Greg Ballard vs. Joel Embiid Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joel Embiid and Greg Ballard, 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.

Greg Ballard played 11 years in the NBA, 3 more than Joel Embiid, who played 8. Greg Ballard had the first of his seasons in 1977-78, while Joel Embiid had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
Greg Ballard 11 7 1977-78 to 1988-89
Joel Embiid 8 7 2016-17 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Greg Ballard Joel Embiid
Season 1977-782016-17
Team Washington BulletsPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
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 %
Greg Ballard 76 12.3 4.9 1.3 2.2 3.5 0.8 0.4 0.2 0.8 1.2 1.9 4.4 .425 - - - 1.2 1.5 .772
Joel Embiid 31 25.4 20.2 2.0 5.9 7.8 2.1 0.9 2.5 3.8 3.6 6.5 13.8 .466 1.2 3.2 .367 6.2 7.9 .783
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Greg Ballard 19 12.8 3.9 1.4 2.7 4.2 0.9 0.5 0.2 0.7 1.5 1.1 3.3 .333 - - - 1.7 2.2 .780
Joel Embiid ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Greg Ballard Joel Embiid
Season 1978-792017-18
Team Washington BulletsPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bullets Lost NBA Finals76ers 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 %
Greg Ballard 82 18.9 7.8 1.7 3.7 5.5 1.4 0.7 0.4 1.2 2.0 3.2 6.8 .465 - - - 1.5 2.1 .692
Joel Embiid 63 30.3 22.9 2.3 8.7 11.0 3.2 0.6 1.8 3.7 3.3 8.1 16.8 .483 1.0 3.4 .308 5.7 7.4 .769
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Greg Ballard 19 16.4 7.2 1.8 3.1 4.8 0.9 0.5 0.3 1.1 1.5 2.8 5.3 .525 - - - 1.6 2.2 .756
Joel Embiid 8 34.8 21.4 2.9 9.8 12.6 3.0 0.9 1.8 3.6 3.9 7.5 17.3 .435 1.0 3.6 .276 5.4 7.6 .705

Season 3

Greg Ballard Joel Embiid
Season 1979-802018-19
Team Washington BulletsPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd76ers 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 %
Greg Ballard 82 29.7 15.6 2.9 4.9 7.8 1.9 1.1 0.4 1.6 2.4 6.6 13.4 .495 0.2 0.6 .340 2.1 2.8 .753
Joel Embiid 64 33.7 27.5 2.5 11.1 13.6 3.7 0.7 1.9 3.5 3.3 9.1 18.7 .484 1.2 4.1 .300 8.2 10.1 .804
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Greg Ballard 2 36.5 11.0 1.0 6.0 7.0 3.5 0.5 0.5 4.0 4.0 4.5 14.0 .321 0.0 0.0 - 2.0 3.5 .571
Joel Embiid 11 30.4 20.2 1.9 8.5 10.5 3.4 0.7 2.3 3.6 3.1 6.2 14.5 .428 1.1 3.5 .308 6.7 8.2 .822

Season 4

Greg Ballard Joel Embiid
Season 1980-812019-20
Team Washington BulletsPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not Play76ers 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 %
Greg Ballard 82 31.8 15.5 2.0 5.0 7.1 2.4 1.4 0.5 1.4 2.4 6.7 14.5 .463 0.1 0.4 .219 2.0 2.4 .847
Joel Embiid 51 29.5 23.0 2.8 8.9 11.6 3.0 0.9 1.3 3.1 3.4 7.5 15.7 .477 1.1 3.4 .331 6.9 8.5 .807
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Greg Ballard ------- --- ----------
Joel Embiid 4 36.3 30.0 2.8 9.5 12.3 1.3 1.5 1.3 3.8 4.5 8.5 18.5 .459 1.0 4.0 .250 12.0 14.8 .814

Season 5

Greg Ballard Joel Embiid
Season 1981-822020-21
Team Washington BulletsPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bullets Lost East Conf Semis76ers 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 %
Greg Ballard 79 37.3 18.8 1.7 6.3 8.0 3.2 1.7 0.3 1.5 2.6 7.9 16.5 .475 0.1 0.3 .409 3.0 3.6 .830
Joel Embiid 51 31.1 28.5 2.2 8.4 10.6 2.8 1.0 1.4 3.1 2.4 9.0 17.6 .513 1.1 3.0 .377 9.2 10.7 .859
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Greg Ballard 7 38.3 13.3 3.1 5.9 9.0 3.1 2.0 0.4 1.7 2.9 5.1 14.3 .360 0.0 0.0 - 3.0 3.6 .840
Joel Embiid 11 32.5 28.1 1.5 9.1 10.5 3.4 1.0 1.5 3.8 3.0 9.2 17.9 .513 1.5 3.7 .390 8.3 9.9 .835

Season 6

Greg Ballard Joel Embiid
Season 1982-832021-22
Team Washington BulletsPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not Play76ers 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 %
Greg Ballard 78 36.4 18.0 1.6 4.9 6.5 3.4 1.7 0.3 2.0 2.3 7.7 16.3 .473 0.2 0.5 .351 2.3 3.0 .781
Joel Embiid 68 33.8 30.6 2.1 9.6 11.7 4.2 1.1 1.5 3.1 2.7 9.8 19.6 .499 1.4 3.7 .371 9.6 11.8 .814
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Greg Ballard ------- --- ----------
Joel Embiid 10 38.5 23.6 2.1 8.6 10.7 2.1 0.4 0.8 3.2 3.4 7.8 16.1 .484 0.7 3.3 .212 7.3 8.9 .820

Season 7

Greg Ballard Joel Embiid
Season 1983-842022-23
Team Washington BulletsPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement Season MVP
-Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd76ers 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 %
Greg Ballard 82 32.9 14.5 1.7 4.2 6.0 3.5 1.1 0.4 1.7 2.6 6.2 12.9 .481 0.0 0.2 .133 2.0 2.5 .798
Joel Embiid 66 34.6 33.1 1.7 8.4 10.2 4.2 1.0 1.7 3.4 3.1 11.0 20.1 .548 1.0 3.0 .330 10.0 11.7 .857
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Greg Ballard 4 42.0 16.5 1.8 4.3 6.0 3.5 1.8 0.8 2.0 3.0 6.8 14.8 .458 0.0 0.3 .000 3.0 3.3 .923
Joel Embiid 9 37.3 23.7 1.8 8.0 9.8 2.7 0.7 2.8 3.9 3.0 7.3 17.0 .431 0.6 3.1 .179 8.4 9.3 .905

Season 8

Greg Ballard Joel Embiid
Season 1984-852023-24
Team Washington BulletsPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bullets Lost East Conf 1st Rd76ers 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 %
Greg Ballard 82 32.5 13.1 1.8 4.6 6.5 2.5 1.2 0.4 1.3 2.7 5.7 11.9 .480 0.2 0.6 .304 1.5 1.8 .795
Joel Embiid 39 33.6 34.7 2.4 8.6 11.0 5.6 1.2 1.7 3.8 2.9 11.5 21.8 .529 1.4 3.6 .388 10.2 11.6 .883
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Greg Ballard 4 16.3 7.5 1.0 2.5 3.5 1.5 0.8 0.0 1.3 1.8 2.8 6.0 .458 0.0 0.5 .000 2.0 2.3 .889
Joel Embiid 6 41.3 33.0 3.2 7.7 10.8 5.7 1.2 1.5 4.2 3.3 9.8 22.2 .444 2.2 6.5 .333 11.2 13.0 .859

Season 9

Greg Ballard Joel Embiid
Season 1985-86-
Team Golden State Warriors-
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 %
Greg Ballard 75 23.9 8.8 1.8 3.8 5.6 1.1 0.9 0.1 0.7 2.3 3.6 7.6 .477 0.2 0.5 .486 1.3 1.7 .802
Joel Embiid ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Greg Ballard ------- --- ----------
Joel Embiid ------- --- ----------

Season 10

Greg Ballard Joel Embiid
Season 1986-87-
Team Golden State Warriors-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Warriors 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 %
Greg Ballard 82 19.3 7.1 1.2 2.9 4.1 1.3 0.6 0.2 0.9 2.0 3.0 6.9 .440 0.2 0.5 .375 0.8 1.1 .747
Joel Embiid ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Greg Ballard 10 17.9 5.9 1.8 2.2 4.0 1.9 0.8 0.0 0.9 1.6 2.6 4.8 .542 0.4 1.0 .400 0.3 0.4 .750
Joel Embiid ------- --- ----------

Note: Greg Ballard didn't play in 1987-88.

Season 11

Greg Ballard Joel Embiid
Season 1988-89-
Team Seattle Supersonics-
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 %
Greg Ballard 2 7.5 3.0 1.0 2.5 3.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.5 0.5 4.0 .125 0.0 0.5 .000 2.0 2.0 1.000
Joel Embiid ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Greg Ballard ------- --- ----------
Joel Embiid ------- --- ----------