LaMelo Ball vs. Slater Martin Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Slater Martin and LaMelo Ball, 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.

LaMelo Ball played 4 years in the NBA, 7 less than Slater Martin, who played 11. LaMelo Ball had the first of his seasons in 2020-21, while Slater Martin 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
LaMelo Ball 4 0 2020-21 to 2023-24
Slater Martin 11 11 1949-50 to 1959-60

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11

Rookie Season

LaMelo Ball Slater Martin
Season 2020-211949-50
Team Charlotte HornetsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball 51 28.8 15.7 1.2 4.7 5.9 6.1 1.6 0.4 2.8 2.7 5.7 13.2 .436 1.8 5.1 .352 2.5 3.2 .758
Slater Martin 67 - 4.0 - - - 2.2 - - - 2.4 1.6 4.5 .351 - - - 0.9 1.4 .634
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 12 - 4.7 - - - 2.1 - - - 2.9 1.8 4.2 .420 - - - 1.2 2.0 .583

Season 2

LaMelo Ball Slater Martin
Season 2021-221950-51
Team Charlotte HornetsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayLakers Lost West Div Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball 75 32.3 20.1 1.4 5.2 6.7 7.6 1.6 0.4 3.3 3.2 7.2 16.7 .429 2.9 7.5 .389 2.8 3.2 .872
Slater Martin 68 - 8.5 - - 3.6 3.5 - - - 2.9 3.3 9.2 .362 - - - 1.8 2.6 .684
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 7 - 7.1 - - 6.0 3.6 - - - 2.9 2.6 7.3 .353 - - - 2.0 3.9 .519

Season 3

LaMelo Ball Slater Martin
Season 2022-231951-52
Team Charlotte HornetsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball 36 35.2 23.3 1.2 5.3 6.4 8.4 1.3 0.3 3.6 3.3 8.2 20.0 .411 4.0 10.6 .376 2.8 3.4 .836
Slater Martin 66 37.6 9.3 - - 3.5 3.8 - - - 3.4 3.6 9.6 .375 - - - 2.2 2.9 .747
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 13 40.2 9.0 - - 2.8 4.3 - - - 4.9 2.9 8.5 .345 - - - 3.2 4.3 .732

Season 4

LaMelo Ball Slater Martin
Season 2023-241952-53
Team Charlotte HornetsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball 22 32.3 23.9 1.3 3.8 5.1 8.0 1.8 0.2 3.8 3.6 8.3 19.2 .433 3.2 9.0 .355 4.1 4.7 .865
Slater Martin 70 36.5 10.6 - - 2.7 3.6 - - - 3.5 3.7 9.1 .410 - - - 3.2 4.1 .780
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 12 37.8 10.1 - - 2.6 3.6 - - - 4.1 3.4 8.6 .398 - - - 3.3 4.3 .765

Season 5

LaMelo Ball Slater Martin
Season -1953-54
Team -Minneapolis 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 %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 69 35.8 9.9 - - 2.4 3.7 - - - 2.9 3.7 9.5 .388 - - - 2.6 3.5 .724
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 13 41.0 9.7 - - 2.2 4.6 - - - 4.0 2.8 8.6 .330 - - - 4.0 5.4 .743

Season 6

LaMelo Ball Slater Martin
Season -1954-55
Team -Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Lakers Lost West Div Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 72 38.7 13.6 - - 3.6 5.9 - - - 3.1 4.9 12.8 .381 - - - 3.8 5.0 .769
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 7 45.0 13.7 - - 4.0 4.4 - - - 3.3 4.0 13.4 .298 - - - 5.7 7.0 .816

Season 7

LaMelo Ball Slater Martin
Season -1955-56
Team -Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Lakers Lost West Div Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 72 39.4 13.2 - - 3.6 6.2 - - - 2.8 4.3 12.0 .358 - - - 4.6 5.5 .833
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 3 40.3 18.0 - - 2.3 5.0 - - - 3.0 5.7 12.3 .459 - - - 6.7 8.0 .833

Season 8

LaMelo Ball Slater Martin
Season -1956-57
Team -New York Knicks, St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Hawks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 66 36.4 10.9 - - 4.4 4.1 - - - 2.9 3.7 11.2 .332 - - - 3.5 4.4 .790
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 10 43.9 16.6 - - 4.2 4.9 - - - 3.9 5.5 15.5 .355 - - - 5.6 7.4 .757

Season 9

LaMelo Ball Slater Martin
Season -1957-58
Team -St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards -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 %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 60 35.0 12.0 - - 3.8 3.6 - - - 3.1 4.3 12.8 .336 - - - 3.4 4.6 .746
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 11 37.8 11.5 - - 4.4 3.6 - - - 3.6 4.0 12.5 .321 - - - 3.5 5.7 .619

Season 10

LaMelo Ball Slater Martin
Season -1958-59
Team -St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Hawks Lost West Div Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 71 35.3 9.7 - - 3.6 4.7 - - - 3.2 3.5 9.9 .347 - - - 2.8 3.6 .776
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 1 18.0 8.0 - - 3.0 2.0 - - - 2.0 4.0 5.0 .800 - - - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 11

LaMelo Ball Slater Martin
Season -1959-60
Team -St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Hawks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 64 27.4 6.2 - - 2.9 5.2 - - - 2.7 2.2 6.0 .371 - - - 1.8 2.4 .729
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
LaMelo Ball ------- --- ----------
Slater Martin 3 19.3 1.0 - - 1.0 2.7 - - - 3.0 0.3 4.3 .077 - - - 0.3 1.3 .250