Bill Laimbeer vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith and Bill Laimbeer, 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.

Bill Laimbeer played 14 years in the NBA, 2 less than J.R. Smith, who played 16. Bill Laimbeer had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, while J.R. Smith had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
Bill Laimbeer	14	9	1980-81 to 1993-94
J.R. Smith	16	12	2004-05 to 2019-20

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1980-81	2004-05
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	81	30.4	9.8	3.3	5.3	8.6	2.7	0.7	1.0	1.6	4.1	4.2	8.3	.503	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	1.9	.765
J.R. Smith	76	24.5	10.3	0.5	1.5	2.0	1.9	0.7	0.1	1.4	1.8	3.9	9.8	.394	1.1	3.7	.288	1.5	2.1	.689

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1981-82	2005-06
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	80	22.9	9.0	2.9	4.8	7.7	1.3	0.5	0.8	1.5	3.7	3.3	6.7	.494	0.1	0.2	.308	2.3	2.9	.793
J.R. Smith	55	18.0	7.7	0.3	1.7	2.0	1.1	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.6	2.6	6.7	.393	0.9	2.5	.371	1.5	1.8	.822

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1982-83	2006-07
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	82	35.0	13.6	3.4	8.7	12.1	3.2	0.6	1.4	2.1	3.9	5.3	10.7	.497	0.0	0.2	.154	3.0	3.8	.790
J.R. Smith	63	23.3	13.0	0.5	1.8	2.3	1.4	0.8	0.1	1.3	2.3	4.5	10.2	.441	2.4	6.1	.390	1.6	2.0	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	4	11.8	4.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	0.5	1.0	0.3	0.8	1.5	1.5	5.5	.273	0.0	3.0	.000	1.5	1.5	1.000


Season 4
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1983-84	2007-08
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	82	34.9	17.3	4.0	8.2	12.2	1.8	0.6	1.0	1.8	3.3	6.7	12.7	.530	0.0	0.1	.000	3.9	4.5	.866
J.R. Smith	74	19.2	12.3	0.6	1.5	2.1	1.7	0.8	0.2	1.5	1.9	4.2	9.1	.461	2.1	5.3	.403	1.7	2.4	.719

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	5	33.0	15.2	2.8	9.6	12.4	2.4	0.8	0.6	2.4	4.6	5.8	10.2	.569	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	4.0	.900
J.R. Smith	4	27.0	18.3	0.3	1.5	1.8	1.8	1.0	0.0	1.3	3.0	5.8	10.8	.535	1.8	5.5	.318	5.0	6.0	.833


Season 5
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1984-85	2008-09
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	82	35.3	17.5	3.6	8.8	12.4	1.9	0.8	0.9	1.6	3.8	7.3	14.4	.506	0.0	0.2	.222	3.0	3.7	.797
J.R. Smith	81	27.7	15.2	0.5	3.1	3.7	2.8	1.0	0.2	1.9	2.3	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.6	.397	2.5	3.4	.754

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	9	36.1	14.7	4.0	6.7	10.7	1.7	0.8	0.8	1.8	3.6	5.3	11.9	.449	0.0	0.2	.000	4.0	5.7	.706
J.R. Smith	16	27.2	14.9	0.7	2.6	3.3	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.6	3.2	5.5	12.1	.454	2.4	6.6	.358	1.6	2.9	.543


Season 6
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1985-86	2009-10
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Rebounds Leader	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	82	35.3	16.6	3.7	9.4	13.1	1.8	0.7	0.8	1.6	3.5	6.6	13.5	.492	0.0	0.2	.286	3.2	3.9	.834
J.R. Smith	75	27.8	15.4	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.4	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.8	.414	2.1	6.2	.338	1.9	2.7	.706

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	4	42.0	22.5	5.0	9.0	14.0	0.3	0.5	0.8	2.0	4.8	8.5	17.0	.500	0.3	0.3	1.000	5.3	5.8	.913
J.R. Smith	6	26.5	11.2	0.8	3.0	3.8	1.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.8	3.5	9.5	.368	1.8	5.2	.355	2.3	2.7	.875


Season 7
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1986-87	2010-11
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	82	34.8	15.4	3.0	8.7	11.6	1.8	0.9	0.8	1.5	3.5	6.2	12.3	.501	0.1	0.3	.286	3.0	3.3	.894
J.R. Smith	79	24.9	12.3	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.2	1.2	0.2	1.3	2.2	4.3	9.9	.435	1.6	4.0	.390	2.1	2.8	.738

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	15	36.2	12.3	2.0	8.4	10.4	2.5	1.0	0.8	1.3	3.5	5.6	10.9	.515	0.1	0.3	.200	1.0	1.6	.625
J.R. Smith	5	15.2	9.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	1.0	0.4	0.0	1.6	1.6	3.2	9.0	.356	1.8	4.2	.429	1.6	2.2	.727


Season 8
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1987-88	2011-12
Team	Detroit Pistons	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pistons Lost NBA Finals	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	82	35.3	13.5	2.0	8.1	10.1	2.4	0.8	1.0	1.7	3.5	5.5	11.3	.493	0.2	0.5	.333	2.3	2.6	.874
J.R. Smith	35	27.6	12.5	0.8	3.1	3.9	2.4	1.5	0.2	1.3	2.5	4.7	11.6	.407	1.9	5.5	.347	1.1	1.6	.709

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	23	33.9	11.9	1.9	7.7	9.6	1.9	0.8	0.8	1.3	3.3	5.0	10.9	.456	0.2	0.7	.294	1.7	2.0	.889
J.R. Smith	5	35.0	12.2	0.4	2.2	2.6	2.2	1.2	0.2	2.2	3.8	4.8	15.2	.316	1.0	5.6	.179	1.6	1.6	1.000


Season 9
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1988-89	2012-13
Team	Detroit Pistons	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	81	32.6	13.7	1.7	7.9	9.6	2.2	0.6	1.2	1.6	3.2	5.5	11.1	.499	0.4	1.1	.349	2.2	2.6	.840
J.R. Smith	80	33.5	18.1	0.8	4.5	5.3	2.7	1.3	0.3	1.7	2.8	6.6	15.6	.422	1.9	5.5	.356	3.0	3.9	.762

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	17	29.2	10.1	1.5	6.7	8.2	1.8	0.4	0.5	1.1	3.2	3.9	8.4	.465	0.9	2.5	.357	1.5	1.8	.806
J.R. Smith	11	31.9	14.3	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.4	1.0	0.5	1.8	2.5	4.9	14.8	.331	1.6	6.0	.273	2.8	3.9	.721


Season 10
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1989-90	2013-14
Team	Detroit Pistons	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	81	33.0	12.1	2.0	7.6	9.6	2.1	0.7	1.0	1.2	3.4	4.7	9.7	.484	0.7	2.0	.361	2.0	2.4	.854
J.R. Smith	74	32.7	14.5	0.5	3.5	4.0	3.0	0.9	0.3	1.5	2.6	5.4	12.9	.415	2.6	6.5	.394	1.2	1.9	.652

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	20	33.4	11.1	2.1	8.5	10.6	1.4	1.2	0.9	0.8	3.9	4.6	10.0	.457	0.8	2.2	.349	1.3	1.5	.862
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1990-91	2014-15
Team	Detroit Pistons	New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	82	32.5	11.0	2.1	6.9	9.0	1.9	0.5	0.7	1.2	3.0	4.5	9.5	.478	0.5	1.5	.296	1.5	1.8	.837
J.R. Smith	70	29.7	12.1	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.4	2.3	4.5	10.8	.417	2.3	6.1	.383	0.8	1.0	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	15	29.7	10.9	2.8	5.3	8.1	1.3	0.3	0.8	1.1	3.6	4.4	9.9	.446	0.3	1.1	.294	1.8	2.1	.871
J.R. Smith	18	31.1	12.8	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.2	0.9	0.6	0.8	3.0	4.6	11.4	.403	2.8	7.9	.359	0.8	1.1	.700


Season 12
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1991-92	2015-16
Team	Detroit Pistons	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	81	27.6	9.7	1.3	4.3	5.6	2.0	0.6	0.7	1.3	2.8	4.2	9.0	.470	0.4	1.0	.376	0.8	0.9	.893
J.R. Smith	77	30.7	12.4	0.6	2.3	2.8	1.7	1.1	0.3	0.8	2.6	4.6	11.0	.415	2.6	6.6	.400	0.6	0.9	.634

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	5	29.0	8.2	1.0	5.6	6.6	1.6	0.8	0.2	1.0	3.6	3.4	9.2	.370	0.4	2.0	.200	1.0	1.0	1.000
J.R. Smith	21	34.8	11.5	0.3	2.9	3.2	1.4	1.2	0.2	0.5	2.6	3.9	9.0	.436	3.1	7.2	.430	0.6	1.0	.619


Season 13
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1992-93	2016-17
Team	Detroit Pistons	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	79	24.5	8.7	1.4	3.9	5.3	1.6	0.6	0.5	0.7	2.7	3.7	7.3	.509	0.1	0.3	.370	1.2	1.3	.894
J.R. Smith	41	29.0	8.6	0.4	2.3	2.8	1.5	1.0	0.3	0.6	1.9	3.0	8.7	.346	2.3	6.6	.351	0.2	0.4	.667

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	18	27.1	8.1	0.3	2.1	2.3	0.7	0.7	0.3	0.7	2.3	2.8	5.5	.505	2.2	4.4	.500	0.3	0.6	.455


Season 14
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	1993-94	2017-18
Team	Detroit Pistons	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	11	22.5	9.8	0.8	4.3	5.1	1.3	0.5	0.4	0.9	2.7	4.3	8.2	.522	0.3	0.8	.333	1.0	1.2	.846
J.R. Smith	80	28.1	8.3	0.4	2.6	2.9	1.8	0.9	0.1	1.0	2.0	3.0	7.4	.403	1.8	4.8	.375	0.5	0.7	.696

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	22	32.1	8.7	0.5	2.3	2.7	1.1	1.0	0.2	0.9	2.5	3.0	8.5	.348	2.0	5.5	.367	0.8	1.0	.773


Season 15
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2018-19
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	11	20.2	6.7	0.0	1.6	1.6	1.9	1.0	0.3	1.0	1.7	2.5	7.2	.342	1.1	3.5	.308	0.7	0.9	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Bill Laimbeer	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2019-20
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	6	13.2	2.8	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.7	0.8	1.2	3.7	.318	0.2	1.8	.091	0.3	0.3	1.000

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	10	7.5	2.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.1	0.7	2.6	.269	0.6	2.2	.273	0.0	0.0	-

Bill Laimbeer vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith and Bill Laimbeer, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16