Yao Ming vs. Dennis Rodman Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dennis Rodman and Yao Ming, 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 / 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.

Yao Ming played 8 years in the NBA, 6 less than Dennis Rodman, who played 14. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while Dennis Rodman had his rookie season in 1986-87. 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
Yao Ming	8	4	2002-03 to 2010-11
Dennis Rodman	14	11	1986-87 to 1999-00

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


Rookie Season
	Yao Ming	Dennis Rodman
Season	2002-03	1986-87
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
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
difference:	+5	+14.0	+7.0	+0.3	+3.6	+3.9	+1.0	+0.1	+1.2	-0.9	-0.6	+2.1	+4.7	+.047				+2.7	+2.9	+.224
Dennis Rodman	77	15.0	6.5	2.1	2.2	4.3	0.7	0.5	0.6	1.2	2.2	2.8	5.1	.545	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.6	.587

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dennis Rodman	15	16.3	6.5	2.1	2.6	4.7	0.2	0.4	1.1	1.1	3.2	2.7	4.9	.541	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	2.1	.563


Season 2
	Yao Ming	Dennis Rodman
Season	2003-04	1987-88
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pistons Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
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
difference:		+6.6	+5.9	+1.5	+1.8	+0.3	+0.2	+0.6	+1.4	-0.6		+1.6	+3.9	+.039	+0.1	+0.2		+2.5	+1.9	+.274
Dennis Rodman	82	26.2	11.6	3.9	4.8	8.7	1.3	0.9	0.5	1.9	3.3	4.9	8.6	.561	0.1	0.2	.294	1.9	3.5	.535

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+18	+17.0	+7.9		+1.5	+1.5	+0.9	+0.2	+0.8	-1.3	-0.2	+3.1	+7.7	+.066		+0.1		+1.6	+1.1	+.358
Dennis Rodman	23	20.6	7.1	2.2	3.7	5.9	0.9	0.6	0.6	1.3	3.8	3.1	5.9	.522	0.0	0.1	.000	1.0	2.3	.407


Season 3
	Yao Ming	Dennis Rodman
Season	2004-05	1988-89
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
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
difference:	+2	+3.7	+9.3	+1.4	+0.4	+1.0	+0.4	+0.3	+1.1	-1.0	-0.1	+2.8	+5.7	+.043	+0.1	+0.3		+3.7	+4.3	+.157
Dennis Rodman	82	26.9	9.0	4.0	5.4	9.4	1.2	0.7	0.9	1.5	3.6	3.9	6.5	.595	0.1	0.3	.231	1.2	1.9	.626

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+10	+7.8	+15.6		+2.3	+2.3	+0.2	+0.1	+2.0	-1.3	-1.0	+5.7	+7.9	+.126		+0.2		+4.3	+5.8	+.041
Dennis Rodman	17	24.1	5.8	3.3	6.7	10.0	0.9	0.4	0.7	1.4	3.4	2.2	4.1	.529	0.0	0.2	.000	1.4	2.1	.686


Season 4
	Yao Ming	Dennis Rodman
Season	2005-06	1989-90
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
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
difference:	+25	+5.2	+13.5	+1.5	+2.0	+0.5	+0.6	+0.1	+0.9	-1.5		+4.7	+9.8	+.062		+0.1		+4.2	+4.3	+.199
Dennis Rodman	82	29.0	8.8	4.1	5.6	9.7	0.9	0.6	0.7	1.1	3.4	3.5	6.0	.581	0.0	0.1	.111	1.7	2.6	.654

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dennis Rodman	19	29.5	6.6	2.9	5.6	8.5	0.9	0.5	0.7	1.6	3.3	2.8	5.0	.568	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	1.8	.514


Season 5
	Yao Ming	Dennis Rodman
Season	2006-07	1990-91
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pistons Lost East 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		%
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
difference:	+34	+0.3	+16.8	+2.3	+0.8	+3.1	+1.0	+0.4	+1.3	-2.4	-0.1	+5.4	+10.3	+.023	+0.1	+0.4		+6.0	+6.5	+.231
Dennis Rodman	82	33.5	8.2	4.4	8.1	12.5	1.0	0.8	0.7	1.1	3.4	3.4	6.8	.493	0.1	0.4	.200	1.4	2.1	.631

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+8	+4.1	+18.8	+1.2	+0.3	+1.5		+0.6		-3.8	-0.2	+5.2	+11.8	+.011	+0.1	+0.6		+8.7	+9.1	+.463
Dennis Rodman	15	33.0	6.3	4.5	7.3	11.8	0.9	0.7	0.7	0.9	3.7	2.7	6.1	.451	0.1	0.6	.222	0.7	1.6	.417


Season 6
	Yao Ming	Dennis Rodman
Season	2007-08	1991-92
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pistons 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		%
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
difference:	+27	+3.1	+12.2	+3.3	+4.6	+7.9		+0.3	+1.1	-1.6	-0.1	+3.7	+7.8	+.032	+0.4	+1.2		+5.3	+5.7	+.250
Dennis Rodman	82	40.3	9.8	6.4	12.3	18.7	2.3	0.8	0.9	1.7	3.0	4.2	7.7	.539	0.4	1.2	.317	1.0	1.7	.600

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dennis Rodman	5	31.2	7.2	3.2	7.0	10.2	1.8	0.8	0.4	1.4	3.4	3.2	5.4	.593	0.0	0.4	.000	0.8	1.6	.500


Season 7
	Yao Ming	Dennis Rodman
Season	2008-09	1992-93
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets 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		%
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
difference:	+15	+5.3	+12.2	+3.3	+5.1	+8.4	+0.2	+0.4	+1.2	-1.3	-0.1	+4.4	+6.5	+.121	+0.2	+1.2		+3.5	+3.1	+.332
Dennis Rodman	62	38.9	7.5	5.9	12.3	18.3	1.6	0.8	0.7	1.7	3.2	3.0	6.9	.427	0.2	1.2	.205	1.4	2.6	.534

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Dennis Rodman	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 8
	Yao Ming	Dennis Rodman
Season	2010-11	1993-94
Team	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Spurs Lost West 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		%
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
difference:	+74	+19.6	+5.5	+4.3	+7.6	+11.9	+1.5	+0.7	+1.2	-0.3	-0.3	+1.6	+3.7	+.048	+0.1	+0.3		+2.3	+1.9	+.418
Dennis Rodman	79	37.8	4.7	5.7	11.6	17.3	2.3	0.7	0.4	1.7	2.9	2.0	3.7	.534	0.1	0.3	.208	0.7	1.3	.520

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dennis Rodman	3	38.0	8.3	8.0	8.0	16.0	0.7	2.0	1.3	2.0	4.7	4.0	8.0	.500	0.0	1.7	.000	0.3	2.0	.167


Additional Years
* Dennis Rodman played 6 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 14, from 1995 to 2000—Dennis Rodman played in 4 Playoffs and won 3 NBA Championships. In those 6 extra years over Yao Ming, Dennis Rodman got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive First Team 4 Rebounds Leader

Yao Ming vs. Dennis Rodman Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dennis Rodman and Yao Ming, 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

Additional Years