Wilt Chamberlain vs. George Mikan Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of George Mikan and Wilt Chamberlain, 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.

Wilt Chamberlain played 14 years in the NBA, 7 more than George Mikan, who played 7. Wilt Chamberlain had the first of his seasons in 1959-60, while George Mikan had his rookie season in 1948-49. 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
Wilt Chamberlain 14 13 1959-60 to 1972-73
George Mikan 7 7 1948-49 to 1955-56

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7

Rookie Season

Wilt Chamberlain George Mikan
Season 1959-601948-49
Team Philadelphia WarriorsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement Scoring LeaderAchievement Scoring Leader
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Warriors Lost East Div FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 72 46.4 37.6 - - 27.0 2.3 - - - 2.1 14.8 32.1 .461 - - - 8.0 13.8 .582
difference:+12+9.3+1.3-2.2+5.1+8.7+.045+0.9+2.3+.190
George Mikan 60 - 28.3 - - - 3.6 - - - 4.3 9.7 23.4 .416 - - - 8.9 11.5 .772
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 9 46.1 33.2 - - 25.8 2.1 - - - 1.9 13.9 28.0 .496 - - - 5.4 12.2 .445
difference:+1+2.9-2.5+3.6+5.3+.042+4.3+0.1+.357
George Mikan 10 - 30.3 - - - 2.1 - - - 4.4 10.3 22.7 .454 - - - 9.7 12.1 .802

Season 2

Wilt Chamberlain George Mikan
Season 1960-611949-50
Team Philadelphia WarriorsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement Scoring LeaderAchievement Scoring Leader
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Warriors Lost East Div SemisNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 79 47.8 38.4 - - 27.2 1.9 - - - 1.6 15.8 31.1 .509 - - - 6.7 13.3 .504
difference:+11+11.0+1.0-2.8+6.3+7.6+.102+1.6+2.6+.275
George Mikan 68 - 27.4 - - - 2.9 - - - 4.4 9.5 23.5 .407 - - - 8.3 10.7 .779
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 3 48.0 37.0 - - 23.0 2.0 - - - 3.3 15.0 32.0 .469 - - - 7.0 12.7 .553
difference:+9+5.7+1.0-0.6+4.9+5.7+.086+4.2+1.5+.235
George Mikan 12 - 31.3 - - - 3.0 - - - 3.9 10.1 26.3 .383 - - - 11.2 14.2 .788

Season 3

Wilt Chamberlain George Mikan
Season 1961-621950-51
Team Philadelphia WarriorsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement Scoring LeaderAchievement Scoring Leader
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Warriors Lost East Div FinalsLakers Lost West Div Finals
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 80 48.5 50.4 - - 25.7 2.4 - - - 1.5 20.0 39.5 .506 - - - 10.4 17.0 .613
difference:+12+22.0+11.6+0.7-3.0+10.0+16.2+.078+1.9+6.5+.190
George Mikan 68 - 28.4 - - 14.1 3.1 - - - 4.5 10.0 23.3 .428 - - - 8.5 10.5 .803
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 12 48.0 35.0 - - 26.6 3.1 - - - 2.3 13.5 28.9 .467 - - - 8.0 12.6 .636
difference:+5+11.0+16.0+1.8-1.3+4.6+7.2+.059+1.7+4.7+.164
George Mikan 7 - 24.0 - - 10.6 1.3 - - - 3.6 8.9 21.7 .408 - - - 6.3 7.9 .800

Season 4

Wilt Chamberlain George Mikan
Season 1962-631951-52
Team San Francisco WarriorsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 80 47.6 44.8 - - 24.3 3.4 - - - 1.7 18.3 34.6 .528 - - - 8.3 13.9 .593
difference:+16+7.4+21.0+10.8+0.4-2.8+9.8+12.5+.143+1.5+5.2+.187
George Mikan 64 40.2 23.8 - - 13.5 3.0 - - - 4.5 8.5 22.1 .385 - - - 6.8 8.7 .780
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain DNP------ --- ----------
George Mikan 13 42.5 23.6 - - 15.9 2.8 - - - 4.8 7.6 20.1 .379 - - - 8.4 10.6 .790

Season 5

Wilt Chamberlain George Mikan
Season 1963-641952-53
Team San Francisco WarriorsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement Scoring Leader-
-Achievement Rebounds Leader
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs Warriors Lost NBA FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 80 46.1 36.9 - - 22.3 5.0 - - - 2.3 15.1 28.7 .524 - - - 6.8 12.7 .531
difference:+10+8.2+16.3+7.9+2.1-1.8+8.0+10.8+.125+0.5+4.6+.249
George Mikan 70 37.9 20.6 - - 14.4 2.9 - - - 4.1 7.1 17.9 .399 - - - 6.3 8.1 .780
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 12 46.5 34.7 - - 25.2 3.3 - - - 2.3 14.6 26.8 .543 - - - 5.5 11.6 .475
difference:+7.9+14.9+9.8+1.4-2.4+8.1+9.0+.177+1.3+2.3+.257
George Mikan 12 38.6 19.8 - - 15.4 1.9 - - - 4.7 6.5 17.8 .366 - - - 6.8 9.3 .732

Season 6

Wilt Chamberlain George Mikan
Season 1964-651953-54
Team San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ersMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Div FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 73 45.2 34.7 - - 22.9 3.4 - - - 2.0 14.6 28.5 .510 - - - 5.6 12.1 .464
difference:+1+12.4+16.6+8.6+1.0-1.7+8.5+12.4+.130+0.3+4.5+.313
George Mikan 72 32.8 18.1 - - 14.3 2.4 - - - 3.7 6.1 16.1 .380 - - - 5.9 7.6 .777
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 11 48.7 29.3 - - 27.2 4.4 - - - 2.6 11.2 21.1 .530 - - - 6.9 12.4 .559
difference:+2+16.1+9.9+14.0+2.5-1.7+4.5+6.5+.072+0.9+5.0+.254
George Mikan 13 32.6 19.4 - - 13.2 1.9 - - - 4.3 6.7 14.6 .458 - - - 6.0 7.4 .813

Note: George Mikan didn't play in 1954-55.

Season 7

Wilt Chamberlain George Mikan
Season 1965-661955-56
Team Philadelphia 76ersMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Div FinalsLakers Lost West Div Semis
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 79 47.3 33.5 - - 24.6 5.2 - - - 2.2 13.6 25.2 .540 - - - 6.3 12.4 .513
difference:+42+26.6+23.0+16.3+3.8-1.9+9.6+15.1+.145+3.8+9.1+.257
George Mikan 37 20.7 10.5 - - 8.3 1.4 - - - 4.1 4.0 10.1 .395 - - - 2.5 3.3 .770
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 5 48.0 28.0 - - 30.2 3.0 - - - 2.0 11.2 22.0 .509 - - - 5.6 13.6 .412
difference:+2+28.0+16.0+20.9+1.3-2.7+6.9+10.3+.138+2.3+9.3+.357
George Mikan 3 20.0 12.0 - - 9.3 1.7 - - - 4.7 4.3 11.7 .371 - - - 3.3 4.3 .769

Additional Years

* Wilt Chamberlain played 7 seasons more than George Mikan in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 8 to 14, from 1967 to 1973—Wilt Chamberlain played in 7 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships.

In those 7 extra years over George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 2 Season MVP
Achievement 2 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 2 All-Defensive First Team
Achievement 6 Rebounds Leader
Achievement 1 Assists Leader
Achievement 6 All-Star Game