Joe Johnson vs. Norm Van Lier Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Norm Van Lier and Joe Johnson, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

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.

Joe Johnson played 18 years in the NBA, 8 more than Norm Van Lier, who played 10. Joe Johnson had the first of his seasons in 2001-02, while Norm Van Lier had his rookie season in 1969-70. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18
Rookie Season
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2001-02	1969-70
Team	Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second 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		%
Joe Johnson	77	24.9	7.5	1.0	2.4	3.3	2.3	0.8	0.3	0.9	1.5	3.3	7.6	.430	0.5	1.7	.292	0.5	0.7	.774
Norm Van Lier	81	35.7	9.5	-	-	5.0	6.2	-	-	-	4.1	3.7	9.2	.403	-	-	-	2.0	2.8	.741
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2002-03	1970-71
Team	Phoenix Suns	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Assists Leader
Playoffs	Suns 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		%
Joe Johnson	82	27.5	9.8	0.7	2.5	3.2	2.6	0.8	0.2	1.3	1.7	3.9	9.7	.397	0.9	2.5	.366	1.2	1.5	.774
Norm Van Lier	82	40.5	16.0	-	-	7.1	10.1	-	-	-	4.2	5.8	13.9	.420	-	-	-	4.4	5.4	.816
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	6	27.3	5.3	1.0	3.3	4.3	1.3	0.7	0.3	2.0	2.5	2.3	8.5	.275	0.3	2.2	.154	0.3	0.8	.400
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2003-04	1971-72
Team	Phoenix Suns	Cincinnati Royals, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls 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		%
Joe Johnson	82	40.6	16.7	1.0	3.7	4.7	4.4	1.1	0.3	2.4	2.2	6.8	15.7	.430	1.0	3.3	.305	2.1	2.8	.750
Norm Van Lier	79	30.6	11.5	-	-	4.5	6.9	-	-	-	3.0	4.2	9.6	.439	-	-	-	3.0	3.8	.790
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Norm Van Lier	4	36.0	14.0	-	-	6.3	8.3	-	-	-	3.8	5.5	13.3	.415	-	-	-	3.0	3.5	.857

Season 4
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2004-05	1972-73
Team	Phoenix Suns	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	Bulls 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		%
Joe Johnson	82	39.5	17.1	1.5	3.7	5.1	3.5	1.0	0.3	1.8	2.0	6.6	14.4	.461	2.2	4.5	.478	1.6	2.2	.750
Norm Van Lier	80	36.0	13.9	-	-	5.5	7.1	-	-	-	3.4	5.9	13.3	.445	-	-	-	2.1	2.6	.787
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	9	39.3	18.8	0.8	3.6	4.3	3.3	1.1	0.4	1.1	2.0	7.0	13.9	.504	2.2	4.0	.556	2.6	3.7	.697
Norm Van Lier	7	36.9	14.4	-	-	5.3	5.1	-	-	-	4.6	6.4	18.4	.349	-	-	-	1.6	2.1	.733

Season 5
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2005-06	1973-74
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls 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		%
Joe Johnson	82	40.7	20.2	1.2	2.9	4.1	6.5	1.3	0.4	3.3	2.3	7.7	17.0	.453	1.6	4.4	.356	3.2	4.0	.791
Norm Van Lier	80	35.8	14.3	1.4	3.3	4.7	6.9	2.0	0.1	-	3.5	5.3	13.1	.406	-	-	-	3.6	4.6	.778
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Norm Van Lier	11	42.4	14.6	1.0	3.3	4.3	6.8	1.5	0.3	-	3.7	5.5	13.1	.424	-	-	-	3.5	4.3	.830

Season 6
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2006-07	1974-75
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls 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		%
Joe Johnson	57	41.4	25.0	0.9	3.3	4.2	4.4	1.1	0.2	3.1	2.0	9.4	20.0	.471	2.1	5.5	.381	4.1	5.5	.748
Norm Van Lier	70	37.0	15.0	1.2	3.5	4.7	5.8	2.0	0.2	-	3.5	5.8	13.9	.420	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	.792
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Norm Van Lier	13	42.1	15.1	1.4	3.8	5.2	4.7	1.5	0.4	-	4.0	5.2	12.6	.409	-	-	-	4.8	6.4	.747

Season 7
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2007-08	1975-76
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East 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		%
Joe Johnson	82	40.8	21.7	1.0	3.5	4.5	5.8	1.0	0.2	2.7	2.0	7.9	18.3	.432	2.1	5.4	.381	3.9	4.6	.834
Norm Van Lier	76	39.8	12.6	1.8	3.6	5.4	6.6	2.0	0.3	-	3.9	4.8	13.0	.366	-	-	-	3.1	4.2	.737
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	7	39.3	20.0	1.3	2.6	3.9	4.0	0.3	0.0	2.3	2.3	6.7	16.4	.409	2.3	5.1	.444	4.3	4.7	.909
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2008-09	1976-77
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis	Bulls 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		%
Joe Johnson	79	39.5	21.4	0.8	3.6	4.4	5.8	1.1	0.2	2.5	2.2	7.8	18.0	.437	1.9	5.2	.360	3.8	4.6	.826
Norm Van Lier	82	37.8	10.2	1.3	3.2	4.5	7.8	1.6	0.2	-	3.3	3.7	8.9	.412	-	-	-	2.9	3.7	.778
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	11	39.0	16.4	1.5	2.9	4.5	3.5	1.3	0.0	2.9	2.2	6.4	15.3	.417	1.1	3.2	.343	2.5	4.1	.622
Norm Van Lier	3	44.7	5.3	1.7	3.3	5.0	9.7	3.3	0.3	-	4.7	1.0	6.3	.158	-	-	-	3.3	4.0	.833

Season 9
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2009-10	1977-78
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East 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		%
Joe Johnson	76	38.0	21.3	1.0	3.7	4.6	4.9	1.1	0.1	1.9	1.9	8.4	18.2	.458	1.7	4.6	.369	2.9	3.5	.818
Norm Van Lier	78	32.4	7.3	1.1	2.5	3.6	6.8	1.8	0.1	2.6	3.6	2.6	6.1	.419	-	-	-	2.2	2.9	.751
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	11	40.0	17.9	1.8	3.3	5.1	5.0	0.9	0.3	2.3	2.0	7.0	18.1	.387	0.8	3.7	.220	3.1	3.8	.810
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2010-11	1978-79
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East 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		%
Joe Johnson	72	35.5	18.2	0.8	3.2	4.0	4.7	0.7	0.1	2.0	1.8	7.1	16.1	.443	1.2	4.2	.297	2.7	3.4	.802
Norm Van Lier	38	14.6	2.8	0.2	0.8	1.1	4.2	1.1	0.1	1.3	2.8	0.8	2.0	.390	-	-	-	1.2	1.4	.904
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	12	41.4	18.8	1.5	3.1	4.6	3.3	1.1	0.1	2.6	1.6	7.3	16.5	.439	1.5	3.5	.429	2.8	3.5	.810
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2011-12	-
Team	Atlanta Hawks	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East 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		%
Joe Johnson	60	35.5	18.8	0.9	2.8	3.7	3.9	0.8	0.2	1.9	1.3	7.1	15.5	.454	2.1	5.4	.388	2.6	3.1	.849
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	6	40.5	17.2	1.0	2.5	3.5	3.5	1.3	0.2	2.7	1.8	6.3	17.0	.373	1.5	6.0	.250	3.0	4.0	.750
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 13
	Joe Johnson	Norm Van Lier
Season	2013-14	-
Team	Brooklyn Nets	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets 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		%
Joe Johnson	79	32.6	15.8	0.6	2.8	3.4	2.7	0.6	0.1	1.5	1.6	5.8	12.9	.454	2.1	5.1	.401	2.0	2.5	.815
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Johnson	12	39.1	21.2	0.8	3.1	3.8	2.9	0.5	0.3	1.6	1.7	8.2	15.3	.533	1.8	4.4	.415	3.0	3.6	.837
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Joe Johnson didn't play in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.