Joe Smith vs. Zion Williamson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Zion Williamson and Joe Smith, 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.

Joe Smith played 16 years in the NBA, 12 more than Zion Williamson, who played 4. Joe Smith had the first of his seasons in 1995-96, while Zion Williamson had his rookie season in 2019-20. 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
Joe Smith	16	10	1995-96 to 2010-11
Zion Williamson	4	0	2019-20 to 2023-24

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


Rookie Season
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	1995-96	2019-20
Team	Golden State Warriors	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	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		%
Joe Smith	82	34.4	15.3	3.7	5.1	8.7	1.0	1.0	1.6	1.7	2.7	5.7	12.5	.458	0.1	0.3	.357	3.7	4.8	.773
Zion Williamson	24	27.8	22.5	2.7	3.6	6.3	2.1	0.7	0.4	2.5	1.8	8.8	15.0	.583	0.3	0.6	.429	4.8	7.4	.640

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	1996-97	2020-21
Team	Golden State Warriors	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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 Smith	80	38.6	18.7	3.3	5.2	8.5	1.6	0.9	1.1	2.4	3.1	7.3	16.2	.454	0.2	0.6	.261	3.8	4.7	.814
Zion Williamson	61	33.2	27.0	2.7	4.5	7.2	3.7	0.9	0.6	2.7	2.2	10.4	17.0	.611	0.2	0.6	.294	6.0	8.7	.698

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Zion Williamson didn't play in 2021-22.


Season 3
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	1997-98	2022-23
Team	Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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 Smith	79	29.7	14.6	2.5	3.4	6.0	1.2	0.8	0.6	2.0	3.3	5.9	13.5	.434	0.0	0.1	.000	2.9	3.7	.775
Zion Williamson	29	33.0	26.0	2.0	5.0	7.0	4.6	1.1	0.6	3.4	2.2	9.8	16.2	.608	0.2	0.7	.368	6.1	8.6	.714

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	1998-99	2023-24
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Timberwolves 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 Smith	43	33.0	13.7	3.6	4.7	8.2	1.6	0.7	1.5	1.5	3.4	5.2	12.1	.427	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	4.4	.755
Zion Williamson	70	31.5	22.9	1.7	4.1	5.8	5.0	1.1	0.7	2.8	2.3	8.9	15.6	.570	0.1	0.3	.333	5.0	7.1	.702

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	4	30.0	7.5	2.5	4.0	6.5	1.3	0.5	2.0	1.3	3.8	2.8	9.3	.297	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.8	.727
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	1999-00	-
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Timberwolves 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 Smith	78	25.3	9.9	2.4	3.8	6.2	1.1	0.6	1.1	1.5	3.9	3.7	8.0	.464	0.0	0.0	1.000	2.5	3.3	.756
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	4	19.8	4.5	1.8	1.3	3.0	0.3	0.8	0.3	1.0	3.8	2.0	4.3	.471	0.0	0.3	.000	0.5	0.5	1.000
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	2000-01	-
Team	Detroit Pistons	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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 Smith	69	28.1	12.3	2.3	4.8	7.1	1.1	0.7	0.7	1.3	3.7	4.5	11.1	.403	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	4.2	.805
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	2001-02	-
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Timberwolves 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 Smith	72	26.7	10.7	2.1	4.2	6.3	1.1	0.5	0.8	1.2	3.5	4.1	8.1	.511	0.0	0.0	.667	2.4	2.9	.830
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	3	14.3	4.3	1.3	2.3	3.7	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	2.7	1.0	2.3	.429	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	2.7	.875
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	2002-03	-
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Timberwolves 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 Smith	54	20.7	7.5	2.1	2.9	5.0	0.7	0.3	1.0	0.8	3.2	2.8	6.1	.460	0.0	0.0	.000	1.9	2.4	.779
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	5	8.0	2.8	0.0	1.2	1.2	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.6	2.8	0.8	1.2	.667	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	1.2	1.000
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	2003-04	-
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bucks 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 Smith	76	29.7	10.9	3.0	5.4	8.5	1.0	0.6	1.2	1.1	2.8	4.1	9.3	.439	0.0	0.1	.200	2.7	3.2	.859
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	5	35.4	13.2	4.6	5.4	10.0	0.4	0.8	2.0	1.2	3.0	5.4	11.0	.491	0.0	0.2	.000	2.4	2.6	.923
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	2004-05	-
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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 Smith	74	30.6	11.0	2.4	4.9	7.3	0.9	0.6	0.5	1.1	3.0	4.3	8.4	.514	0.0	0.0	.000	2.4	3.1	.768
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	2005-06	-
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bucks 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 Smith	44	20.2	8.6	1.9	3.3	5.2	0.7	0.5	0.3	0.9	2.7	3.3	6.9	.475	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.6	.774
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	5	21.2	7.6	1.2	4.2	5.4	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.2	3.2	3.2	6.6	.485	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	1.8	.667
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	2006-07	-
Team	Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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 Smith	65	23.1	8.5	1.8	4.3	6.2	0.8	0.6	0.4	1.2	2.3	3.3	7.3	.449	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	2.3	.845
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	2007-08	-
Team	Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers 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 Smith	77	22.4	10.1	2.1	3.1	5.2	0.9	0.4	0.6	0.9	2.4	4.1	8.5	.478	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.6	.755
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	13	20.2	6.6	1.5	3.1	4.6	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.5	3.2	2.8	5.7	.486	0.0	0.1	.000	1.1	1.7	.636
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	2008-09	-
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	57	19.3	6.6	1.6	3.1	4.6	0.7	0.3	0.7	0.4	2.1	2.7	5.8	.468	0.1	0.1	.429	1.0	1.4	.720
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	13	16.8	5.5	0.8	2.9	3.7	0.2	0.5	0.5	0.5	1.9	1.8	3.8	.460	0.2	0.4	.600	1.8	2.2	.793
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	2009-10	-
Team	Atlanta Hawks	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Hawks 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 Smith	64	9.3	3.0	1.0	1.4	2.5	0.3	0.1	0.3	0.3	1.5	1.2	3.0	.399	0.0	0.1	.143	0.6	0.8	.813
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	5	4.8	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.6	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Joe Smith	Zion Williamson
Season	2010-11	-
Team	New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers 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		%
Joe Smith	16	4.3	0.5	0.2	1.1	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.8	0.2	1.0	.188	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.1	1.000
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joe Smith	5	2.2	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.4	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
Zion Williamson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Joe Smith vs. Zion Williamson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Zion Williamson and Joe Smith, 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