Don Buse vs. Arvydas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Arvydas Sabonis and Don Buse, 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.

Don Buse played 9 years in the NBA, 2 more than Arvydas Sabonis, who played 7. Don Buse had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Arvydas Sabonis had his rookie season in 1995-96. 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
Don Buse 9 6 1976-77 to 1984-85
Arvydas Sabonis 7 7 1995-96 to 2002-03

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season
Don Buse Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1976-771995-96
Team Indiana PacersPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement Steals Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayTrail Blazers 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 %
Don Buse 81 36.4 8.0 0.8 2.5 3.3 8.5 3.5 0.2 - 1.6 3.3 7.9 .416 - - - 1.4 1.8 .786
Arvydas Sabonis 73 23.8 14.5 2.0 6.0 8.1 1.8 0.9 1.1 2.1 2.9 5.4 9.9 .545 0.5 1.4 .375 3.2 4.2 .757
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Buse ------- --- ----------
Arvydas Sabonis 5 35.4 23.6 2.4 7.8 10.2 1.8 0.8 0.6 2.0 3.4 7.0 16.2 .432 1.0 1.8 .556 8.6 12.0 .717

Season 2
Don Buse Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1977-781996-97
Team Phoenix SunsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf 1st RdTrail Blazers 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 %
Don Buse 82 31.1 8.4 0.7 2.3 3.0 4.8 2.3 0.2 1.5 1.8 3.5 7.6 .458 - - - 1.4 1.7 .824
Arvydas Sabonis 69 25.5 13.4 1.7 6.3 7.9 2.1 0.9 1.2 2.2 2.9 4.8 9.5 .498 0.7 1.9 .371 3.2 4.2 .777
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Buse 2 38.0 4.0 0.0 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.5 2.0 5.5 .364 - - - 0.0 0.0 -
Arvydas Sabonis 4 26.8 11.3 2.0 4.5 6.5 2.3 0.8 0.8 2.3 4.8 4.5 10.5 .429 0.5 2.0 .250 1.8 2.0 .875

Season 3
Don Buse Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1978-791997-98
Team Phoenix SunsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf FinalsTrail Blazers 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 %
Don Buse 82 31.0 7.8 0.5 2.1 2.6 4.3 1.9 0.2 1.2 1.8 3.5 7.0 .495 - - - 0.9 1.1 .769
Arvydas Sabonis 73 32.0 16.0 2.0 7.9 10.0 3.0 0.9 1.1 2.6 3.7 5.6 11.3 .493 0.4 1.6 .261 4.4 5.5 .798
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Buse 15 34.1 7.9 1.1 2.5 3.7 3.5 1.5 0.3 1.0 2.1 3.1 7.7 .405 - - - 1.6 2.2 .727
Arvydas Sabonis 4 26.8 12.3 1.8 6.0 7.8 1.5 1.8 0.8 2.5 4.8 4.5 10.0 .450 0.3 0.5 .500 3.0 3.5 .857

Season 4
Don Buse Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1979-801998-99
Team Phoenix SunsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf SemisTrail Blazers 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 %
Don Buse 81 30.9 7.7 0.9 2.0 2.9 4.0 1.6 0.1 1.1 1.4 3.2 7.3 .443 0.2 1.0 .241 1.0 1.6 .664
Arvydas Sabonis 50 27.0 12.1 1.8 6.1 7.9 2.4 0.7 1.3 1.7 2.9 4.6 9.6 .485 0.1 0.5 .292 2.7 3.5 .771
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Buse 8 29.5 8.5 1.0 1.6 2.6 5.5 0.8 0.0 1.6 1.9 3.5 8.0 .438 0.6 1.6 .385 0.9 1.4 .636
Arvydas Sabonis 13 30.1 10.0 0.9 7.8 8.8 2.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 2.7 3.5 8.7 .398 0.1 0.4 .200 3.0 3.3 .907

Season 5
Don Buse Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1980-811999-00
Team Indiana PacersPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Pacers Lost East Conf 1st RdTrail Blazers 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 %
Don Buse 58 18.9 5.1 0.3 1.1 1.4 2.4 1.3 0.1 0.7 1.1 2.0 4.9 .397 0.3 1.0 .328 0.9 1.1 .769
Arvydas Sabonis 66 25.6 11.8 1.5 6.3 7.8 1.8 0.7 1.2 1.5 2.8 4.6 9.1 .505 0.1 0.3 .368 2.5 3.0 .843
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Buse 2 17.5 2.5 0.0 2.5 2.5 3.5 1.5 0.0 1.0 2.0 0.5 4.0 .125 0.5 2.0 .250 1.0 1.0 1.000
Arvydas Sabonis 16 30.8 11.3 1.2 5.5 6.7 1.9 0.9 0.8 1.6 3.7 4.3 9.4 .453 0.4 1.3 .286 2.4 3.1 .796

Season 6
Don Buse Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1981-822000-01
Team Indiana PacersPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayTrail Blazers 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 %
Don Buse 82 30.8 9.7 0.6 2.2 2.7 5.0 2.0 0.3 1.2 2.1 3.8 8.4 .455 0.9 2.3 .386 1.2 1.5 .813
Arvydas Sabonis 61 21.3 10.1 0.8 4.6 5.4 1.5 0.7 1.0 1.4 2.2 4.0 8.5 .479 0.0 0.2 .067 2.0 2.6 .776
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Buse ------- --- ----------
Arvydas Sabonis 3 35.0 11.3 2.7 5.7 8.3 2.7 0.3 2.3 0.7 4.0 4.7 9.7 .483 0.0 0.7 .000 2.0 2.7 .750

Note: Arvydas Sabonis didn't play in 2001-02.

Season 7
Don Buse Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1982-832002-03
Team Portland Trail BlazersPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Trail Blazers Lost West Conf SemisTrail Blazers 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 %
Don Buse 41 15.7 4.7 0.5 0.9 1.3 2.8 1.1 0.0 0.6 1.5 1.8 4.4 .396 0.2 0.9 .257 1.0 1.1 .891
Arvydas Sabonis 78 15.5 6.1 1.1 3.2 4.3 1.8 0.8 0.6 1.0 1.8 2.2 4.6 .476 0.0 0.1 .500 1.7 2.1 .787
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Buse 5 6.2 1.4 0.0 0.4 0.4 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.4 0.4 1.6 .250 0.0 0.0 - 0.6 0.8 .750
Arvydas Sabonis 6 14.5 10.0 1.0 3.0 4.0 0.8 0.7 0.7 1.0 2.3 4.0 6.0 .667 0.0 0.0 - 2.0 2.5 .800

Season 8
Don Buse Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1983-84-
Team Kansas City Kings-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Kings 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 %
Don Buse 76 17.5 5.0 0.4 1.1 1.5 4.0 1.1 0.0 1.1 0.8 2.0 4.6 .426 0.2 0.8 .305 0.8 1.1 .788
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Buse 3 16.7 7.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 3.7 0.3 0.3 1.0 1.7 2.3 5.3 .438 1.0 2.0 .500 1.3 2.0 .667
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------

Season 9
Don Buse Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1984-85-
Team Kansas City Kings-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Buse 65 14.4 3.4 0.3 0.6 0.9 3.1 0.6 0.0 0.7 1.2 1.3 3.1 .404 0.5 1.3 .356 0.4 0.5 .767
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Buse ------- --- ----------
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
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