Yao Ming vs. Steve Nash Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Steve Nash 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, 10 less than Steve Nash, who played 18. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while Steve Nash had his rookie season in 1996-97. 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	Steve Nash
Season	2002-03	1996-97
Team	Houston Rockets	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+17	+18.5	+10.2	+2.2	+5.1	+7.2	+0.4	+0.1	+1.8	-1.1	-1.4	+3.8	+7.1	+.075	+0.4	+0.8		+3.1	+3.7	+.013
Steve Nash	65	10.5	3.3	0.2	0.7	1.0	2.1	0.3	0.0	1.0	1.4	1.1	2.7	.423	0.4	0.8	.418	0.6	0.8	.824
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Nash	4	3.8	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.5	1.3	0.5	2.3	.222	0.3	1.0	.250	0.0	0.0	-

Season 2
	Yao Ming	Steve Nash
Season	2003-04	1997-98
Team	Houston Rockets	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Suns 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:	+6	+10.9	+8.4	+2.0	+4.9	+6.9	+1.9	+0.5	+1.8	-1.2	-1.4	+3.0	+4.8	+.063	+1.1	+2.6		+3.4	+4.3	+.051
Steve Nash	76	21.9	9.1	0.4	1.7	2.1	3.4	0.8	0.1	1.3	1.9	3.5	7.7	.459	1.1	2.6	.415	1.0	1.1	.860
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	+24.8	+9.5	+1.7	+3.2	+4.9		+0.1	+1.4	-1.8	-2.2	+4.2	+9.1	+.012	+0.3	+1.3		+1.3	+1.4	+.140
Steve Nash	4	12.8	5.5	0.5	2.0	2.5	1.8	0.5	0.0	0.8	1.8	2.0	4.5	.444	0.3	1.3	.200	1.3	2.0	.625

Season 3
	Yao Ming	Steve Nash
Season	2004-05	1998-99
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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:	+40	+1.1	+10.4	+1.8	+3.7	+5.5	+4.7	+0.5	+1.9	-0.4	-1.2	+3.8	+4.3	+.189	+1.2	+3.3		+3.9	+5.0	+.043
Steve Nash	40	31.7	7.9	0.8	2.1	2.9	5.5	0.9	0.1	2.1	2.5	2.9	7.9	.363	1.2	3.3	.374	1.0	1.2	.826
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
Steve Nash	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Yao Ming	Steve Nash
Season	2005-06	1999-00
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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:	+1	+6.8	+13.7	+2.0	+6.0	+8.0	+3.4	+0.2	+1.5	-0.8	-1.2	+5.1	+9.3	+.042	+1.1	+2.7		+4.6	+5.4	+.029
Steve Nash	56	27.4	8.6	0.6	1.6	2.2	4.9	0.7	0.1	1.8	2.2	3.1	6.5	.477	1.1	2.7	.403	1.3	1.5	.882
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Yao Ming nor Steve Nash played in the postseason in their season 4

Season 5
	Yao Ming	Steve Nash
Season	2006-07	2000-01
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+22	+0.3	+9.4	+1.4	+4.8	+6.2	+5.3	+0.6	+1.9	-0.6	-1.0	+3.3	+5.8	+.029	+1.3	+3.1		+4.1	+4.9	+.033
Steve Nash	70	34.1	15.6	0.7	2.5	3.2	7.3	1.0	0.1	2.9	2.3	5.5	11.3	.487	1.3	3.1	.406	3.3	3.7	.895
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:	+3	+0.1	+11.5	+2.7	+4.4	+7.1	+5.5	+0.5	+0.6	-2.2	-2.0	+3.4	+7.1	+.023	+1.6	+3.9		+6.4	+7.3	+.002
Steve Nash	10	37.0	13.6	0.6	2.6	3.2	6.4	0.6	0.1	2.5	1.9	4.5	10.8	.417	1.6	3.9	.410	3.0	3.4	.882

Season 6
	Yao Ming	Steve Nash
Season	2007-08	2001-02
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost West 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:	+27	+2.6	+4.1	+2.5	+5.2	+7.7	+5.4	+0.1	+2.0	-0.5	-1.1	+1.5	+2.2	+.024	+1.9	+4.2		+3.1	+3.8	+.037
Steve Nash	82	34.6	17.9	0.6	2.5	3.1	7.7	0.6	0.0	2.8	2.0	6.4	13.3	.483	1.9	4.2	.455	3.2	3.6	.887
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Nash	8	40.5	19.5	0.9	3.1	4.0	8.8	0.5	0.0	3.8	2.5	6.4	14.8	.432	2.5	5.6	.444	4.3	4.4	.971

Season 7
	Yao Ming	Steve Nash
Season	2008-09	2002-03
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals

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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	+0.5	+2.0	+1.8	+5.1	+7.0	+5.5	+0.6	+1.8	-0.7	-1.7	+1.1	+0.2	+.083	+1.4	+3.3		+1.1	+1.6	+.043
Steve Nash	82	33.1	17.7	0.8	2.1	2.9	7.3	1.0	0.1	2.3	1.6	6.3	13.6	.465	1.4	3.3	.413	3.8	4.1	.909
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:	+11	+0.5	+1.0	+1.3	+6.0	+7.4	+6.3	+0.5	+1.1	-0.7	-0.6	+0.2	+1.9	+.098	+1.9	+3.8		+2.3	+2.5	+.029
Steve Nash	20	36.4	16.1	0.8	2.8	3.5	7.3	0.9	0.1	2.6	2.4	5.8	12.9	.447	1.9	3.8	.487	2.8	3.2	.873

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

Season 8
	Yao Ming	Steve Nash
Season	2010-11	2003-04
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks 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:	+73	+15.3	+4.3	+0.6	+1.8	+2.4	+8.0	+0.9	+1.5	-1.3	-0.8	+1.5	+3.4	+.016	+1.3	+3.3		+0.1		+.022
Steve Nash	78	33.5	14.5	0.8	2.2	3.0	8.8	0.9	0.1	2.7	1.8	5.1	10.8	.470	1.3	3.3	.405	2.9	3.2	.916
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Nash	5	39.2	13.6	1.2	4.0	5.2	9.0	0.8	0.0	2.4	2.8	5.4	14.0	.386	1.2	3.2	.375	1.6	1.8	.889

Additional Years
* Steve Nash played 10 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 18, from 2005 to 2014—Steve Nash played in 6 Playoffs. In those 10 extra years over Yao Ming, Steve Nash got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Season MVP 3 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 5 Assists Leader 6 All-Star Game