Yao Ming vs. Dikembe Mutombo Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dikembe Mutombo 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

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, 10 less than Dikembe Mutombo, who played 18. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while Dikembe Mutombo had his rookie season in 1991-92. 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
Dikembe Mutombo	18	13	1991-92 to 2008-09

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


Rookie Season
	Yao Ming	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2002-03	1991-92
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	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		%
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:	+11	+9.3	+3.1	+2.1	+2.0	+4.1	+0.5	+0.2	+1.2	-1.4	-1.0	+1.1	+2.4	+.005				+0.8	+2.5	+.169
Dikembe Mutombo	71	38.3	16.6	4.5	7.8	12.3	2.2	0.6	3.0	3.5	3.8	6.0	12.2	.493	0.0	0.0	-	4.5	7.0	.642

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Yao Ming nor Dikembe Mutombo played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Yao Ming	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2003-04	1992-93
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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:		+4.1	+3.7	+1.8	+2.3	+4.0	+0.3	+0.2	+1.6	-0.1	-0.2	+1.6	+3.0	+.012				+0.3	+0.6	+.128
Dikembe Mutombo	82	36.9	13.8	4.2	8.9	13.0	1.8	0.5	3.5	2.6	3.5	4.9	9.5	.510	0.0	0.0	-	4.1	6.0	.681

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
Dikembe Mutombo	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Yao Ming	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2004-05	1993-94
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Blocks Leader
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis

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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	+4.2	+6.3	+0.9	+2.6	+3.4	+0.7	+0.3	+2.1		-0.5	+2.2	+4.4	+.017				+1.8	+0.8	+.200
Dikembe Mutombo	82	34.8	12.0	3.5	8.4	11.8	1.5	0.7	4.1	2.5	3.2	4.5	7.8	.569	0.0	0.0	-	3.1	5.4	.583

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:	+5	+10.7	+8.1		+4.3	+4.3	+1.1	+0.4	+3.1	-0.2	-0.9	+3.7	+3.0	+.192				+0.8	+0.3	+.125
Dikembe Mutombo	12	42.6	13.3	3.3	8.7	12.0	1.8	0.7	5.8	2.5	3.5	4.2	9.0	.463	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	8.2	.602


Season 4
	Yao Ming	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2005-06	1994-95
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Blocks Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
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	+3.6	+10.8	+1.3	+1.1	+2.3	+0.1		+2.3	-0.3	-0.1	+3.9	+8.1	+.037				+2.9	+2.3	+.199
Dikembe Mutombo	82	37.8	11.5	3.9	8.7	12.5	1.4	0.5	3.9	2.3	3.5	4.3	7.7	.556	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.6	.654

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dikembe Mutombo	3	28.0	6.0	1.3	5.0	6.3	0.3	0.0	2.3	2.3	5.0	2.0	3.3	.600	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.0	.667


Season 5
	Yao Ming	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2006-07	1995-96
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Blocks Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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:	+26	+2.9	+14.0	+1.3	+1.1	+2.4	+0.5	+0.1	+2.5	-1.5	-0.2	+5.0	+9.4	+.017				+4.1	+3.8	+.167
Dikembe Mutombo	74	36.7	11.0	3.4	8.4	11.8	1.5	0.5	4.5	2.0	3.5	3.8	7.7	.499	0.0	0.0	-	3.3	4.8	.695

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
Dikembe Mutombo	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Yao Ming	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2007-08	1996-97
Team	Houston Rockets	Atlanta Hawks
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	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+25		+8.7	+0.3	+0.6	+0.8	+0.9	+0.1	+1.3	-1.0		+3.1	+6.5	+.020				+2.5	+2.0	+.145
Dikembe Mutombo	80	37.2	13.3	3.4	8.3	11.6	1.4	0.6	3.3	2.3	3.1	4.8	9.0	.527	0.0	0.0	-	3.8	5.4	.705

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dikembe Mutombo	10	41.5	15.4	3.7	8.6	12.3	1.3	0.1	2.6	2.0	3.0	5.4	8.6	.628	0.0	0.0	-	4.6	6.4	.719


Season 7
	Yao Ming	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2008-09	1997-98
Team	Houston Rockets	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Hawks Lost East 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		%
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:	+5	+2.0	+6.3	+0.8	+0.8	+1.5	+0.8		+1.5	-1.0	-0.2	+2.5	+4.3	+.011				+1.2	+0.2	+.196
Dikembe Mutombo	82	35.6	13.4	3.4	8.0	11.4	1.0	0.4	3.4	2.0	3.1	4.9	9.1	.537	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	5.5	.670

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
difference:	+5	+1.9	+9.1	+1.2	+0.7	+1.9	+0.7	+0.1	+1.1	-0.1	-0.5	+3.2	+5.0	+.087				+2.6	+1.7	+.277
Dikembe Mutombo	4	34.0	8.0	3.3	9.5	12.8	0.3	0.3	2.3	2.0	2.5	2.8	6.0	.458	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	4.0	.625

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


Season 8
	Yao Ming	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2010-11	1998-99
Team	Houston Rockets	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+45	+18.4	+0.6	+2.4	+4.4	+6.8	+0.3	+0.3	+1.3	-0.5	-0.3	+0.1	+0.6	+.026				+0.9	+2.5	+.254
Dikembe Mutombo	50	36.6	10.8	3.8	8.4	12.2	1.1	0.3	2.9	1.9	2.9	3.5	6.8	.512	0.0	0.0	-	3.9	5.7	.684

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dikembe Mutombo	9	42.2	12.6	4.0	9.9	13.9	1.2	0.6	2.6	2.0	3.1	4.4	7.9	.563	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	5.2	.702


Additional Years
* Dikembe Mutombo played 10 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 18, from 2000 to 2009—Dikembe Mutombo played in 8 Playoffs. In those 10 extra years over Yao Ming, Dikembe Mutombo got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Defensive Player of the Year 2 Rebounds Leader 3 All-Star Game

Yao Ming vs. Dikembe Mutombo Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dikembe Mutombo 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