Yao Ming vs. John Stockton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Stockton 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.

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, 11 less than John Stockton, who played 19. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while John Stockton had his rookie season in 1984-85. 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.

Rookie Season
	Yao Ming	John Stockton
Season	2002-03	1984-85
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did not play	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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:		+10.8	+7.9	+2.1	+4.8	+6.9	+3.4	+0.9	+1.7	-0.3	-0.3	+3.0	+5.7	+.027		+0.1		+2.0	+2.1	+.075
John Stockton	82	18.2	5.6	0.3	1.0	1.3	5.1	1.3	0.1	1.8	2.5	1.9	4.1	.471	0.0	0.1	.182	1.7	2.4	.736
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Stockton	10	18.6	6.8	0.7	2.1	2.8	4.3	1.1	0.2	1.6	3.0	2.1	4.5	.467	0.0	0.2	.000	2.6	3.5	.743

Season 2
	Yao Ming	John Stockton
Season	2003-04	1985-86
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:		+9.2	+9.8	+2.0	+4.8	+6.8	+5.9	+1.6	+1.8	-0.5	-0.5	+3.7	+6.8	+.033		+0.2		+2.3	+2.9	+.030
John Stockton	82	23.6	7.7	0.4	1.8	2.2	7.4	1.9	0.1	2.0	2.8	2.8	5.7	.489	0.0	0.2	.133	2.1	2.5	.839
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:	+1	+19.3	+8.2	+1.4	+4.4	+5.9	+1.7	+0.9	+1.4	-1.6	-1.5	+3.9	+9.3	+.073	+0.3	+0.3		+0.6	+1.1	+.124
John Stockton	4	18.3	6.8	0.8	0.8	1.5	3.5	1.3	0.0	1.0	2.5	2.3	4.3	.529	0.3	0.3	1.000	2.0	2.3	.889

Season 3
	Yao Ming	John Stockton
Season	2004-05	1986-87
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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	+7.9	+10.4	+2.2	+4.3	+6.6	+7.4	+1.8	+1.8	-0.5	-1.0	+3.9	+6.6	+.053	+0.1	+0.5		+2.7	+3.4	+.001
John Stockton	82	22.7	7.9	0.4	1.5	1.8	8.2	2.2	0.2	2.0	2.7	2.8	5.6	.499	0.1	0.5	.179	2.2	2.8	.782
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:	+2	+0.5	+11.4	+2.9	+2.6	+5.5	+7.3	+2.7	+2.5	-0.5	-0.8	+4.3	+6.2	+.034	+0.8	+1.0		+3.7	+5.3	+.042
John Stockton	5	31.4	10.0	0.4	1.8	2.2	8.0	3.0	0.2	2.2	3.6	3.6	5.8	.621	0.8	1.0	.800	2.0	2.6	.769

Season 4
	Yao Ming	John Stockton
Season	2005-06	1987-88
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did not play	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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	+0.5	+7.6	+1.9	+5.4	+7.3	+12.3	+2.5	+1.4	-0.6	-0.4	+2.7	+6.2	+.055	+0.3	+0.8		+2.6	+2.9	+.013
John Stockton	82	34.7	14.7	0.7	2.2	2.9	13.8	3.0	0.2	3.2	3.0	5.5	9.6	.574	0.3	0.8	.358	3.3	4.0	.840
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Stockton	11	43.5	19.5	1.3	2.8	4.1	14.8	3.4	0.3	4.4	3.3	6.2	12.2	.507	0.4	1.3	.286	6.8	8.3	.824

Season 5
	Yao Ming	John Stockton
Season	2006-07	1988-89
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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	+4.9	+7.9	+1.1	+5.3	+6.4	+11.6	+2.8	+1.8	-0.3	-0.4	+2.7	+5.8	+.022	+0.2	+0.8		+2.6	+3.1	+.001
John Stockton	82	38.7	17.1	1.0	2.0	3.0	13.6	3.2	0.2	3.8	2.9	6.1	11.3	.538	0.2	0.8	.242	4.8	5.5	.863
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:	+4	+9.2	+2.2	+2.6	+4.3	+7.0	+12.8	+3.6	+1.0	-1.0	-1.1	+2.1	+1.8	+.068	+1.0	+1.3		+3.1	+3.7	+.025
John Stockton	3	46.3	27.3	0.7	2.7	3.3	13.7	3.7	1.7	3.7	5.0	10.0	19.7	.508	1.0	1.3	.750	6.3	7.0	.905

Season 6
	Yao Ming	John Stockton
Season	2007-08	1989-90
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Jazz Lost West 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:	+23	+0.2	+4.8	+2.4	+5.8	+8.2	+12.2	+2.2	+1.8	-0.2	-0.1	+1.8	+3.7	+.007	+0.6	+1.4		+1.8	+1.9	+.031
John Stockton	78	37.4	17.2	0.7	1.9	2.6	14.5	2.7	0.2	3.5	3.0	6.1	11.8	.514	0.6	1.4	.416	4.5	5.5	.819
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Stockton	5	38.8	15.0	0.8	2.4	3.2	15.0	1.2	0.0	2.8	4.0	5.8	13.8	.420	0.2	2.6	.077	3.2	4.0	.800

Season 7
	Yao Ming	John Stockton
Season	2008-09	1990-91
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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	+4.2	+2.5	+2.0	+4.9	+7.0	+12.4	+2.5	+1.7	-0.6	-0.5	+1.4	+1.5	+.041	+0.7	+2.0		+0.5	+0.4	+.030
John Stockton	82	37.8	17.2	0.6	2.3	2.9	14.2	2.9	0.2	3.6	2.8	6.0	11.9	.507	0.7	2.0	.345	4.4	5.3	.836
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:		+5.5	+1.1	+1.0	+5.2	+6.2	+12.8	+1.8	+1.0	-1.7	-0.7	+0.4	+1.0	+.008	+1.2	+3.0		+1.0	+0.8	+.061
John Stockton	9	41.4	18.2	1.1	3.6	4.7	13.8	2.2	0.2	3.6	3.7	6.4	12.0	.537	1.2	3.0	.407	4.1	4.9	.841

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

Season 8
	Yao Ming	John Stockton
Season	2010-11	1991-92
Team	Houston Rockets	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+77	+18.4	+5.6	+0.6	+1.5	+2.1	+12.9	+3.0	+1.3	-2.1	-0.3	+1.9	+4.1	+.004	+1.0	+2.5		+0.8	+1.3	+.096
John Stockton	82	36.6	15.8	0.8	2.5	3.3	13.7	3.0	0.3	3.5	2.9	5.5	11.5	.482	1.0	2.5	.407	3.8	4.5	.842
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Stockton	16	38.9	14.8	0.6	2.3	2.9	13.6	2.1	0.3	3.6	2.4	4.8	11.4	.423	1.1	3.6	.310	4.1	4.9	.833

Additional Years
* John Stockton played 11 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 19, from 1993 to 2003—John Stockton played in 11 Playoffs. In those 11 extra years over Yao Ming, John Stockton got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive Second Team 4 Assists Leader 6 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP