Zion Williamson vs. George Yardley Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of George Yardley and Zion Williamson, 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.

Zion Williamson played 4 years in the NBA, 3 less than George Yardley, who played 7. Zion Williamson had the first of his seasons in 2019-20, while George Yardley had his rookie season in 1953-54. 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
Zion Williamson 4 0 2019-20 to 2023-24
George Yardley 7 7 1953-54 to 1959-60

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season
Zion Williamson George Yardley
Season 2019-201953-54
Team New Orleans PelicansFort Wayne Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayPistons Lost W Div Round Robin
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson 24 27.8 22.5 2.7 3.6 6.3 2.1 0.7 0.4 2.5 1.8 8.8 15.0 .583 0.3 0.6 .429 4.8 7.4 .640
George Yardley 63 23.6 9.0 - - 6.5 1.6 - - - 2.6 3.3 7.8 .425 - - - 2.3 3.3 .712
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson ------- --- ----------
George Yardley 4 26.8 10.5 - - 6.0 0.8 - - - 2.5 4.0 8.3 .485 - - - 2.5 3.0 .833

Season 2
Zion Williamson George Yardley
Season 2020-211954-55
Team New Orleans PelicansFort Wayne Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayPistons Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson 61 33.2 27.0 2.7 4.5 7.2 3.7 0.9 0.6 2.7 2.2 10.4 17.0 .611 0.2 0.6 .294 6.0 8.7 .698
George Yardley 60 35.8 17.3 - - 9.9 2.1 - - - 3.4 6.1 14.5 .418 - - - 5.2 6.9 .745
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson ------- --- ----------
George Yardley 11 38.2 15.8 - - 9.0 3.3 - - - 3.4 5.2 13.0 .399 - - - 5.5 7.2 .759

Note: Zion Williamson didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 3
Zion Williamson George Yardley
Season 2022-231955-56
Team New Orleans PelicansFort Wayne Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayPistons Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson 29 33.0 26.0 2.0 5.0 7.0 4.6 1.1 0.6 3.4 2.2 9.8 16.2 .608 0.2 0.7 .368 6.1 8.6 .714
George Yardley 71 33.1 17.4 - - 9.7 2.2 - - - 3.0 6.1 15.0 .407 - - - 5.1 6.9 .742
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson ------- --- ----------
George Yardley 10 40.6 23.0 - - 13.9 2.6 - - - 2.5 7.7 18.3 .421 - - - 7.6 9.8 .776

Season 4
Zion Williamson George Yardley
Season 2023-241956-57
Team New Orleans PelicansFort Wayne Pistons
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayPistons Lost West Div Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson 70 31.5 22.9 1.7 4.1 5.8 5.0 1.1 0.7 2.8 2.3 8.9 15.6 .570 0.1 0.3 .333 5.0 7.1 .702
George Yardley 72 37.4 21.5 - - 10.5 2.0 - - - 3.2 7.3 17.7 .410 - - - 7.0 8.9 .787
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson ------- --- ----------
George Yardley 2 42.5 28.5 - - 9.5 4.0 - - - 3.5 12.0 26.5 .453 - - - 4.5 5.5 .818

Season 5
Zion Williamson George Yardley
Season -1957-58
Team -Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Pistons Lost West Div Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson ------- --- ----------
George Yardley 72 39.5 27.8 - - 10.7 1.3 - - - 3.1 9.3 22.6 .414 - - - 9.1 11.2 .811
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson ------- --- ----------
George Yardley 7 36.3 23.4 - - 10.3 2.4 - - - 3.7 7.4 18.1 .409 - - - 8.6 9.6 .896

Season 6
Zion Williamson George Yardley
Season -1958-59
Team -Detroit Pistons, Syracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Nationals Lost East Div Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson ------- --- ----------
George Yardley 61 30.1 19.8 - - 7.1 1.1 - - - 2.6 7.3 17.1 .428 - - - 5.2 6.7 .779
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson ------- --- ----------
George Yardley 9 37.0 25.1 - - 9.7 2.3 - - - 3.2 9.2 21.0 .439 - - - 6.7 7.8 .857

Season 7
Zion Williamson George Yardley
Season -1959-60
Team -Syracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Nationals Lost East Div Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson ------- --- ----------
George Yardley 73 32.9 20.2 - - 7.9 1.7 - - - 3.1 7.5 16.5 .453 - - - 5.2 6.4 .816
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Zion Williamson ------- --- ----------
George Yardley 3 29.3 13.3 - - 5.7 0.3 - - - 3.0 5.0 13.0 .385 - - - 3.3 4.0 .833
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