Bill Sharman vs. Norm Van Lier Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Norm Van Lier and Bill Sharman, 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 Sharman played 11 years in the NBA, 1 more than Norm Van Lier, who played 10. Bill Sharman had the first of his seasons in 1950-51, while Norm Van Lier had his rookie season in 1969-70. 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 Sharman 11 10 1950-51 to 1960-61
Norm Van Lier 10 5 1969-70 to 1978-79

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11

Rookie Season

Bill Sharman Norm Van Lier
Season 1950-511969-70
Team Washington CapitolsCincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards
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 %
Bill Sharman 31 - 12.2 - - 3.5 1.3 - - - 2.8 4.5 12.3 .370 - - - 3.1 3.5 .889
Norm Van Lier 81 35.7 9.5 - - 5.0 6.2 - - - 4.1 3.7 9.2 .403 - - - 2.0 2.8 .741
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman ------- --- ----------
Norm Van Lier ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Bill Sharman Norm Van Lier
Season 1951-521970-71
Team Boston CelticsCincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
-Achievement Assists Leader
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 63 22.0 10.7 - - 3.5 2.4 - - - 2.9 3.9 10.0 .389 - - - 2.9 3.4 .859
Norm Van Lier 82 40.5 16.0 - - 7.1 10.1 - - - 4.2 5.8 13.9 .420 - - - 4.4 5.4 .816
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 1 27.0 15.0 - - 3.0 7.0 - - - 4.0 7.0 12.0 .583 - - - 1.0 1.0 1.000
Norm Van Lier ------- --- ----------

Season 3

Bill Sharman Norm Van Lier
Season 1952-531971-72
Team Boston CelticsCincinnati Royals, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsBulls Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 71 32.9 16.2 - - 4.1 2.7 - - - 3.4 5.7 13.0 .436 - - - 4.8 5.6 .850
Norm Van Lier 79 30.6 11.5 - - 4.5 6.9 - - - 3.0 4.2 9.6 .439 - - - 3.0 3.8 .790
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 6 33.5 11.7 - - 2.5 2.5 - - - 4.3 3.3 10.0 .333 - - - 5.0 5.3 .938
Norm Van Lier 4 36.0 14.0 - - 6.3 8.3 - - - 3.8 5.5 13.3 .415 - - - 3.0 3.5 .857

Season 4

Bill Sharman Norm Van Lier
Season 1953-541972-73
Team Boston CelticsChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsBulls Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 72 34.3 16.0 - - 3.5 3.2 - - - 2.9 5.7 12.7 .450 - - - 4.6 5.4 .844
Norm Van Lier 80 36.0 13.9 - - 5.5 7.1 - - - 3.4 5.9 13.3 .445 - - - 2.1 2.6 .787
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 6 34.3 18.8 - - 4.2 1.7 - - - 4.8 5.8 13.5 .432 - - - 7.2 8.3 .860
Norm Van Lier 7 36.9 14.4 - - 5.3 5.1 - - - 4.6 6.4 18.4 .349 - - - 1.6 2.1 .733

Season 5

Bill Sharman Norm Van Lier
Season 1954-551973-74
Team Boston CelticsChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second TeamAchievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game NVP-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsBulls Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 68 36.1 18.4 - - 4.4 4.1 - - - 3.1 6.7 15.6 .427 - - - 5.1 5.7 .897
Norm Van Lier 80 35.8 14.3 1.4 3.3 4.7 6.9 2.0 0.1 - 3.5 5.3 13.1 .406 - - - 3.6 4.6 .778
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 7 41.4 20.7 - - 5.4 5.4 - - - 3.4 7.9 15.7 .500 - - - 5.0 5.4 .921
Norm Van Lier 11 42.4 14.6 1.0 3.3 4.3 6.8 1.5 0.3 - 3.7 5.5 13.1 .424 - - - 3.5 4.3 .830

Season 6

Bill Sharman Norm Van Lier
Season 1955-561974-75
Team Boston CelticsChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisBulls Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 72 37.5 19.9 - - 3.6 4.7 - - - 2.7 7.5 17.1 .438 - - - 5.0 5.7 .867
Norm Van Lier 70 37.0 15.0 1.2 3.5 4.7 5.8 2.0 0.2 - 3.5 5.8 13.9 .420 - - - 3.4 4.3 .792
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 3 39.7 17.3 - - 2.3 4.0 - - - 2.3 6.0 15.3 .391 - - - 5.3 5.7 .941
Norm Van Lier 13 42.1 15.1 1.4 3.8 5.2 4.7 1.5 0.4 - 4.0 5.2 12.6 .409 - - - 4.8 6.4 .747

Season 7

Bill Sharman Norm Van Lier
Season 1956-571975-76
Team Boston CelticsChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 67 35.9 21.1 - - 4.3 3.5 - - - 2.8 7.7 18.5 .416 - - - 5.7 6.3 .905
Norm Van Lier 76 39.8 12.6 1.8 3.6 5.4 6.6 2.0 0.3 - 3.9 4.8 13.0 .366 - - - 3.1 4.2 .737
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 10 37.7 21.1 - - 3.5 2.9 - - - 2.3 7.5 19.7 .381 - - - 6.1 6.4 .953
Norm Van Lier ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Bill Sharman Norm Van Lier
Season 1957-581976-77
Team Boston CelticsChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsBulls 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 %
Bill Sharman 63 35.1 22.3 - - 4.7 2.7 - - - 2.5 8.7 20.6 .424 - - - 4.8 5.4 .893
Norm Van Lier 82 37.8 10.2 1.3 3.2 4.5 7.8 1.6 0.2 - 3.3 3.7 8.9 .412 - - - 2.9 3.7 .778
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 11 36.9 21.1 - - 4.9 2.3 - - - 2.5 8.2 20.1 .407 - - - 4.7 5.1 .929
Norm Van Lier 3 44.7 5.3 1.7 3.3 5.0 9.7 3.3 0.3 - 4.7 1.0 6.3 .158 - - - 3.3 4.0 .833

Season 9

Bill Sharman Norm Van Lier
Season 1958-591977-78
Team Boston CelticsChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 72 33.1 20.4 - - 4.1 2.5 - - - 2.4 7.8 19.1 .408 - - - 4.8 5.1 .932
Norm Van Lier 78 32.4 7.3 1.1 2.5 3.6 6.8 1.8 0.1 2.6 3.6 2.6 6.1 .419 - - - 2.2 2.9 .751
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 11 29.3 20.1 - - 3.3 2.5 - - - 3.2 7.5 17.5 .425 - - - 5.2 5.4 .966
Norm Van Lier ------- --- ----------

Season 10

Bill Sharman Norm Van Lier
Season 1959-601978-79
Team Boston CelticsMilwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 71 27.0 19.3 - - 3.7 2.0 - - - 2.2 7.9 17.3 .456 - - - 3.5 4.1 .866
Norm Van Lier 38 14.6 2.8 0.2 0.8 1.1 4.2 1.1 0.1 1.3 2.8 0.8 2.0 .390 - - - 1.2 1.4 .904
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 13 28.0 16.8 - - 3.5 1.5 - - - 1.7 6.8 16.1 .421 - - - 3.3 4.1 .811
Norm Van Lier ------- --- ----------

Season 11

Bill Sharman Norm Van Lier
Season 1960-61-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 61 25.2 16.0 - - 3.7 2.4 - - - 2.1 6.3 14.9 .422 - - - 3.4 3.7 .921
Norm Van Lier ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bill Sharman 10 26.1 16.8 - - 2.7 1.7 - - - 2.2 6.8 13.3 .511 - - - 3.2 3.6 .889
Norm Van Lier ------- --- ----------