Tom Heinsohn vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith and Tom Heinsohn, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

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.

Tom Heinsohn played 9 years in the NBA, 7 less than J.R. Smith, who played 16. Tom Heinsohn had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, while J.R. Smith had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Tom Heinsohn	9	9	1956-57 to 1964-65
J.R. Smith	16	12	2004-05 to 2019-20

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9


Rookie Season
	Tom Heinsohn	J.R. Smith
Season	1956-57	2004-05
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Tom Heinsohn	72	29.9	16.2	-	-	9.8	1.6	-	-	-	4.2	6.2	15.6	.397	-	-	-	3.8	4.8	.790
difference:	+4	+5.4	+5.9			+7.8	+0.3				-2.4	+2.3	+5.8	+.003				+2.3	+2.7	+.101
J.R. Smith	76	24.5	10.3	0.5	1.5	2.0	1.9	0.7	0.1	1.4	1.8	3.9	9.8	.394	1.1	3.7	.288	1.5	2.1	.689

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	10	37.0	22.9	-	-	11.7	2.0	-	-	-	4.0	9.0	23.1	.390	-	-	-	4.9	6.9	.710
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Tom Heinsohn	J.R. Smith
Season	1957-58	2005-06
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Tom Heinsohn	69	32.0	17.8	-	-	10.2	1.8	-	-	-	4.0	6.8	17.8	.382	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	.746
difference:	+14	+14.0	+10.1			+8.2	+0.7				-2.4	+4.2	+11.1	+.011				+2.8	+3.9	+.076
J.R. Smith	55	18.0	7.7	0.3	1.7	2.0	1.1	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.6	2.6	6.7	.393	0.9	2.5	.371	1.5	1.8	.822

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	11	31.7	17.5	-	-	10.8	1.6	-	-	-	4.7	6.2	17.6	.351	-	-	-	5.1	6.5	.778
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Tom Heinsohn	J.R. Smith
Season	1958-59	2006-07
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets 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		%
Tom Heinsohn	66	31.7	18.8	-	-	9.7	2.5	-	-	-	4.1	7.0	18.1	.390	-	-	-	4.7	5.9	.798
difference:	+3	+8.4	+5.8			+7.4	+1.1				-1.8	+2.5	+7.9	+.051				+3.1	+3.9	+.012
J.R. Smith	63	23.3	13.0	0.5	1.8	2.3	1.4	0.8	0.1	1.3	2.3	4.5	10.2	.441	2.4	6.1	.390	1.6	2.0	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	11	31.6	19.9	-	-	8.9	2.9	-	-	-	3.7	8.3	20.0	.414	-	-	-	3.4	5.1	.661
difference:	+7	+19.8	+15.4			+6.6	+2.4				-2.2	+6.8	+14.5	+.141				+1.9	+3.6	+.339
J.R. Smith	4	11.8	4.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	0.5	1.0	0.3	0.8	1.5	1.5	5.5	.273	0.0	3.0	.000	1.5	1.5	1.000


Season 4
	Tom Heinsohn	J.R. Smith
Season	1959-60	2007-08
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets 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		%
Tom Heinsohn	75	32.3	21.7	-	-	10.6	2.3	-	-	-	3.7	9.0	21.2	.423	-	-	-	3.8	5.1	.733
difference:	+1	+13.1	+9.4			+8.5	+0.6				-1.8	+4.8	+12.1	+.038				+2.1	+2.7	+.014
J.R. Smith	74	19.2	12.3	0.6	1.5	2.1	1.7	0.8	0.2	1.5	1.9	4.2	9.1	.461	2.1	5.3	.403	1.7	2.4	.719

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	13	32.5	21.8	-	-	9.7	2.1	-	-	-	4.1	8.6	20.5	.419	-	-	-	4.6	6.2	.750
difference:	+9	+5.5	+3.5			+7.9	+0.3				-1.1	+2.8	+9.7	+.116				+0.4	+0.2	+.083
J.R. Smith	4	27.0	18.3	0.3	1.5	1.8	1.8	1.0	0.0	1.3	3.0	5.8	10.8	.535	1.8	5.5	.318	5.0	6.0	.833


Season 5
	Tom Heinsohn	J.R. Smith
Season	1960-61	2008-09
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals

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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		%
Tom Heinsohn	74	30.5	21.3	-	-	9.9	1.9	-	-	-	3.5	8.5	21.2	.400	-	-	-	4.4	5.7	.767
difference:	+7	+2.8	+6.1			+6.2	+0.9				-1.2	+3.3	+9.5	+.046				+1.9	+2.3	+.013
J.R. Smith	81	27.7	15.2	0.5	3.1	3.7	2.8	1.0	0.2	1.9	2.3	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.6	.397	2.5	3.4	.754

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	10	29.1	19.7	-	-	9.9	2.0	-	-	-	3.6	8.2	20.1	.408	-	-	-	3.3	4.3	.767
difference:	+6	+1.9	+4.8			+6.6	+0.8				-0.4	+2.7	+8.0	+.046				+1.7	+1.4	+.224
J.R. Smith	16	27.2	14.9	0.7	2.6	3.3	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.6	3.2	5.5	12.1	.454	2.4	6.6	.358	1.6	2.9	.543


Season 6
	Tom Heinsohn	J.R. Smith
Season	1961-62	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
Tom Heinsohn	79	30.2	22.1	-	-	9.5	2.1	-	-	-	3.5	8.8	20.4	.429	-	-	-	4.5	5.5	.819
difference:	+4	+2.4	+6.7			+6.4	+0.3				-1.2	+3.1	+6.6	+.015				+2.6	+2.8	+.113
J.R. Smith	75	27.8	15.4	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.4	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.8	.414	2.1	6.2	.338	1.9	2.7	.706

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	14	31.8	20.7	-	-	8.2	2.4	-	-	-	4.1	8.3	20.8	.399	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	.763
difference:	+8	+5.3	+9.5			+4.4	+0.7				-1.3	+4.8	+11.3	+.031				+1.8	+2.7	+.112
J.R. Smith	6	26.5	11.2	0.8	3.0	3.8	1.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.8	3.5	9.5	.368	1.8	5.2	.355	2.3	2.7	.875


Season 7
	Tom Heinsohn	J.R. Smith
Season	1962-63	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets 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		%
Tom Heinsohn	76	26.4	18.9	-	-	7.5	1.3	-	-	-	3.6	7.2	17.1	.423	-	-	-	4.5	5.4	.835
difference:	+3	+1.5	+6.6			+3.4	+0.9				-1.4	+2.9	+7.2	+.012				+2.4	+2.6	+.097
J.R. Smith	79	24.9	12.3	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.2	1.2	0.2	1.3	2.2	4.3	9.9	.435	1.6	4.0	.390	2.1	2.8	.738

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	13	31.8	24.7	-	-	8.9	1.2	-	-	-	4.2	9.5	20.8	.456	-	-	-	5.8	7.5	.765
difference:	+8	+16.6	+14.9			+6.9	+0.2				-2.6	+6.3	+11.8	+.100				+4.2	+5.3	+.038
J.R. Smith	5	15.2	9.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	1.0	0.4	0.0	1.6	1.6	3.2	9.0	.356	1.8	4.2	.429	1.6	2.2	.727


Season 8
	Tom Heinsohn	J.R. Smith
Season	1963-64	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Tom Heinsohn	76	26.8	16.5	-	-	6.1	2.4	-	-	-	3.5	6.4	16.1	.398	-	-	-	3.7	4.5	.827
difference:	+41	+0.8	+4.0			+2.2					-1.0	+1.7	+4.5	+.009				+2.6	+2.9	+.118
J.R. Smith	35	27.6	12.5	0.8	3.1	3.9	2.4	1.5	0.2	1.3	2.5	4.7	11.6	.407	1.9	5.5	.347	1.1	1.6	.709

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	10	30.8	17.4	-	-	8.0	2.6	-	-	-	3.6	7.0	18.0	.389	-	-	-	3.4	4.2	.810
difference:	+5	+4.2	+5.2			+5.4	+0.4				-0.2	+2.2	+2.8	+.073				+1.8	+2.6	+.190
J.R. Smith	5	35.0	12.2	0.4	2.2	2.6	2.2	1.2	0.2	2.2	3.8	4.8	15.2	.316	1.0	5.6	.179	1.6	1.6	1.000


Season 9
	Tom Heinsohn	J.R. Smith
Season	1964-65	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
Tom Heinsohn	67	25.5	13.6	-	-	6.0	2.3	-	-	-	3.8	5.4	14.2	.383	-	-	-	2.7	3.4	.795
difference:	+13	+8.0	+4.5			+0.7	+0.4				-1.0	+1.2	+1.4	+.039				+0.3	+0.5	+.033
J.R. Smith	80	33.5	18.1	0.8	4.5	5.3	2.7	1.3	0.3	1.7	2.8	6.6	15.6	.422	1.9	5.5	.356	3.0	3.9	.762

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	12	23.0	12.7	-	-	7.0	1.9	-	-	-	3.8	5.5	15.1	.365	-	-	-	1.7	2.7	.625
difference:	+1	+8.9	+1.6			+2.3	+0.5				-1.3	+0.6	+0.3	+.034				+1.1	+1.2	+.096
J.R. Smith	11	31.9	14.3	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.4	1.0	0.5	1.8	2.5	4.9	14.8	.331	1.6	6.0	.273	2.8	3.9	.721

Additional Years

* J.R. Smith played 7 seasons more than Tom Heinsohn in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 10 to 16, from 2014 to 2020—J.R. Smith played in 5 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships.

Tom Heinsohn vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith and Tom Heinsohn, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years