Yao Ming vs. John Williams Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Williams 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 and John Williams both played 8 years in the NBA. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while John Williams 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 achivements, 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
John Williams 8 3 1986-87 to 1994-95

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Yao Ming John Williams
Season 2002-031986-87
Team Houston RocketsWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayBullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
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 .500 3.7 4.5 .811
John Williams 78 22.7 9.2 1.7 3.0 4.7 2.4 1.7 0.4 1.6 2.2 3.6 8.0 .454 0.1 0.5 .222 1.8 2.9 .646
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
John Williams 3 16.3 6.7 1.3 2.3 3.7 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.7 1.0 2.7 4.7 .571 0.0 0.3 .000 1.3 2.3 .571

Season 2

Yao Ming John Williams
Season 2003-041987-88
Team Houston RocketsWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf 1st RdBullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
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 .000 4.4 5.4 .809
John Williams 82 29.6 12.8 1.5 3.9 5.4 2.8 1.4 0.4 1.8 2.6 5.2 11.1 .469 0.1 0.5 .132 2.3 3.1 .734
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
John Williams 5 37.0 13.0 2.2 3.6 5.8 4.2 1.6 0.8 2.4 3.6 4.6 9.6 .479 0.0 0.2 .000 3.8 6.4 .594

Season 3

Yao Ming John Williams
Season 2004-051988-89
Team Houston RocketsWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
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
John Williams 82 29.4 13.7 1.9 5.1 7.0 4.3 1.7 0.9 1.9 2.6 5.3 11.5 .466 0.2 0.9 .268 2.7 3.5 .776
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
John Williams ------- --- ----------

Season 4

Yao Ming John Williams
Season 2005-061989-90
Team Houston RocketsWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
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 .000 5.9 6.9 .853
John Williams 18 35.1 18.2 1.5 6.1 7.6 4.7 1.2 0.5 2.4 1.8 7.2 15.2 .474 0.1 1.0 .111 3.6 4.7 .774
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
John Williams ------- --- ----------

Season 5

Yao Ming John Williams
Season 2006-071990-91
Team Houston RocketsWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
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 .000 7.4 8.6 .862
John Williams 33 28.5 12.5 1.3 4.1 5.4 4.0 1.2 0.2 2.1 1.9 5.0 11.9 .417 0.3 1.2 .244 2.2 2.9 .753
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
John Williams ------- --- ----------

Note: John Williams didn't play in 1991-92.

Season 6

Yao Ming John Williams
Season 2007-081992-93
Team Houston RocketsLos Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayClippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
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 .000 6.3 7.4 .850
John Williams 74 22.1 6.6 1.2 3.1 4.3 1.9 1.1 0.3 1.1 2.5 2.8 6.4 .430 0.2 0.7 .226 0.9 1.7 .543
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
John Williams 5 19.6 2.2 1.0 1.8 2.8 1.4 1.0 0.0 1.2 3.4 0.8 3.6 .222 0.4 0.6 .667 0.2 0.4 .500

Season 7

Yao Ming John Williams
Season 2008-091993-94
Team Houston RocketsLos Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
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 1.000 4.9 5.7 .866
John Williams 34 21.3 5.6 1.1 2.6 3.7 2.9 0.7 0.3 1.0 2.5 2.4 5.5 .431 0.1 0.6 .250 0.7 1.1 .667
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
John Williams ------- --- ----------

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

Season 8

Yao Ming John Williams
Season 2010-111994-95
Team Houston RocketsIndiana Pacers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
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
John Williams 34 11.8 2.9 0.7 1.1 1.8 0.8 0.3 0.1 1.0 1.4 1.2 3.4 .357 0.1 0.4 .333 0.4 0.7 .560
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
John Williams ------- --- ----------