Mel Counts vs. Arvydas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Arvydas Sabonis and Mel Counts, 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.

Mel Counts played 12 years in the NBA, 5 more than Arvydas Sabonis, who played 7. Mel Counts had the first of his seasons in 1964-65, while Arvydas Sabonis had his rookie season in 1995-96. 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
Mel Counts	12	8	1964-65 to 1975-76
Arvydas Sabonis	7	7	1995-96 to 2002-03

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


Rookie Season
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1964-65	1995-96
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers 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		%
Mel Counts	54	10.6	4.8	-	-	4.9	0.4	-	-	-	2.5	1.9	5.0	.368	-	-	-	1.1	1.4	.784
Arvydas Sabonis	73	23.8	14.5	2.0	6.0	8.1	1.8	0.9	1.1	2.1	2.9	5.4	9.9	.545	0.5	1.4	.375	3.2	4.2	.757

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	4	7.5	2.3	-	-	2.8	0.3	-	-	-	2.5	1.0	3.8	.267	-	-	-	0.3	0.3	1.000
Arvydas Sabonis	5	35.4	23.6	2.4	7.8	10.2	1.8	0.8	0.6	2.0	3.4	7.0	16.2	.432	1.0	1.8	.556	8.6	12.0	.717


Season 2
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1965-66	1996-97
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers 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		%
Mel Counts	67	15.2	8.4	-	-	6.4	0.7	-	-	-	3.1	3.3	8.2	.403	-	-	-	1.8	2.2	.828
Arvydas Sabonis	69	25.5	13.4	1.7	6.3	7.9	2.1	0.9	1.2	2.2	2.9	4.8	9.5	.498	0.7	1.9	.371	3.2	4.2	.777

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	10	8.2	4.3	-	-	4.0	0.3	-	-	-	2.6	1.4	3.9	.359	-	-	-	1.5	1.7	.882
Arvydas Sabonis	4	26.8	11.3	2.0	4.5	6.5	2.3	0.8	0.8	2.3	4.8	4.5	10.5	.429	0.5	2.0	.250	1.8	2.0	.875


Season 3
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1966-67	1997-98
Team	Baltimore Bullets, Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Trail Blazers 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		%
Mel Counts	56	15.4	7.6	-	-	6.1	0.9	-	-	-	3.3	3.2	7.5	.422	-	-	-	1.2	1.7	.734
Arvydas Sabonis	73	32.0	16.0	2.0	7.9	10.0	3.0	0.9	1.1	2.6	3.7	5.6	11.3	.493	0.4	1.6	.261	4.4	5.5	.798

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	3	9.7	4.7	-	-	2.7	0.0	-	-	-	2.0	1.7	6.3	.263	-	-	-	1.3	1.3	1.000
Arvydas Sabonis	4	26.8	12.3	1.8	6.0	7.8	1.5	1.8	0.8	2.5	4.8	4.5	10.0	.450	0.3	0.5	.500	3.0	3.5	.857


Season 4
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1967-68	1998-99
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers 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		%
Mel Counts	82	21.2	11.7	-	-	8.9	1.7	-	-	-	3.8	4.7	9.9	.475	-	-	-	2.3	3.1	.748
Arvydas Sabonis	50	27.0	12.1	1.8	6.1	7.9	2.4	0.7	1.3	1.7	2.9	4.6	9.6	.485	0.1	0.5	.292	2.7	3.5	.771

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	15	20.4	8.6	-	-	8.9	1.6	-	-	-	3.5	3.6	6.7	.535	-	-	-	1.4	2.1	.677
Arvydas Sabonis	13	30.1	10.0	0.9	7.8	8.8	2.2	1.2	1.2	1.5	2.7	3.5	8.7	.398	0.1	0.4	.200	3.0	3.3	.907


Season 5
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1968-69	1999-00
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers 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		%
Mel Counts	77	24.2	12.4	-	-	7.8	1.4	-	-	-	2.9	5.1	11.3	.450	-	-	-	2.3	2.9	.805
Arvydas Sabonis	66	25.6	11.8	1.5	6.3	7.8	1.8	0.7	1.2	1.5	2.8	4.6	9.1	.505	0.1	0.3	.368	2.5	3.0	.843

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	18	24.6	11.2	-	-	7.9	1.4	-	-	-	3.7	4.1	10.7	.385	-	-	-	3.0	3.9	.761
Arvydas Sabonis	16	30.8	11.3	1.2	5.5	6.7	1.9	0.9	0.8	1.6	3.7	4.3	9.4	.453	0.4	1.3	.286	2.4	3.1	.796


Season 6
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1969-70	2000-01
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers 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		%
Mel Counts	81	27.1	12.6	-	-	8.4	2.0	-	-	-	3.8	5.4	12.6	.427	-	-	-	1.9	2.5	.776
Arvydas Sabonis	61	21.3	10.1	0.8	4.6	5.4	1.5	0.7	1.0	1.4	2.2	4.0	8.5	.479	0.0	0.2	.067	2.0	2.6	.776

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	14	15.1	6.1	-	-	5.3	1.1	-	-	-	3.4	2.6	6.3	.420	-	-	-	0.8	0.9	.846
Arvydas Sabonis	3	35.0	11.3	2.7	5.7	8.3	2.7	0.3	2.3	0.7	4.0	4.7	9.7	.483	0.0	0.7	.000	2.0	2.7	.750

Note: Arvydas Sabonis didn't play in 2001-02.


Season 7
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1970-71	2002-03
Team	Phoenix Suns	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Trail Blazers 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		%
Mel Counts	80	20.9	11.0	-	-	6.3	1.7	-	-	-	3.5	4.6	10.0	.457	-	-	-	1.9	2.5	.753
Arvydas Sabonis	78	15.5	6.1	1.1	3.2	4.3	1.8	0.8	0.6	1.0	1.8	2.2	4.6	.476	0.0	0.1	.500	1.7	2.1	.787

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arvydas Sabonis	6	14.5	10.0	1.0	3.0	4.0	0.8	0.7	0.7	1.0	2.3	4.0	6.0	.667	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.5	.800


Season 8
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1971-72	-
Team	Phoenix Suns	-
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		%
Mel Counts	76	11.9	5.2	-	-	3.4	1.3	-	-	-	2.1	1.9	4.5	.427	-	-	-	1.3	1.8	.721
Arvydas Sabonis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arvydas Sabonis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1972-73	-
Team	Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA 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		%
Mel Counts	66	10.0	4.6	-	-	3.8	1.0	-	-	-	1.6	2.0	4.5	.449	-	-	-	0.6	0.9	.672
Arvydas Sabonis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	17	19.2	9.1	-	-	6.1	1.6	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	7.8	.459	-	-	-	1.9	2.4	.780
Arvydas Sabonis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1973-74	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers 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		%
Mel Counts	45	11.1	3.2	1.2	2.0	3.2	1.2	0.4	0.5	-	1.9	1.4	3.7	.365	-	-	-	0.5	0.7	.727
Arvydas Sabonis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	4	8.5	3.0	0.5	1.0	1.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	-	0.8	1.5	3.0	.500	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-
Arvydas Sabonis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1974-75	-
Team	New Orleans Jazz	-
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		%
Mel Counts	75	18.9	6.9	1.4	4.5	5.9	2.4	0.7	0.6	-	2.6	2.9	6.6	.438	-	-	-	1.1	1.5	.761
Arvydas Sabonis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arvydas Sabonis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Mel Counts	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1975-76	-
Team	New Orleans Jazz	-
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		%
Mel Counts	30	10.6	3.0	0.9	2.4	3.3	1.3	0.5	0.3	-	2.5	1.2	3.0	.407	-	-	-	0.5	0.7	.762
Arvydas Sabonis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mel Counts	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arvydas Sabonis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Mel Counts vs. Arvydas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Arvydas Sabonis and Mel Counts, 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