Donovan Mitchell vs. Bill Willoughby Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Willoughby and Donovan Mitchell, 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.

Donovan Mitchell played 7 years in the NBA, 1 less than Bill Willoughby, who played 8. Donovan Mitchell had the first of his seasons in 2017-18, while Bill Willoughby had his rookie season in 1975-76. 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
Donovan Mitchell 7 7 2017-18 to 2023-24
Bill Willoughby 8 3 1975-76 to 1983-84

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Donovan Mitchell Bill Willoughby
Season 2017-181975-76
Team Utah JazzAtlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 79 33.4 20.5 0.7 3.1 3.7 3.7 1.5 0.3 2.7 2.7 7.5 17.2 .437 2.4 7.0 .340 3.0 3.8 .805
Bill Willoughby 62 14.0 4.7 1.7 3.0 4.6 0.5 0.6 0.5 - 1.4 1.8 4.6 .398 - - - 1.1 1.6 .660
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 11 37.4 24.4 0.8 5.1 5.9 4.2 1.5 0.4 2.9 3.2 9.3 22.1 .420 2.3 7.3 .313 3.5 3.9 .907
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Donovan Mitchell Bill Willoughby
Season 2018-191976-77
Team Utah JazzAtlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 77 33.7 23.8 0.8 3.3 4.1 4.2 1.4 0.4 2.8 2.7 8.6 19.9 .432 2.4 6.7 .362 4.1 5.1 .806
Bill Willoughby 39 14.1 4.9 1.7 2.7 4.4 0.3 0.5 0.6 - 1.6 1.9 4.3 .444 - - - 1.1 1.6 .683
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 5 38.6 21.4 1.4 3.6 5.0 3.2 1.6 0.2 4.2 3.0 7.2 22.4 .321 2.2 8.6 .256 4.8 6.6 .727
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Season 3

Donovan Mitchell Bill Willoughby
Season 2019-201977-78
Team Utah JazzBuffalo Braves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 69 34.3 24.0 0.8 3.6 4.4 4.3 1.0 0.2 2.7 2.5 8.7 19.4 .449 2.5 6.9 .366 4.0 4.7 .863
Bill Willoughby 56 19.3 6.7 1.4 2.6 3.9 0.7 0.4 0.8 1.0 2.3 2.8 6.5 .430 - - - 1.1 1.4 .800
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 7 37.7 36.3 0.9 4.1 5.0 4.9 1.0 0.3 4.1 1.6 11.9 22.4 .529 4.7 9.1 .516 7.9 8.3 .948
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Note: Bill Willoughby didn't play in 1978-79.

Season 4

Donovan Mitchell Bill Willoughby
Season 2020-211979-80
Team Utah JazzCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 53 33.4 26.4 0.9 3.5 4.4 5.2 1.0 0.3 2.8 2.2 9.0 20.6 .438 3.4 8.7 .386 5.0 6.0 .845
Bill Willoughby 78 18.6 6.9 1.6 2.7 4.2 0.9 0.4 0.8 0.9 2.4 2.8 5.9 .479 0.0 0.1 .111 1.2 1.6 .756
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 10 34.6 32.3 0.3 3.9 4.2 5.5 1.1 0.2 2.8 2.0 10.5 23.5 .447 5.0 11.5 .435 6.3 7.6 .829
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Season 5

Donovan Mitchell Bill Willoughby
Season 2021-221980-81
Team Utah JazzHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf 1st RdRockets Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 67 33.8 25.9 0.8 3.4 4.2 5.3 1.5 0.2 3.0 2.4 9.2 20.5 .448 3.5 9.8 .355 4.0 4.7 .853
Bill Willoughby 55 20.8 6.3 1.3 2.8 4.1 1.2 0.3 0.6 1.3 1.9 2.7 5.2 .523 0.0 0.0 - 0.9 1.2 .766
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 6 38.2 25.5 1.0 3.3 4.3 5.7 0.7 0.5 2.7 2.3 8.8 22.2 .398 1.7 8.0 .208 6.2 7.0 .881
Bill Willoughby 19 21.9 6.0 1.5 3.0 4.5 1.2 0.7 1.0 1.2 2.2 2.2 6.1 .362 0.0 0.1 .000 1.6 2.1 .750

Season 6

Donovan Mitchell Bill Willoughby
Season 2022-231981-82
Team Cleveland CavaliersHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st RdRockets 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 %
Donovan Mitchell 68 35.8 28.3 0.9 3.3 4.3 4.4 1.5 0.4 2.6 2.5 10.0 20.6 .484 3.6 9.3 .386 4.7 5.4 .867
Bill Willoughby 69 21.4 7.8 1.6 2.3 3.8 1.1 0.4 0.9 1.1 2.1 3.5 6.7 .517 0.0 0.1 .429 0.8 1.1 .727
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 5 41.4 23.2 0.6 4.4 5.0 7.2 2.0 0.6 3.8 2.8 9.0 20.8 .433 2.6 9.0 .289 2.6 3.6 .722
Bill Willoughby 2 8.5 2.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 1.0 .500 0.0 0.0 - 1.0 1.0 1.000

Season 7

Donovan Mitchell Bill Willoughby
Season 2023-241982-83
Team Cleveland CavaliersSan Antonio Spurs, New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 55 35.3 26.6 0.8 4.3 5.1 6.1 1.8 0.5 2.8 2.1 9.1 19.8 .462 3.3 9.0 .368 5.0 5.8 .865
Bill Willoughby 62 18.5 5.5 1.0 2.2 3.2 1.0 0.4 0.3 1.0 2.2 2.4 5.2 .454 0.1 0.2 .429 0.7 0.9 .782
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell 10 38.2 29.6 0.6 4.8 5.4 4.7 1.3 0.3 2.8 2.9 10.7 22.5 .476 2.9 8.2 .354 5.3 6.5 .815
Bill Willoughby ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Donovan Mitchell Bill Willoughby
Season -1983-84
Team -New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Nets Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell ------- --- ----------
Bill Willoughby 67 14.0 4.5 1.1 1.8 2.9 0.8 0.3 0.4 0.8 1.6 1.9 3.9 .481 0.0 0.1 .000 0.8 0.9 .873
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell ------- --- ----------
Bill Willoughby 3 4.3 0.7 1.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.3 1.0 .333 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -