	1.0	2.5	.389	0.0	0.2	.200	0.7	0.9	.760
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	9	41.6	20.7	2.2	6.8	9.0	1.9	0.6	2.6	2.8	2.7	8.1	15.6	.521	0.0	0.1	.000	4.4	6.7	.667
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Tim Duncan	Jeremy Lin
Season	1998-99	2011-12
Team	San Antonio Spurs	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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		%
Tim Duncan	50	39.3	21.7	3.2	8.2	11.4	2.4	0.9	2.5	2.9	2.9	8.4	16.9	.495	0.0	0.1	.143	4.9	7.2	.690
difference:	+15	+12.4	+7.1	+2.7	+5.7	+8.3	+3.8	+0.7	+2.2	-0.7	-0.7	+3.5	+6.0	+.049	+0.7	+2.0	+.177	+0.7	+2.0	+.108
Jeremy Lin	35	26.9	14.6	0.5	2.5	3.1	6.2	1.6	0.3	3.6	2.2	4.9	10.9	.446	0.7	2.1	.320	4.2	5.2	.798
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	17	43.1	23.2	3.2	8.2	11.5	2.8	0.8	2.6	3.1	2.9	8.5	16.6	.511	0.0	0.2	.000	6.3	8.4	.748
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Tim Duncan	Jeremy Lin
Season	1999-00	2012-13
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Tim Duncan	74	38.9	23.2	3.5	8.9	12.4	3.2	0.9	2.2	3.3	2.8	8.5	17.3	.490	0.0	0.1	.091	6.2	8.1	.761
difference:	+8	+6.7	+9.8	+3.1	+6.3	+9.4	+2.9	+0.7	+1.8	-0.4	-0.3	+3.7	+6.4	+.049	+1.1	+3.0	+.248	+3.6	+4.7	+.024
Jeremy Lin	82	32.2	13.4	0.4	2.6	3.0	6.1	1.6	0.4	2.9	2.5	4.8	10.9	.441	1.1	3.1	.339	2.6	3.4	.785
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jeremy Lin	4	21.0	4.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	1.5	6.0	.250	0.5	3.0	.167	0.5	0.5	1.000

Season 4
	Tim Duncan	Jeremy Lin
Season	2000-01	2013-14
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Tim Duncan	82	38.7	22.2	3.2	9.0	12.2	3.0	0.9	2.3	3.0	3.0	8.6	17.1	.499	0.1	0.3	.259	5.0	8.1	.618
difference:	+11	+9.8	+9.7	+2.7	+6.8	+9.6	+1.1	+0.1	+1.9	-0.5	-0.7	+4.4	+7.8	+.053	+1.1	+2.9	+.099	+1.9	+4.4	+.205
Jeremy Lin	71	28.9	12.5	0.5	2.2	2.6	4.1	1.0	0.4	2.5	2.3	4.2	9.3	.446	1.2	3.2	.358	3.1	3.7	.823
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	13	40.5	24.4	4.2	10.3	14.5	3.8	1.1	2.7	3.8	3.3	9.2	18.9	.488	0.1	0.1	1.000	5.8	9.2	.639
difference:	+7	+11.0	+13.1	+3.0	+7.8	+10.8	+0.5	+0.6	+2.5	-1.6	-0.8	+5.0	+8.7	+.078	+0.7	+3.7	+.783	+3.6	+6.5	+.174
Jeremy Lin	6	29.5	11.3	1.2	2.5	3.7	4.3	0.5	0.2	2.2	2.5	4.2	10.2	.410	0.8	3.8	.217	2.2	2.7	.813

Season 5
	Tim Duncan	Jeremy Lin
Season	2001-02	2014-15
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	82	40.6	25.5	3.3	9.4	12.7	3.7	0.7	2.5	3.2	2.6	9.3	18.3	.508	0.0	0.1	.100	6.8	8.5	.799
difference:	+8	+14.8	+14.3	+2.9	+7.1	+10.1	+0.9	+0.4	+2.1	-1.0		+5.6	+9.5	+.084	+0.9	+2.3	+.269	+3.9	+4.9	+.004
Jeremy Lin	74	25.8	11.2	0.4	2.3	2.6	4.6	1.1	0.4	2.2	2.6	3.7	8.8	.424	0.9	2.4	.369	2.9	3.6	.795
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	9	42.2	27.6	3.1	11.3	14.4	5.0	0.7	4.3	4.1	2.4	9.1	20.1	.453	0.1	0.3	.333	9.2	11.2	.822
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Tim Duncan	Jeremy Lin
Season	2002-03	2015-16
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hornets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Tim Duncan	81	39.3	23.3	3.2	9.7	12.9	3.9	0.7	2.9	3.1	2.9	8.8	17.2	.513	0.1	0.3	.273	5.6	7.8	.710
difference:	+3	+13.0	+11.6	+2.7	+7.0	+9.7	+0.9		+2.4	-1.2	-0.8	+5.0	+7.9	+.101	+0.9	+2.6	+.063	+2.5	+4.1	+.105
Jeremy Lin	78	26.3	11.7	0.5	2.7	3.2	3.0	0.7	0.5	1.9	2.1	3.8	9.3	.412	1.0	2.9	.336	3.1	3.7	.815
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	24	42.5	24.7	4.0	11.4	15.4	5.3	0.6	3.3	3.2	3.3	9.1	17.2	.529	0.0	0.3	.000	6.5	9.7	.677
difference:	+17	+15.5	+12.3	+3.6	+9.5	+13.1	+2.7	+0.1	+3.3	-1.6	-0.3	+5.4	+8.2	+.116	+0.4	+1.7	+.214	+1.9	+4.1	+.144
Jeremy Lin	7	27.0	12.4	0.4	1.9	2.3	2.6	0.7	0.0	1.6	3.0	3.7	9.0	.413	0.4	2.0	.214	4.6	5.6	.821

Season 7
	Tim Duncan	Jeremy Lin
Season	2003-04	2016-17
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Tim Duncan	69	36.6	22.3	3.3	9.2	12.4	3.1	0.9	2.7	2.7	2.4	8.6	17.1	.501	0.0	0.2	.167	5.1	8.5	.599
difference:	+33	+12.1	+7.8	+3.0	+5.8	+8.6	+2.0	+0.3	+2.3	-0.3	-0.2	+3.7	+6.0	+.063	+1.6	+4.1	+.205	+1.9	+4.6	+.217
Jeremy Lin	36	24.5	14.5	0.3	3.4	3.8	5.1	1.2	0.4	2.4	2.2	4.9	11.1	.438	1.6	4.3	.372	3.2	3.9	.816
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	10	40.4	22.1	3.3	8.0	11.3	3.2	0.8	2.0	4.2	3.4	8.3	15.9	.522	0.0	0.1	.000	5.5	8.7	.632
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Tim Duncan	Jeremy Lin
Season	2004-05	2017-18
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	66	33.4	20.3	3.1	8.0	11.1	2.7	0.7	2.6	1.9	2.2	7.8	15.8	.496	0.0	0.1	.333	4.6	6.9	.670
difference:	+65	+8.4	+2.3	+3.1	+8.0	+11.1	+1.3	+0.7	+2.6	-1.1	-0.8	+2.8	+3.8	+.079	+1.0	+1.9	+.167	+2.4	+0.1	+.330
Jeremy Lin	1	25.0	18.0	0.0	0.0	0	4.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	3.0	5.0	12.0	.417	1.0	2.0	.500	7.0	7.0	1.000
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	23	37.7	23.6	3.8	8.7	12.4	2.7	0.3	2.3	2.7	2.9	8.6	18.5	.464	0.0	0.2	.200	6.4	8.9	.717
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Tim Duncan	Jeremy Lin
Season	2005-06	2018-19
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	80	34.8	18.6	2.9	8.1	11.0	3.2	0.9	2.0	2.5	2.7	7.2	14.8	.484	0.0	0.1	.400	4.2	6.7	.629
difference:	+6	+15.4	+9.0	+2.6	+6.0	+8.6	+0.1	+0.3	+1.8	-0.8	-0.8	+4.0	+7.5	+.044	+0.7	+2.4	+.106	+1.8	+3.9	+.209
Jeremy Lin	74	19.4	9.6	0.3	2.1	2.4	3.1	0.6	0.2	1.7	1.9	3.2	7.3	.440	0.7	2.5	.294	2.4	2.8	.838
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	13	37.9	25.8	2.5	8.0	10.5	3.3	0.8	1.9	2.6	3.8	9.3	16.2	.573	0.0	0.2	.000	7.2	10.1	.718
difference:	+5	+34.5	+24.7	+2.5	+7.6	+10.1	+2.8	+0.7	+1.9	-2.0	-3.5	+9.0	+15.1	+.351	+0.1	+0.1	+.500	+6.7	+9.6	+.282
Jeremy Lin	8	3.4	1.1	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.1	0.0	0.6	0.3	0.3	1.1	.222	0.1	0.3	.500	0.5	0.5	1.000

Additional Years
* Tim Duncan played 10 seasons more than Jeremy Lin in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 19, from 2007 to 2016—Tim Duncan played in 10 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 10 extra years over Jeremy Lin, Tim Duncan got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive First Team 4 All-Defensive Second Team 7 All-Star Game