Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Vern Gardner Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Vern Gardner and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 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.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 20 years in the NBA, 17 more than Vern Gardner, who played 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the first of his seasons in 1969-70, while Vern Gardner had his rookie season in 1949-50. 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
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 20 18 1969-70 to 1988-89
Vern Gardner 3 3 1949-50 to 1951-52

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20

Rookie Season
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1969-701949-50
Team Milwaukee BucksPhiladelphia Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Div FinalsWarriors Lost East Div Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 43.1 28.8 - - 14.5 4.1 - - - 3.5 11.4 22.1 .518 - - - 5.9 9.1 .653
Vern Gardner 63 - 13.5 - - - 1.9 - - - 3.7 5.0 14.5 .342 - - - 3.6 4.7 .767
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 10 43.5 35.2 - - 16.8 4.1 - - - 2.5 13.9 24.5 .567 - - - 7.4 10.1 .733
Vern Gardner 2 - 18.0 - - - 1.0 - - - 5.5 7.5 22.0 .341 - - - 3.0 4.5 .667

Season 2
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1970-711950-51
Team Milwaukee BucksPhiladelphia Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionWarriors Lost East Div Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 40.1 31.7 - - 16.0 3.3 - - - 3.2 13.0 22.5 .577 - - - 5.7 8.3 .690
Vern Gardner 61 - 5.4 - - 3.9 1.5 - - - 2.4 2.1 6.3 .337 - - - 1.1 1.6 .711
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14 41.2 26.6 - - 17.0 2.5 - - - 3.2 10.9 21.1 .515 - - - 4.9 7.2 .673
Vern Gardner 2 - 5.5 - - 2.0 0.0 - - - 4.0 2.0 4.0 .500 - - - 1.5 1.5 1.000

Season 3
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1971-721951-52
Team Milwaukee BucksPhiladelphia Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf FinalsWarriors Lost East Div Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 81 44.2 34.8 - - 16.6 4.6 - - - 2.9 14.3 24.9 .574 - - - 6.2 9.0 .689
Vern Gardner 27 18.8 5.9 - - 4.1 1.4 - - - 2.2 2.7 7.2 .371 - - - 0.6 0.9 .652
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11 46.4 28.7 - - 18.2 5.1 - - - 3.2 12.6 28.9 .437 - - - 3.5 4.9 .704
Vern Gardner 3 25.7 8.0 - - 4.7 1.0 - - - 4.7 2.3 6.3 .368 - - - 3.3 3.7 .909

Season 4
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1972-73-
Team Milwaukee Bucks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks 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 %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 76 42.8 30.2 - - 16.1 5.0 - - - 2.7 12.9 23.3 .554 - - - 4.3 6.1 .713
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 6 46.0 22.8 - - 16.2 2.8 - - - 4.3 9.8 23.0 .428 - - - 3.2 5.8 .543
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 5
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1973-74-
Team Milwaukee Bucks-
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost NBA Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 81 43.8 27.0 3.5 11.0 14.5 4.8 1.4 3.5 - 2.9 11.7 21.7 .539 - - - 3.6 5.2 .702
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 16 47.4 32.2 4.2 11.6 15.8 4.9 1.3 2.4 - 2.6 14.0 25.1 .557 - - - 4.2 5.7 .736
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 6
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1974-75-
Team Milwaukee Bucks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
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 %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 65 42.3 30.0 3.0 11.0 14.0 4.1 1.0 3.3 - 3.2 12.5 24.4 .513 - - - 5.0 6.6 .763
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ------- --- ----------
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 7
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1975-76-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
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 %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 41.2 27.7 3.3 13.5 16.9 5.0 1.5 4.1 - 3.6 11.1 21.1 .529 - - - 5.5 7.8 .703
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ------- --- ----------
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 8
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1976-77-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 36.8 26.2 3.2 10.0 13.3 3.9 1.2 3.2 - 3.2 10.8 18.7 .579 - - - 4.6 6.5 .701
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11 42.5 34.6 4.6 13.1 17.7 4.1 1.7 3.5 - 3.8 13.4 22.0 .607 - - - 7.9 10.9 .725
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 9
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1977-78-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Playoffs Lakers 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 %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 62 36.5 25.8 3.0 9.9 12.9 4.3 1.7 3.0 3.4 2.9 10.7 19.4 .550 - - - 4.4 5.6 .783
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3 44.7 27.0 4.7 9.0 13.7 3.7 0.7 4.0 4.7 4.7 12.7 24.3 .521 - - - 1.7 3.0 .556
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 10
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1978-79-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
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 %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 80 39.5 23.8 2.6 10.2 12.8 5.4 1.0 4.0 3.5 2.9 9.7 16.8 .577 - - - 4.4 5.9 .736
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 8 45.9 28.5 2.3 10.4 12.6 4.8 1.0 4.1 3.6 3.3 11.0 19.0 .579 - - - 6.5 7.8 .839
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 11
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1979-80-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 38.3 24.8 2.3 8.5 10.8 4.5 1.0 3.4 3.6 2.6 10.2 16.9 .604 0.0 0.0 .000 4.4 5.8 .765
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 41.2 31.9 3.4 8.7 12.1 3.1 1.1 3.9 3.7 3.4 13.2 23.1 .572 0.0 0.0 - 5.5 7.0 .790
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 12
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1980-81-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers 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 %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 80 37.2 26.2 2.5 7.8 10.3 3.4 0.7 2.9 3.1 3.1 10.5 18.2 .574 0.0 0.0 .000 5.3 6.9 .766
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3 44.7 26.7 4.3 12.3 16.7 4.0 1.0 2.7 3.7 4.7 10.0 21.7 .462 0.0 0.0 - 6.7 9.3 .714
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 13
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1981-82-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 76 35.2 23.9 2.3 6.4 8.7 3.0 0.8 2.7 3.0 2.9 9.9 17.1 .579 0.0 0.0 .000 4.1 5.8 .706
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14 35.2 20.4 2.4 6.1 8.5 3.6 1.0 3.2 2.9 3.2 8.2 15.8 .520 0.0 0.0 - 3.9 6.2 .632
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 14
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1982-83-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost NBA Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 79 32.3 21.8 2.1 5.4 7.5 2.5 0.8 2.2 2.5 2.8 9.1 15.5 .588 0.0 0.0 .000 3.5 4.7 .749
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 39.2 27.1 1.7 6.0 7.7 2.8 1.1 3.7 3.3 4.1 10.9 19.1 .568 0.0 0.1 .000 5.3 7.1 .755
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 15
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1983-84-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost NBA Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 80 32.8 21.5 2.1 5.2 7.3 2.6 0.7 1.8 2.8 2.6 9.0 15.5 .578 0.0 0.0 .000 3.6 4.9 .723
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21 36.5 23.9 2.7 5.6 8.2 3.8 1.1 2.1 2.1 3.4 9.8 17.7 .555 0.0 0.0 - 4.3 5.7 .750
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 16
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1984-85-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 79 33.3 22.0 2.1 5.8 7.9 3.2 0.8 2.1 2.5 3.0 9.2 15.3 .599 0.0 0.0 .000 3.7 5.0 .732
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 19 32.1 21.9 2.6 5.5 8.1 4.0 1.2 1.9 2.7 3.5 8.8 15.8 .560 0.0 0.0 - 4.2 5.4 .777
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 17
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1985-86-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 79 33.3 23.4 1.7 4.4 6.1 3.5 0.8 1.6 2.6 3.1 9.6 16.9 .564 0.0 0.0 .000 4.3 5.6 .765
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14 34.9 25.9 1.9 4.1 5.9 3.5 1.1 1.7 3.0 3.9 11.2 20.1 .557 0.0 0.0 - 3.4 4.4 .787
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 18
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1986-87-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 78 31.3 17.5 1.9 4.8 6.7 2.6 0.6 1.2 2.4 3.1 7.2 12.7 .564 0.0 0.0 .333 3.1 4.4 .714
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 18 31.1 19.2 2.2 4.7 6.8 2.0 0.4 1.9 2.2 3.1 6.9 13.0 .530 0.0 0.1 .000 5.4 6.8 .795
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 19
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1987-88-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 80 28.9 14.6 1.5 4.5 6.0 1.7 0.6 1.2 2.0 2.7 6.0 11.3 .532 0.0 0.0 .000 2.6 3.4 .762
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24 29.9 14.1 2.0 3.4 5.5 1.5 0.6 1.5 1.9 3.4 5.9 12.7 .464 0.0 0.1 .000 2.3 3.0 .789
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------

Season 20
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Vern Gardner
Season 1988-89-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost NBA Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 74 22.9 10.1 1.4 3.1 4.5 1.0 0.5 1.1 1.3 2.6 4.2 8.9 .475 0.0 0.0 .000 1.6 2.2 .739
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 23.4 11.1 0.9 3.1 3.9 1.3 0.3 0.7 1.5 2.9 4.5 9.8 .463 0.0 0.0 - 2.1 2.9 .721
Vern Gardner ------- --- ----------
Share: