Yao Ming vs. Jakob Poeltl Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jakob Poeltl 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

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, 1 less than Jakob Poeltl, who played 9. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while Jakob Poeltl had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
Jakob Poeltl 9 3 2016-17 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

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

Rookie Season
Yao Ming Jakob Poeltl
Season 2002-032016-17
Team Houston RocketsToronto Raptors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayRaptors Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+28+17.4+10.4+1.0+4.2+5.1+1.5+0.1+1.4-1.6-0.7+3.7+7.7+.085+3.1+3.4+.267
Jakob Poeltl 54 11.6 3.1 1.4 1.6 3.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 2.1 1.2 2.1 .583 0.0 0.0 - 0.6 1.1 .544
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Yao Ming DNP------ --- ----------
Jakob Poeltl 6 4.3 1.7 1.0 1.0 2.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.5 0.8 1.8 .455 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.3 .000

Season 2
Yao Ming Jakob Poeltl
Season 2003-042017-18
Team Houston RocketsToronto Raptors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf 1st RdRaptors Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+14.2+10.6+0.4+3.8+4.2+0.8+0.2+0.7-1.5-0.7+3.4+7.8+.137+3.7+4.2+.215
Jakob Poeltl 82 18.6 6.9 2.0 2.8 4.8 0.7 0.5 1.2 1.0 2.6 3.1 4.7 .659 0.0 0.0 - 0.7 1.2 .594
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+4+22.0+9.6+0.5+2.9+3.4+1.1+0.1+1.0-1.7-1.2+4.3+10.2+.092+0.1+0.9+1.3+.024
Jakob Poeltl 9 15.6 5.4 1.7 2.3 4.0 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.9 2.8 1.9 3.4 .548 0.0 0.1 .000 1.7 2.1 .789

Season 3
Yao Ming Jakob Poeltl
Season 2004-052018-19
Team Houston RocketsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf 1st RdSpurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+3+14.1+12.8+0.3+2.8+3.1+0.4+1.1-1.9-2.1+4.3+8.4+.093+4.3+5.0+.250
Jakob Poeltl 77 16.5 5.5 2.3 3.0 5.3 1.2 0.4 0.9 0.6 1.6 2.4 3.8 .645 0.0 0.0 - 0.6 1.2 .533
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+6.6+14.1+0.3+0.3+1.0+2.0-2.3-0.7+4.6+6.9+.016+0.1+5.0+6.6+.171
Jakob Poeltl 7 25.3 7.3 3.6 4.1 7.7 1.7 0.3 0.7 0.4 3.7 3.3 5.1 .639 0.0 0.1 .000 0.7 1.3 .556

Season 4
Yao Ming Jakob Poeltl
Season 2005-062019-20
Team Houston RocketsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement 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%
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:+9+16.5+16.7+0.6+3.9+4.5+0.3+0.1+0.2-1.8-1.5+5.7+11.8+.105+5.3+5.6+.388
Jakob Poeltl 66 17.7 5.6 2.0 3.7 5.7 1.8 0.6 1.4 0.8 1.9 2.5 4.0 .624 0.0 0.0 - 0.6 1.3 .465
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Yao Ming nor Jakob Poeltl played in the postseason in their season 4

Season 5
Yao Ming Jakob Poeltl
Season 2006-072020-21
Team Houston RocketsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+21+7.1+16.4+1.1+2.5+1.5+0.1+0.3+0.2-2.3-0.8+5.0+10.9+.100+6.5+6.8+.354
Jakob Poeltl 69 26.7 8.6 3.2 4.8 7.9 1.9 0.7 1.8 1.2 2.5 3.8 6.2 .616 0.0 0.0 - 0.9 1.8 .508
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Jakob Poeltl DNP------ --- ----------

Season 6
Yao Ming Jakob Poeltl
Season 2007-082021-22
Team Houston RocketsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid 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%
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:+13+8.2+8.5+0.8+2.2+1.5+0.5+0.2+0.3-1.7+1.9+5.7+.111+4.9+4.6+.355
Jakob Poeltl 68 29.0 13.5 3.9 5.5 9.3 2.8 0.7 1.7 1.6 3.1 6.0 9.8 .618 0.0 0.0 - 1.4 2.8 .495
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Yao Ming nor Jakob Poeltl played in the postseason in their season 6

Season 7
Yao Ming Jakob Poeltl
Season 2008-092022-23
Team Houston RocketsSan Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf SemisDid 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%
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+7.1+7.2+0.7+1.4+0.8+0.9+0.5+0.7-1.3-0.6+2.0+4.8+.081+3.2+2.9+.274
Jakob Poeltl 72 26.5 12.5 3.3 5.8 9.1 2.7 0.9 1.2 1.7 2.7 5.4 8.6 .629 0.0 0.0 - 1.7 2.8 .592
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Jakob Poeltl DNP------ --- ----------

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

Season 8
Yao Ming Jakob Poeltl
Season 2010-112023-24
Team Houston RocketsToronto Raptors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid 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%
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+8.2+0.9+1.5+1.7+3.2+1.7+0.7+0.1-0.1-0.4+1.4+0.2+.170+1.8+1.1+.387
Jakob Poeltl 50 26.4 11.1 2.9 5.7 8.6 2.5 0.7 1.5 1.5 3.0 5.0 7.6 .656 0.0 0.0 - 1.2 2.1 .551
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Yao Ming nor Jakob Poeltl played in the postseason in their season 8

Additional Years

* Jakob Poeltl played 1 season more than Yao Ming in the NBA.

In that period—his season 9 in 2025—Jakob Poeltl didn't play in the postseason.

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