Wilt Chamberlain vs. Steve Francis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Steve Francis 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 / Stats Rankings

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, 5 more than Steve Francis, who played 9. Wilt Chamberlain had the first of his seasons in 1959-60, while Steve Francis had his rookie season in 1999-00. 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
Steve Francis 9 1 1999-00 to 2007-08

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9

Rookie Season
Wilt Chamberlain Steve Francis
Season 1959-601999-00
Team Philadelphia WarriorsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Rookie of the YearAchievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Warriors Lost East Div FinalsDid Not Play
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:+5+10.3+19.6+21.7+4.3-0.9+8.3+17.6+.016+4.3+9.1+.204
Steve Francis 77 36.1 18.0 2.0 3.3 5.3 6.6 1.5 0.4 4.0 3.0 6.5 14.5 .445 1.4 4.0 .345 3.7 4.7 .786
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
Steve Francis DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2
Wilt Chamberlain Steve Francis
Season 1960-612000-01
Team Philadelphia WarriorsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Warriors Lost East Div SemisDid Not Play
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:+1+7.9+18.5+20.3+4.6-1.8+8.9+15.9+.058+2.2+7.8+.313
Steve Francis 80 39.9 19.9 2.4 4.5 6.9 6.5 1.8 0.4 3.3 3.4 6.9 15.2 .451 1.7 4.2 .396 4.5 5.5 .817
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
Steve Francis DNP------ --- ----------

Season 3
Wilt Chamberlain Steve Francis
Season 1961-622001-02
Team Philadelphia WarriorsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Warriors Lost East Div FinalsDid Not Play
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:+23+7.4+28.8+18.7+4.0-1.5+12.6+21.8+.089+4.7+9.6+.160
Steve Francis 57 41.1 21.6 1.8 5.2 7.0 6.4 1.2 0.4 3.9 3.0 7.4 17.7 .417 1.2 3.7 .324 5.7 7.4 .773
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
Steve Francis DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4
Wilt Chamberlain Steve Francis
Season 1962-632002-03
Team San Francisco WarriorsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
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:+1+6.6+23.8+18.1+2.8-1.4+11.3+18.4+.093+2.4+6.6+.207
Steve Francis 81 41.0 21.0 2.0 4.2 6.2 6.2 1.7 0.5 3.7 3.1 7.0 16.2 .435 1.0 3.0 .354 5.9 7.3 .800
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Wilt Chamberlain nor Steve Francis played in the postseason in their season 4

Season 5
Wilt Chamberlain Steve Francis
Season 1963-642003-04
Team San Francisco WarriorsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Warriors Lost NBA FinalsRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
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:+1+5.7+20.3+16.8+1.2-1.0+9.4+14.6+.121+2.5+7.2+.244
Steve Francis 79 40.4 16.6 1.5 4.0 5.5 6.2 1.8 0.4 3.7 3.3 5.7 14.1 .403 0.9 3.2 .292 4.3 5.5 .775
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+1.9+15.5+16.8+4.3-1.3+8.6+12.8+.114+0.3+3.6+.250
Steve Francis 5 44.6 19.2 1.2 7.2 8.4 7.6 1.4 0.2 4.2 3.6 6.0 14.0 .429 1.4 3.4 .412 5.8 8.0 .725

Season 6
Wilt Chamberlain Steve Francis
Season 1964-652004-05
Team San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ersOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Div FinalsDid Not Play
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:+5+7.0+13.4+17.1+3.6-1.5+7.4+11.4+.087+0.8+4.3+.359
Steve Francis 78 38.2 21.3 1.6 4.2 5.8 7.0 1.4 0.4 4.1 3.5 7.2 17.1 .423 0.5 1.6 .299 6.4 7.8 .823
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
Steve Francis DNP------ --- ----------

Season 7
Wilt Chamberlain Steve Francis
Season 1965-662005-06
Team Philadelphia 76ersOrlando Magic, New York Knicks
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 FinalsDid Not Play
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:+9+13.1+19.1+20.5+0.3-0.7+8.8+14.3+.105+1.8+6.7+.274
Steve Francis 70 34.2 14.4 1.1 3.1 4.1 4.9 1.1 0.2 3.1 2.9 4.8 10.9 .435 0.4 1.2 .301 4.5 5.7 .787
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
Steve Francis DNP------ --- ----------

Season 8
Wilt Chamberlain Steve Francis
Season 1966-672006-07
Team Philadelphia 76ersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 81 45.5 24.1 - - 24.2 7.8 - - - 1.8 9.7 14.2 .683 - - - 4.8 10.8 .441
difference:+37+17.4+12.8+20.6+3.9-1.1+6.5+6.4+.275+0.8+6.0+.388
Steve Francis 44 28.1 11.3 0.8 2.8 3.6 3.9 0.9 0.3 2.3 2.9 3.2 7.8 .408 1.0 2.5 .378 4.0 4.8 .829
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 15 47.9 21.7 - - 29.1 9.0 - - - 2.5 8.8 15.2 .579 - - - 4.1 10.7 .388
Steve Francis DNP------ --- ----------

Season 9
Wilt Chamberlain Steve Francis
Season 1967-682007-08
Team Philadelphia 76ersHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Div FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 82 46.8 24.3 - - 23.8 8.6 - - - 2.0 10.0 16.8 .595 - - - 4.3 11.4 .380
difference:+72+26.9+18.8+21.5+5.6-0.5+8.1+11.1+.262+3.0+9.1+.185
Steve Francis 10 19.9 5.5 0.8 1.5 2.3 3.0 0.9 0.5 1.4 2.5 1.9 5.7 .333 0.4 1.7 .235 1.3 2.3 .565
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Wilt Chamberlain 13 48.5 23.7 - - 24.7 6.5 - - - 2.2 9.5 17.8 .534 - - - 4.6 12.2 .380
Steve Francis DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Wilt Chamberlain played 5 seasons more than Steve Francis in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 10 to 14, from 1969 to 1973—Wilt Chamberlain played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship.

In those 5 extra years over Steve Francis, Wilt Chamberlain got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 1 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 2 All-Defensive First Team
Achievement 4 Rebounds Leader
Achievement 4 All-Star Game
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