Tim Hardaway vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Tim Hardaway, 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 Hardaway played 13 years in the NBA, 5 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Tim Hardaway had the first of his seasons in 1989-90, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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 Hardaway	Yao Ming
Season	1989-90	2002-03
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	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 Hardaway	79	33.7	14.7	0.7	3.2	3.9	8.7	2.1	0.2	3.3	2.9	5.9	12.5	.471	0.3	1.1	.274	2.7	3.5	.764
difference:	+3	+4.7	+1.2	+1.7	+2.6	+4.3	+7.0	+1.7	+1.6	-1.2	-0.1	+1.0	+2.7	+.027	+0.3	+1.1		+1.0	+1.0	+.047
Yao Ming	82	29.0	13.5	2.4	5.8	8.2	1.7	0.4	1.8	2.1	2.8	4.9	9.8	.498	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.5	.811
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Tim Hardaway nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Tim Hardaway	Yao Ming
Season	1990-91	2003-04
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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 Hardaway	82	39.2	22.9	1.1	3.0	4.0	9.7	2.6	0.1	3.3	2.8	9.0	18.9	.476	1.2	3.1	.385	3.7	4.6	.803
difference:		+6.4	+5.4	+1.3	+3.6	+5.0	+8.2	+2.3	+1.8	-0.8	-0.5	+2.5	+6.4	+.046	+1.2	+3.1		+0.7	+0.8	+.006
Yao Ming	82	32.8	17.5	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.5	12.5	.522	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	5.4	.809
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Hardaway	9	44.0	25.2	0.6	3.1	3.7	11.2	3.1	0.8	2.8	2.4	10.0	20.6	.486	1.9	5.3	.354	3.3	4.2	.789
difference:	+4	+6.4	+10.2	+1.6	+2.1	+3.7	+9.4	+2.7	+0.6	-0.2	-1.6	+3.8	+7.0	+.030	+1.9	+5.3		+0.7	+0.8	+.024
Yao Ming	5	37.6	15.0	2.2	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.4	1.4	2.6	4.0	6.2	13.6	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.4	.765

Season 3
	Tim Hardaway	Yao Ming
Season	1991-92	2004-05
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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 Hardaway	81	41.1	23.4	1.0	2.8	3.8	10.0	2.0	0.2	3.3	2.6	9.1	19.7	.461	1.6	4.6	.338	3.7	4.8	.766
difference:	+1	+10.5	+5.1	+1.6	+3.0	+4.6	+9.2	+1.6	+1.8	-0.8	-1.1	+2.4	+7.5	+.091	+1.6	+4.6		+1.2	+1.4	+.017
Yao Ming	80	30.6	18.3	2.6	5.8	8.4	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.5	3.7	6.7	12.2	.552	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	6.2	.783
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Hardaway	4	44.0	24.5	1.5	2.3	3.8	7.3	3.3	0.0	3.5	3.5	8.0	20.0	.400	2.5	7.3	.345	6.0	9.3	.649
difference:	+3	+12.1	+3.1	+1.8	+2.1	+3.9	+6.6	+3.0	+2.7	-0.8	-0.9	+0.1	+8.0	+.255	+2.5	+7.3		+0.3	+1.4	+.078
Yao Ming	7	31.9	21.4	3.3	4.4	7.7	0.7	0.3	2.7	2.7	4.4	7.9	12.0	.655	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.9	.727

Season 4
	Tim Hardaway	Yao Ming
Season	1992-93	2005-06
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Did not play

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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 Hardaway	66	39.5	21.5	0.9	3.1	4.0	10.6	1.8	0.2	3.3	2.3	7.9	17.7	.447	1.5	4.7	.330	4.1	5.6	.744
difference:	+9	+5.3	+0.8	+1.7	+4.5	+6.2	+9.1	+1.3	+1.4	-0.7	-1.1	+0.3	+1.9	+.072	+1.5	+4.7		+1.8	+1.3	+.109
Yao Ming	57	34.2	22.3	2.6	7.6	10.2	1.5	0.5	1.6	2.6	3.4	8.2	15.8	.519	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	6.9	.853
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Tim Hardaway nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 4

Note: Tim Hardaway didn't play in 1993-94.

Season 5
	Tim Hardaway	Yao Ming
Season	1994-95	2006-07
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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 Hardaway	62	37.4	20.1	0.7	2.3	3.1	9.3	1.4	0.2	3.5	2.5	6.9	16.2	.427	2.7	7.2	.378	3.5	4.6	.760
difference:	+14	+3.6	+4.9	+1.4	+5.0	+6.3	+7.3	+1.0	+1.8		-0.8	+1.9	+0.9	+.089	+2.7	+7.2		+3.9	+4.0	+.102
Yao Ming	48	33.8	25.0	2.1	7.3	9.4	2.0	0.4	2.0	3.5	3.3	8.8	17.1	.516	0.0	0.0	-	7.4	8.6	.862
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Hardaway	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	7	37.1	25.1	3.3	7.0	10.3	0.9	0.1	0.7	4.7	3.9	7.9	17.9	.440	0.0	0.0	-	9.4	10.7	.880

Season 6
	Tim Hardaway	Yao Ming
Season	1995-96	2007-08
Team	Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Tim Hardaway	80	31.7	15.2	0.4	2.4	2.9	8.0	1.7	0.2	2.9	2.5	5.2	12.4	.422	1.7	4.7	.364	3.0	3.8	.790
difference:	+25	+5.5	+6.8	+2.7	+5.3	+7.9	+5.7	+1.2	+1.8	-0.4	-0.6	+2.7	+3.1	+.085	+1.7	+4.7		+3.3	+3.6	+.060
Yao Ming	55	37.2	22.0	3.1	7.7	10.8	2.3	0.5	2.0	3.3	3.1	7.9	15.5	.507	0.0	0.0	-	6.3	7.4	.850
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Hardaway	3	36.7	17.7	0.3	1.3	1.7	5.7	1.0	0.0	5.0	3.3	6.7	14.3	.465	2.7	7.3	.364	1.7	2.3	.714
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Tim Hardaway	Yao Ming
Season	1996-97	2008-09
Team	Miami Heat	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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 Hardaway	81	38.7	20.3	0.6	2.8	3.4	8.6	1.9	0.1	2.8	2.0	7.1	17.1	.415	2.5	7.3	.344	3.6	4.5	.799
difference:	+4	+5.1	+0.6	+2.0	+4.4	+6.5	+6.8	+1.5	+1.8	-0.2	-1.3	+0.3	+3.7	+.133	+2.5	+7.3		+1.3	+1.2	+.067
Yao Ming	77	33.6	19.7	2.6	7.2	9.9	1.8	0.4	1.9	3.0	3.3	7.4	13.4	.548	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	5.7	.866
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Hardaway	17	41.2	18.7	0.8	3.3	4.1	7.0	1.6	0.1	3.1	2.2	6.1	16.9	.359	2.5	7.9	.313	4.1	5.2	.795
difference:	+8	+5.3	+1.6	+1.3	+5.5	+6.8	+6.0	+1.2	+1.1	-1.2	-0.8	+0.1	+5.9	+.186	+2.5	+7.9		+1.0	+0.5	+.107
Yao Ming	9	35.9	17.1	2.1	8.8	10.9	1.0	0.4	1.2	1.9	3.0	6.0	11.0	.545	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	5.7	.902

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.

Season 8
	Tim Hardaway	Yao Ming
Season	1997-98	2010-11
Team	Miami Heat	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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 Hardaway	81	37.4	18.9	0.6	3.1	3.7	8.3	1.7	0.2	2.8	2.5	6.9	16.0	.431	1.9	5.5	.351	3.2	4.1	.781
difference:	+76	+19.2	+8.7	+0.8	+0.9	+1.7	+7.5	+1.7	+1.4	-1.4	-0.1	+3.3	+8.6	+.055	+1.9	+5.5		+0.2	+0.9	+.157
Yao Ming	5	18.2	10.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.6	3.6	7.4	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.938
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Hardaway	5	44.4	26.0	0.6	2.8	3.4	6.6	1.2	0.0	3.6	1.8	8.4	18.8	.447	3.4	7.8	.436	5.8	7.4	.784
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Tim Hardaway played 5 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 13, from 1999 to 2003—Tim Hardaway played in 4 Playoffs. In those 5 extra years over Yao Ming, Tim Hardaway got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team