Gary Payton vs. Ricky Sobers Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Sobers and Gary Payton, 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.

Gary Payton played 17 years in the NBA, 6 more than Ricky Sobers, who played 11. Gary Payton had the first of his seasons in 1990-91, while Ricky Sobers 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
Gary Payton	17	15	1990-91 to 2006-07
Ricky Sobers	11	3	1975-76 to 1985-86

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17


Rookie Season
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	1990-91	1975-76
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Suns 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		%
Gary Payton	82	27.4	7.2	1.3	1.6	3.0	6.4	2.0	0.2	2.2	3.0	3.2	7.0	.450	0.0	0.2	.077	0.8	1.2	.711
Ricky Sobers	78	24.3	9.2	1.0	2.3	3.3	2.8	1.4	0.1	-	3.2	3.6	8.0	.449	-	-	-	2.0	2.5	.823

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	5	27.0	4.8	1.0	1.6	2.6	6.4	1.6	0.2	1.8	3.2	2.2	5.4	.407	0.0	0.2	.000	0.4	0.4	1.000
Ricky Sobers	19	29.6	13.0	1.1	2.3	3.3	4.2	0.9	0.3	-	4.1	5.1	10.8	.468	-	-	-	2.9	3.5	.833


Season 2
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	1991-92	1976-77
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Gary Payton	81	31.5	9.4	1.5	2.1	3.6	6.2	1.8	0.3	2.1	3.1	4.1	9.1	.451	0.0	0.3	.130	1.2	1.8	.669
Ricky Sobers	79	25.4	13.6	1.0	1.9	3.0	3.0	1.2	0.2	-	3.3	5.2	10.6	.496	-	-	-	3.1	3.7	.841

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	8	27.6	7.6	0.8	1.9	2.6	4.8	1.0	0.3	1.3	3.3	3.4	7.3	.466	0.0	0.3	.000	0.9	1.5	.583
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	1992-93	1977-78
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Gary Payton	82	31.1	13.5	1.2	2.3	3.4	4.9	2.2	0.3	1.8	3.0	5.8	11.7	.494	0.1	0.4	.206	1.8	2.4	.770
Ricky Sobers	79	38.2	18.2	1.2	3.0	4.1	7.4	2.2	0.3	4.5	3.9	7.0	15.5	.453	-	-	-	4.2	5.1	.825

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	19	31.8	12.3	1.2	2.2	3.3	3.7	1.8	0.2	1.8	3.4	5.5	12.4	.443	0.1	0.3	.167	1.3	1.9	.676
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	1993-94	1978-79
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	35.1	16.5	1.3	2.0	3.3	6.0	2.3	0.2	2.1	2.8	7.1	14.1	.504	0.2	0.7	.278	2.0	3.4	.595
Ricky Sobers	81	34.9	17.3	1.5	2.3	3.7	5.6	1.7	0.3	3.8	3.9	6.8	14.7	.463	-	-	-	3.7	4.2	.882

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	5	36.2	15.8	1.2	2.2	3.4	5.6	1.6	0.4	1.6	3.0	6.8	13.8	.493	0.6	1.8	.333	1.6	3.8	.421
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	1994-95	1979-80
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Gary Payton	82	36.8	20.6	1.3	2.1	3.4	7.1	2.5	0.2	2.5	2.5	8.4	16.4	.509	0.9	2.8	.302	3.0	4.2	.716
Ricky Sobers	82	32.6	14.2	0.9	2.0	3.0	5.2	1.7	0.2	3.4	3.6	5.7	12.2	.469	0.3	0.8	.309	2.4	2.9	.837

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	4	43.0	17.8	1.5	1.0	2.5	5.3	1.3	0.0	2.0	3.3	8.0	16.8	.478	0.5	2.5	.200	1.3	3.0	.417
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	1995-96	1980-81
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost NBA Finals	Bulls 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		%
Gary Payton	81	39.0	19.3	1.3	2.9	4.2	7.5	2.9	0.2	3.2	2.7	7.6	15.8	.484	1.2	3.7	.328	2.8	3.8	.748
Ricky Sobers	71	25.4	13.5	0.6	1.4	2.0	4.0	1.4	0.2	2.9	3.2	5.0	10.8	.462	0.2	0.9	.258	3.3	3.5	.935

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	21	43.4	20.7	0.9	4.2	5.1	6.8	1.8	0.3	3.0	3.3	7.7	15.9	.485	2.0	4.8	.410	3.3	5.2	.633
Ricky Sobers	6	27.0	13.2	0.5	1.3	1.8	3.7	0.7	0.0	2.5	4.3	5.8	13.5	.432	0.2	1.0	.167	1.3	1.5	.889


Season 7
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	1996-97	1981-82
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	39.2	21.8	1.3	3.3	4.6	7.1	2.4	0.2	2.6	2.5	8.6	18.1	.476	1.5	4.6	.313	3.1	4.3	.715
Ricky Sobers	80	24.2	11.8	0.5	1.3	1.8	3.8	0.9	0.2	2.7	3.0	4.5	10.0	.453	0.2	1.0	.250	2.4	3.2	.768

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	12	45.6	23.8	1.7	3.8	5.4	8.7	2.2	0.3	2.9	2.2	8.8	21.3	.412	2.1	6.3	.333	4.2	5.1	.820
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	1997-98	1982-83
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	38.4	19.2	0.9	3.6	4.6	8.3	2.3	0.2	2.8	2.4	7.1	15.6	.453	1.6	4.8	.338	3.4	4.6	.744
Ricky Sobers	41	35.1	15.7	0.9	1.6	2.5	5.3	1.5	0.3	3.6	3.9	5.7	13.0	.438	0.6	1.3	.418	3.8	4.5	.832

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	10	42.7	24.0	0.9	2.5	3.4	7.0	1.8	0.1	2.6	3.1	8.7	18.3	.475	1.9	5.0	.380	4.7	5.0	.940
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	1998-99	1983-84
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bullets 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		%
Gary Payton	50	40.2	21.7	1.2	3.6	4.9	8.7	2.2	0.2	3.1	2.3	8.0	18.5	.434	1.7	5.6	.295	4.0	5.5	.721
Ricky Sobers	81	32.4	15.6	0.6	1.6	2.2	4.7	1.4	0.2	2.7	3.4	6.3	13.8	.456	0.4	1.4	.261	2.7	3.3	.837

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ricky Sobers	4	37.5	15.3	0.5	0.8	1.3	4.0	1.3	0.5	2.3	4.8	6.3	14.3	.439	0.8	2.5	.300	2.0	2.5	.800


Season 10
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	1999-00	1984-85
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	41.8	24.2	1.2	5.2	6.5	8.9	1.9	0.2	2.7	2.2	9.1	20.3	.448	2.2	6.3	.340	3.8	5.2	.735
Ricky Sobers	71	21.0	9.9	0.4	1.1	1.5	3.5	0.7	0.1	2.2	2.2	3.9	8.8	.446	0.1	0.4	.286	1.9	2.3	.815

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	5	44.2	25.8	1.6	6.0	7.6	7.4	1.8	0.2	3.6	3.2	10.0	22.6	.442	1.8	4.6	.391	4.0	5.2	.769
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	2000-01	1985-86
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	79	41.1	23.1	0.9	3.6	4.6	8.1	1.6	0.3	2.6	2.3	9.2	20.1	.456	1.3	3.4	.375	3.4	4.5	.766
Ricky Sobers	78	16.4	7.7	0.4	0.9	1.3	2.3	0.6	0.0	1.1	1.8	3.1	6.9	.444	0.2	0.6	.302	1.4	1.6	.880

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	2001-02	-
Team	Seattle Supersonics	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics 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		%
Gary Payton	82	40.3	22.1	1.0	3.9	4.8	9.0	1.6	0.3	2.5	2.2	9.0	19.2	.467	0.9	2.9	.314	3.3	4.1	.797
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	5	41.2	22.2	2.0	6.6	8.6	5.8	0.6	0.4	2.6	2.4	9.0	21.2	.425	0.8	3.0	.267	3.4	5.8	.586
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	2002-03	-
Team	Seattle Supersonics, Milwaukee Bucks	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bucks 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		%
Gary Payton	80	40.1	20.4	1.0	3.2	4.2	8.3	1.7	0.3	2.3	2.3	8.3	18.3	.454	0.7	2.3	.297	3.1	4.4	.710
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	6	41.8	18.5	0.7	2.3	3.0	8.7	1.3	0.2	2.2	3.0	8.0	18.7	.429	0.2	2.5	.067	2.3	3.3	.700
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	2003-04	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	34.5	14.6	0.9	3.3	4.2	5.5	1.2	0.2	1.8	2.1	5.9	12.5	.471	0.7	2.0	.333	2.2	3.1	.714
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	22	35.0	7.8	0.9	2.4	3.3	5.3	1.0	0.2	1.3	2.7	3.1	8.5	.366	0.6	2.5	.250	1.0	1.3	.750
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	2004-05	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics 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		%
Gary Payton	77	33.0	11.3	0.6	2.4	3.1	6.1	1.1	0.2	1.9	1.6	4.4	9.4	.468	0.5	1.7	.326	2.0	2.6	.761
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	7	34.1	10.3	1.1	3.0	4.1	4.6	0.9	0.1	1.6	1.4	4.7	10.6	.446	0.1	2.0	.071	0.7	0.9	.833
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	2005-06	-
Team	Miami Heat	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	81	28.5	7.7	0.4	2.5	2.9	3.2	0.9	0.1	1.3	2.1	2.8	6.8	.420	0.8	2.8	.287	1.2	1.6	.794
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	23	24.3	5.8	0.3	1.5	1.7	1.6	1.0	0.1	0.8	2.4	2.1	5.0	.422	0.7	2.5	.293	0.8	1.1	.720
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 17
	Gary Payton	Ricky Sobers
Season	2006-07	-
Team	Miami Heat	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Heat 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		%
Gary Payton	68	22.1	5.3	0.3	1.7	1.9	3.0	0.6	0.0	1.0	1.7	2.1	5.4	.393	0.5	1.8	.260	0.6	0.8	.667
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	2	16.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	1.5	0.0	0.0	2.0	1.5	0.0	1.5	.000	0.0	0.5	.000	0.0	0.0	-
Ricky Sobers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Gary Payton vs. Ricky Sobers Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Sobers and Gary Payton, 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

Season 17