John Salley vs. Nikola Vucevic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Vucevic and John Salley, 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.

John Salley played 11 years in the NBA, 2 less than Nikola Vucevic, who played 13. John Salley had the first of his seasons in 1986-87, while Nikola Vucevic had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
John Salley	11	9	1986-87 to 1999-00
Nikola Vucevic	13	4	2011-12 to 2023-24

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


Rookie Season
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	1986-87	2011-12
Team	Detroit Pistons	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	76ers 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		%
John Salley	82	17.8	5.3	1.3	2.3	3.6	0.7	0.5	1.5	0.9	3.1	2.0	3.5	.562	0.0	0.0	.000	1.3	2.1	.614
Nikola Vucevic	51	15.9	5.5	1.7	3.1	4.8	0.6	0.4	0.7	0.6	2.2	2.6	5.7	.450	0.1	0.2	.375	0.4	0.7	.529

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	15	20.7	6.2	2.0	2.8	4.8	0.7	0.2	1.1	0.9	4.0	2.2	4.4	.500	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.8	.643
Nikola Vucevic	1	3.0	1.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	2.0	.500


Season 2
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	1987-88	2012-13
Team	Detroit Pistons	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pistons Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	82	24.4	8.5	2.0	2.9	4.9	1.4	0.6	1.7	1.5	3.6	3.1	5.6	.566	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.2	.709
Nikola Vucevic	77	33.2	13.1	3.5	8.4	11.9	1.9	0.8	1.0	1.8	2.8	6.0	11.5	.519	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.6	.683

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	23	27.1	7.0	2.8	4.0	6.7	0.9	0.7	1.6	1.0	3.8	2.4	4.5	.538	0.0	0.0	.000	2.1	3.0	.710
Nikola Vucevic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	1988-89	2013-14
Team	Detroit Pistons	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	67	21.8	7.0	2.0	3.0	5.0	1.1	0.6	1.1	1.5	2.9	2.5	5.0	.498	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.9	.692
Nikola Vucevic	57	31.8	14.2	3.2	7.7	11.0	1.8	1.1	0.8	2.0	3.0	6.2	12.2	.507	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.4	.766

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	17	23.1	8.9	2.0	2.6	4.6	0.5	0.5	1.5	0.7	3.4	3.4	5.8	.586	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	3.2	.667
Nikola Vucevic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	1989-90	2014-15
Team	Detroit Pistons	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	82	23.3	7.2	1.9	3.5	5.4	0.8	0.6	1.9	1.2	3.4	2.5	5.0	.512	0.0	0.0	.250	2.1	3.0	.713
Nikola Vucevic	74	34.2	19.3	3.2	7.7	10.9	2.0	0.7	0.7	2.0	3.0	8.5	16.3	.523	0.0	0.1	.333	2.2	2.9	.752

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	20	27.4	9.5	2.9	3.0	5.9	1.0	0.5	1.7	1.1	3.8	2.9	6.1	.475	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.9	.755
Nikola Vucevic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	1990-91	2015-16
Team	Detroit Pistons	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	74	22.3	7.4	1.9	2.6	4.4	0.9	0.7	1.5	1.2	3.2	2.4	5.1	.475	0.0	0.0	.000	2.5	3.5	.727
Nikola Vucevic	65	31.3	18.2	2.7	6.2	8.9	2.8	0.8	1.1	1.9	2.7	8.2	16.1	.510	0.0	0.1	.222	1.7	2.3	.753

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	15	20.5	7.5	1.3	2.8	4.1	0.7	0.4	1.3	0.9	3.9	2.5	4.7	.543	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	4.0	.600
Nikola Vucevic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	1991-92	2016-17
Team	Detroit Pistons	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East 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		%
John Salley	72	24.6	9.5	1.5	2.6	4.1	1.6	0.7	1.5	1.4	3.1	3.5	6.8	.512	0.0	0.0	.000	2.6	3.6	.715
Nikola Vucevic	75	28.8	14.6	2.3	8.0	10.4	2.8	1.0	1.0	1.6	2.4	6.4	13.7	.468	0.3	1.0	.307	1.4	2.1	.669

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	5	29.8	12.6	2.0	4.0	6.0	2.8	0.6	2.8	1.8	3.6	4.0	8.8	.455	0.0	0.2	.000	4.6	5.6	.821
Nikola Vucevic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	1992-93	2017-18
Team	Miami Heat	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards
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		%
John Salley	51	27.9	8.3	2.2	3.9	6.1	1.6	0.6	1.4	2.0	3.8	3.0	6.0	.502	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	2.8	.799
Nikola Vucevic	57	29.5	16.5	1.8	7.4	9.2	3.4	1.0	1.1	1.9	2.5	7.0	14.7	.475	1.1	3.6	.314	1.4	1.6	.819

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Vucevic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	1993-94	2018-19
Team	Miami Heat	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Magic 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		%
John Salley	76	25.1	7.7	1.7	3.6	5.4	1.8	0.7	1.0	1.2	3.4	2.7	5.7	.477	0.0	0.0	.667	2.2	3.0	.729
Nikola Vucevic	80	31.4	20.8	2.8	9.2	12.0	3.8	1.0	1.1	2.0	2.0	8.8	16.9	.518	1.1	2.9	.364	2.2	2.8	.789

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	5	40.2	11.0	3.2	4.8	8.0	1.6	0.4	1.0	1.2	4.2	4.4	11.4	.386	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	3.2	.688
Nikola Vucevic	5	29.4	11.2	1.8	6.2	8.0	3.0	0.4	1.0	2.6	2.4	4.2	11.6	.362	0.6	2.6	.231	2.2	2.8	.786


Season 9
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	1994-95	2019-20
Team	Miami Heat	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Magic 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		%
John Salley	75	26.1	7.3	1.5	3.0	4.5	1.6	0.6	1.1	1.3	3.7	2.6	5.3	.499	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.8	.739
Nikola Vucevic	62	32.2	19.6	2.3	8.6	10.9	3.6	0.9	0.8	1.4	2.2	8.0	16.7	.477	1.6	4.7	.339	2.1	2.7	.784

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Vucevic	5	37.0	28.0	1.8	9.2	11.0	4.0	0.8	0.6	2.6	2.6	11.2	22.2	.505	3.6	8.8	.409	2.0	2.2	.909


Season 10
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	1995-96	2020-21
Team	Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls	Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	42	16.0	4.4	1.1	2.2	3.3	1.3	0.5	0.6	1.3	2.6	1.5	3.3	.450	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.0	.694
Nikola Vucevic	70	33.5	23.4	2.1	9.6	11.7	3.8	0.9	0.7	1.8	2.0	9.5	19.9	.477	2.5	6.3	.400	1.9	2.2	.840

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	16	5.3	0.9	0.3	0.4	0.7	0.4	0.1	0.1	0.3	1.6	0.4	0.7	.545	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.4	.286
Nikola Vucevic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: John Salley didn't play in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99.


Season 11
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	1999-00	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls 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		%
John Salley	45	6.7	1.6	0.4	1.0	1.4	0.6	0.2	0.3	0.4	1.5	0.6	1.5	.362	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.6	.750
Nikola Vucevic	73	33.1	17.6	1.9	9.1	11.0	3.2	1.0	1.0	1.9	2.5	7.5	15.8	.473	1.4	4.5	.314	1.3	1.7	.760

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	18	4.2	0.9	0.5	0.7	1.2	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.9	0.3	0.7	.385	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	0.6	.700
Nikola Vucevic	5	36.2	19.4	2.8	9.6	12.4	3.2	0.4	1.2	1.6	2.8	8.0	18.2	.440	2.6	8.4	.310	0.8	1.0	.800


Season 12
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	-	2022-23
Team	-	Chicago Bulls
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		%
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Vucevic	82	33.5	17.6	1.9	9.1	11.0	3.2	0.7	0.7	1.7	2.2	7.3	14.0	.520	1.5	4.2	.349	1.6	1.9	.835

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Vucevic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	John Salley	Nikola Vucevic
Season	-	2023-24
Team	-	Chicago Bulls
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		%
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Vucevic	76	34.3	18.0	2.8	7.8	10.5	3.3	0.7	0.8	1.6	2.5	7.7	15.9	.484	1.2	4.1	.294	1.4	1.7	.822

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Vucevic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

John Salley vs. Nikola Vucevic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Vucevic and John Salley, 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