Donovan Mitchell vs. Jeff Ruland Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jeff Ruland 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 Jeff Ruland, who played 8. Donovan Mitchell had the first of his seasons in 2017-18, while Jeff Ruland had his rookie season in 1981-82. 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
Jeff Ruland 8 4 1981-82 to 1992-93

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Donovan Mitchell Jeff Ruland
Season 2017-181981-82
Team Utah JazzWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf SemisBullets 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 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
Jeff Ruland 82 27.0 14.4 3.1 6.2 9.3 1.6 0.5 0.7 2.9 3.9 5.1 9.1 .561 0.0 0.0 .333 4.2 5.5 .752
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
Jeff Ruland 7 33.9 17.0 4.1 5.3 9.4 0.7 0.4 0.6 3.3 3.4 5.4 11.3 .481 0.0 0.1 .000 6.1 8.0 .768

Season 2

Donovan Mitchell Jeff Ruland
Season 2018-191982-83
Team Utah JazzWashington Bullets
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
Jeff Ruland 79 36.2 19.4 3.7 7.3 11.0 3.0 0.9 1.0 3.8 3.9 7.3 13.3 .552 0.0 0.0 .333 4.7 6.9 .689
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
Jeff Ruland ------- --- ----------

Season 3

Donovan Mitchell Jeff Ruland
Season 2019-201983-84
Team Utah JazzWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf 1st RdBullets Lost East 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 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
Jeff Ruland 75 41.1 22.2 3.5 8.8 12.3 3.9 0.9 1.0 4.6 3.8 8.0 13.8 .579 0.0 0.1 .143 6.2 8.5 .733
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
Jeff Ruland 4 46.8 24.0 4.0 8.8 12.8 7.8 0.5 0.8 4.8 3.8 9.3 17.8 .521 0.0 0.3 .000 5.5 6.8 .815

Season 4

Donovan Mitchell Jeff Ruland
Season 2020-211984-85
Team Utah JazzWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf SemisBullets Lost East 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 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
Jeff Ruland 37 38.8 18.9 3.4 7.6 11.1 4.4 0.8 0.7 4.8 3.5 6.8 11.9 .569 0.0 0.1 .000 5.4 7.9 .685
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
Jeff Ruland 4 40.5 17.5 3.0 5.5 8.5 5.3 2.3 1.0 5.8 3.8 7.0 11.8 .596 0.0 0.5 .000 3.5 5.0 .700

Season 5

Donovan Mitchell Jeff Ruland
Season 2021-221985-86
Team Utah JazzWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf 1st RdBullets Lost East 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 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
Jeff Ruland 30 37.1 19.0 3.6 7.1 10.7 5.3 0.8 0.8 4.0 3.3 7.1 12.8 .554 0.0 0.1 .000 4.8 6.7 .725
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
Jeff Ruland 2 27.0 14.0 2.5 3.5 6.0 5.0 0.0 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.5 7.0 .500 0.0 0.0 - 7.0 8.5 .824

Season 6

Donovan Mitchell Jeff Ruland
Season 2022-231986-87
Team Cleveland CavaliersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East 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 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
Jeff Ruland 5 23.2 9.4 2.4 3.2 5.6 2.0 0.0 0.8 2.0 2.6 3.8 5.6 .679 0.0 0.0 - 1.8 2.4 .750
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
Jeff Ruland ------- --- ----------

Note: Jeff Ruland didn't play in 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91.

Season 7

Donovan Mitchell Jeff Ruland
Season 2023-241991-92
Team Cleveland CavaliersPhiladelphia 76ers
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
Jeff Ruland 13 16.1 3.9 1.2 2.4 3.6 0.4 0.5 0.3 1.5 3.5 1.5 2.9 .526 0.0 0.0 - 0.8 1.2 .688
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
Jeff Ruland ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Donovan Mitchell Jeff Ruland
Season -1992-93
Team -Detroit Pistons
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 %
Donovan Mitchell ------- --- ----------
Jeff Ruland 11 5.0 1.1 0.8 0.8 1.6 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.5 1.5 0.5 1.0 .455 0.0 0.0 - 0.2 0.4 .500
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Donovan Mitchell ------- --- ----------
Jeff Ruland ------- --- ----------