James Donaldson vs. Nikola Jokic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Jokic and James Donaldson, 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.

James Donaldson played 14 years in the NBA, 5 more than Nikola Jokic, who played 9. James Donaldson had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, while Nikola Jokic had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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
James Donaldson	14	9	1980-81 to 1994-95
Nikola Jokic	9	6	2015-16 to 2023-24

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


Rookie Season
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1980-81	2015-16
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
James Donaldson	68	14.4	5.3	1.6	3.0	4.5	0.6	0.1	1.1	1.0	1.2	1.9	3.5	.542	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	2.5	.594
Nikola Jokic	80	21.7	10.0	2.3	4.7	7.0	2.4	1.0	0.6	1.3	2.6	3.8	7.5	.512	0.4	1.1	.333	1.9	2.4	.811

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1981-82	2016-17
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Denver Nuggets
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		%
James Donaldson	82	20.9	8.1	1.7	4.3	6.0	0.6	0.3	1.7	1.4	2.3	3.1	5.1	.609	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.9	.629
Nikola Jokic	73	27.9	16.7	2.9	6.9	9.8	4.9	0.8	0.8	2.3	2.9	6.8	11.7	.578	0.6	1.9	.324	2.6	3.1	.825

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	8	23.6	6.8	3.1	6.1	9.3	0.9	0.3	0.6	1.3	2.0	2.3	5.4	.419	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.0	.750
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1982-83	2017-18
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
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		%
James Donaldson	82	21.8	8.9	1.6	4.5	6.1	1.2	0.2	1.2	1.6	2.1	3.5	6.0	.583	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.7	.688
Nikola Jokic	75	32.6	18.5	2.6	8.1	10.7	6.1	1.2	0.8	2.8	2.8	6.7	13.5	.499	1.5	3.7	.396	3.5	4.2	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	2	23.5	12.0	2.5	6.0	8.5	1.0	0.0	1.5	0.0	2.0	5.5	11.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.5	.667
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1983-84	2018-19
Team	San Diego Clippers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
James Donaldson	82	30.8	11.8	2.0	5.9	7.9	1.1	0.5	1.7	2.1	2.6	4.4	7.4	.596	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.0	.761
Nikola Jokic	80	31.3	20.1	2.9	8.0	10.8	7.3	1.4	0.7	3.1	2.9	7.7	15.1	.511	1.0	3.4	.307	3.6	4.4	.821

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	14	39.8	25.1	3.9	9.1	13.0	8.4	1.1	0.9	2.6	3.9	9.4	18.6	.506	1.6	4.0	.393	4.7	5.6	.846


Season 5
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1984-85	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets Lost West Conf 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		%
James Donaldson	82	29.2	11.3	2.0	6.1	8.1	0.6	0.3	1.6	2.5	2.6	4.3	6.7	.637	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	3.7	.749
Nikola Jokic	73	32.0	19.9	2.3	7.5	9.7	7.0	1.2	0.6	3.1	3.0	7.7	14.7	.528	1.1	3.5	.314	3.4	4.1	.817

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	19	36.5	24.4	1.9	7.9	9.8	5.7	1.1	0.8	3.3	3.6	9.4	18.1	.519	2.2	5.2	.429	3.5	4.2	.835


Season 6
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1985-86	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
James Donaldson	83	32.3	8.6	2.1	7.5	9.6	1.2	0.3	1.7	1.5	2.3	3.1	5.5	.558	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	3.1	.803
Nikola Jokic	72	34.6	26.4	2.8	8.0	10.8	8.3	1.3	0.7	3.1	2.7	10.2	18.0	.566	1.3	3.3	.388	4.8	5.5	.868

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	10	41.0	10.9	3.0	8.7	11.7	1.0	0.6	1.2	1.0	2.6	3.6	4.8	.750	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.0	.925
Nikola Jokic	10	34.5	29.8	3.7	7.9	11.6	5.0	0.6	0.9	2.4	2.3	11.6	22.8	.509	2.0	5.3	.377	4.6	5.5	.836


Season 7
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1986-87	2021-22
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	82	36.9	10.8	3.6	8.3	11.9	0.8	0.6	1.7	1.3	2.3	3.8	6.5	.586	0.0	0.0	-	3.3	4.0	.812
Nikola Jokic	74	33.5	27.1	2.8	11.0	13.8	7.9	1.5	0.9	3.8	2.6	10.3	17.7	.583	1.3	3.9	.337	5.1	6.3	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	3	22.7	5.3	0.7	5.0	5.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	0.7	2.0	1.3	1.7	.800	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	3.0	.889
Nikola Jokic	5	34.2	31.0	3.4	9.8	13.2	5.8	1.6	1.0	4.8	4.0	12.2	21.2	.575	1.0	3.6	.278	5.6	6.6	.848


Season 8
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1987-88	2022-23
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	81	31.1	7.0	3.0	6.3	9.3	0.8	0.5	1.3	1.4	2.2	2.6	4.7	.558	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.3	.778
Nikola Jokic	69	33.7	24.5	2.4	9.4	11.8	9.8	1.3	0.7	3.6	2.5	9.4	14.8	.632	0.8	2.2	.383	4.9	6.0	.822

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	17	29.4	9.3	2.8	5.8	8.6	0.7	0.4	0.9	1.7	2.4	4.0	6.1	.654	0.0	0.0	-	1.3	2.2	.595
Nikola Jokic	20	39.5	30.0	3.5	10.0	13.5	9.5	1.1	1.0	3.5	3.5	11.4	20.7	.548	1.8	3.8	.461	5.6	7.0	.799


Season 9
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1988-89	2023-24
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets TBD

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	53	32.9	9.1	3.0	7.8	10.8	0.7	0.5	1.5	1.6	2.1	3.6	6.4	.573	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.3	.766
Nikola Jokic	79	34.6	26.4	2.8	9.5	12.4	9.0	1.4	0.9	3.0	2.5	10.4	17.9	.583	1.1	2.9	.359	4.5	5.5	.817

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	11	39.5	28.2	3.4	9.5	12.9	8.8	1.5	0.6	3.4	2.7	10.9	19.6	.556	1.1	3.9	.279	5.3	5.8	.906


Season 10
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1989-90	-
Team	Dallas Mavericks	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	-

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	73	31.0	9.1	2.1	6.5	8.6	0.8	0.3	0.6	1.6	1.8	3.5	6.6	.539	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.9	.700
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	3	24.7	7.3	2.0	3.3	5.3	0.7	0.7	0.0	1.3	2.7	3.0	4.3	.692	0.0	0.0	-	1.3	1.7	.800
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1990-91	-
Team	Dallas Mavericks	-
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		%
James Donaldson	82	34.1	10.0	2.5	6.4	8.9	0.8	0.4	1.1	1.8	2.2	4.0	7.5	.532	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.8	.721
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1991-92	-
Team	Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
James Donaldson	58	18.5	4.9	1.7	3.3	5.0	0.6	0.1	0.8	0.8	1.8	1.9	4.2	.457	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	1.5	.709
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	2	5.5	2.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1992-93	-
Team	Utah Jazz	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
James Donaldson	6	15.7	3.5	1.0	3.8	4.8	0.2	0.2	1.2	0.7	2.2	1.3	2.3	.571	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.5	.556
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	1	5.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: James Donaldson didn't play in 1993-94.


Season 14
	James Donaldson	Nikola Jokic
Season	1994-95	-
Team	Utah Jazz	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
James Donaldson	43	14.3	2.6	0.4	2.0	2.5	0.3	0.1	0.7	0.5	1.5	1.0	1.7	.595	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.7	.710
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Donaldson	5	15.2	2.8	0.6	1.2	1.8	0.0	0.0	0.6	0.4	1.6	1.0	1.2	.833	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	0.8	1.000
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

James Donaldson vs. Nikola Jokic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Jokic and James Donaldson, 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