Mike Sanders vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith and Mike Sanders, 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.

Mike Sanders played 11 years in the NBA, 5 less than J.R. Smith, who played 16. Mike Sanders had the first of his seasons in 1982-83, while J.R. Smith had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
Mike Sanders	11	9	1982-83 to 1992-93
J.R. Smith	16	12	2004-05 to 2019-20

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
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	1982-83	2004-05
Team	San Antonio Spurs	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Mike Sanders	26	15.1	7.0	1.2	2.4	3.6	0.7	0.7	0.2	1.1	2.2	2.9	6.0	.484	0.0	0.1	.000	1.2	1.7	.721
J.R. Smith	76	24.5	10.3	0.5	1.5	2.0	1.9	0.7	0.1	1.4	1.8	3.9	9.8	.394	1.1	3.7	.288	1.5	2.1	.689

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	6	4.2	2.3	0.3	1.2	1.5	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.2	2.2	.538	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	1983-84	2005-06
Team	Phoenix Suns	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Mike Sanders	50	11.7	4.5	0.8	1.3	2.1	0.9	0.5	0.2	0.9	2.0	1.9	4.1	.478	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	0.8	.690
J.R. Smith	55	18.0	7.7	0.3	1.7	2.0	1.1	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.6	2.6	6.7	.393	0.9	2.5	.371	1.5	1.8	.822

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	15	10.1	4.0	0.7	0.7	1.3	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.9	2.1	1.5	3.1	.478	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	1.1	.941
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	1984-85	2006-07
Team	Phoenix Suns	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets 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		%
Mike Sanders	21	19.9	10.2	1.8	2.4	4.2	1.4	1.1	0.2	1.6	2.8	4.0	8.3	.486	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	2.8	.763
J.R. Smith	63	23.3	13.0	0.5	1.8	2.3	1.4	0.8	0.1	1.3	2.3	4.5	10.2	.441	2.4	6.1	.390	1.6	2.0	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	3	30.3	17.3	2.7	2.3	5.0	3.3	1.7	0.0	3.0	2.7	7.3	12.3	.595	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	3.3	.800
J.R. Smith	4	11.8	4.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	0.5	1.0	0.3	0.8	1.5	1.5	5.5	.273	0.0	3.0	.000	1.5	1.5	1.000


Season 4
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	1985-86	2007-08
Team	Phoenix Suns	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets 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		%
Mike Sanders	82	20.0	11.0	1.3	2.1	3.3	1.8	0.9	0.4	1.7	2.9	4.2	8.2	.513	0.0	0.2	.200	2.5	3.1	.809
J.R. Smith	74	19.2	12.3	0.6	1.5	2.1	1.7	0.8	0.2	1.5	1.9	4.2	9.1	.461	2.1	5.3	.403	1.7	2.4	.719

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	4	27.0	18.3	0.3	1.5	1.8	1.8	1.0	0.0	1.3	3.0	5.8	10.8	.535	1.8	5.5	.318	5.0	6.0	.833


Season 5
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	1986-87	2008-09
Team	Phoenix Suns	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets 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		%
Mike Sanders	82	20.2	10.5	1.2	2.1	3.3	1.5	0.7	0.3	1.3	2.6	4.4	8.8	.494	0.0	0.2	.118	1.7	2.2	.781
J.R. Smith	81	27.7	15.2	0.5	3.1	3.7	2.8	1.0	0.2	1.9	2.3	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.6	.397	2.5	3.4	.754

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	16	27.2	14.9	0.7	2.6	3.3	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.6	3.2	5.5	12.1	.454	2.4	6.6	.358	1.6	2.9	.543


Season 6
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	1987-88	2009-10
Team	Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets 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		%
Mike Sanders	59	15.0	6.2	0.6	1.2	1.8	0.9	0.5	0.2	0.8	2.2	2.6	5.1	.505	0.0	0.0	.000	1.0	1.3	.776
J.R. Smith	75	27.8	15.4	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.4	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.8	.414	2.1	6.2	.338	1.9	2.7	.706

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	5	26.8	12.8	2.2	2.8	5.0	1.4	0.6	0.4	2.2	4.2	5.6	10.4	.538	0.0	0.2	.000	1.6	2.0	.800
J.R. Smith	6	26.5	11.2	0.8	3.0	3.8	1.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.8	3.5	9.5	.368	1.8	5.2	.355	2.3	2.7	.875


Season 7
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	1988-89	2010-11
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets 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		%
Mike Sanders	82	25.6	9.3	1.2	2.5	3.7	1.6	1.1	0.4	1.3	2.8	4.0	8.9	.453	0.0	0.1	.300	1.2	1.6	.719
J.R. Smith	79	24.9	12.3	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.2	1.2	0.2	1.3	2.2	4.3	9.9	.435	1.6	4.0	.390	2.1	2.8	.738

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	5	17.4	6.6	1.2	2.0	3.2	0.8	0.4	0.2	2.0	2.2	3.0	6.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.0	.600
J.R. Smith	5	15.2	9.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	1.0	0.4	0.0	1.6	1.6	3.2	9.0	.356	1.8	4.2	.429	1.6	2.2	.727


Season 8
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	1989-90	2011-12
Team	Indiana Pacers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Knicks 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		%
Mike Sanders	82	18.7	6.2	1.0	1.9	2.8	1.1	0.5	0.3	1.0	2.7	2.7	5.8	.470	0.1	0.2	.357	0.7	0.9	.733
J.R. Smith	35	27.6	12.5	0.8	3.1	3.9	2.4	1.5	0.2	1.3	2.5	4.7	11.6	.407	1.9	5.5	.347	1.1	1.6	.709

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	3	8.0	3.7	1.7	0.3	2.0	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.3	1.7	3.7	.455	0.3	0.3	1.000	0.0	0.0	-
J.R. Smith	5	35.0	12.2	0.4	2.2	2.6	2.2	1.2	0.2	2.2	3.8	4.8	15.2	.316	1.0	5.6	.179	1.6	1.6	1.000


Season 9
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	1990-91	2012-13
Team	Indiana Pacers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Knicks 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		%
Mike Sanders	80	17.0	5.8	0.9	1.4	2.3	1.3	0.5	0.3	0.8	2.5	2.6	6.2	.417	0.1	0.3	.200	0.6	0.7	.825
J.R. Smith	80	33.5	18.1	0.8	4.5	5.3	2.7	1.3	0.3	1.7	2.8	6.6	15.6	.422	1.9	5.5	.356	3.0	3.9	.762

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	5	8.2	3.0	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.4	0.2	1.8	1.2	2.0	.600	0.2	0.4	.500	0.4	0.8	.500
J.R. Smith	11	31.9	14.3	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.4	1.0	0.5	1.8	2.5	4.9	14.8	.331	1.6	6.0	.273	2.8	3.9	.721


Season 10
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	1991-92	2013-14
Team	Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Mike Sanders	31	20.4	7.1	0.9	2.2	3.1	1.7	0.8	0.3	0.7	2.7	3.0	5.2	.571	0.0	0.1	.333	1.2	1.5	.766
J.R. Smith	74	32.7	14.5	0.5	3.5	4.0	3.0	0.9	0.3	1.5	2.6	5.4	12.9	.415	2.6	6.5	.394	1.2	1.9	.652

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	17	24.6	7.6	1.2	2.1	3.2	2.2	0.9	0.7	1.4	3.6	3.3	6.8	.487	0.1	0.2	.333	1.0	1.2	.810
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	1992-93	2014-15
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Cavaliers 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		%
Mike Sanders	53	22.4	8.6	1.0	2.2	3.2	1.4	0.7	0.6	1.1	2.8	3.7	7.5	.497	0.0	0.1	.250	1.1	1.5	.756
J.R. Smith	70	29.7	12.1	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.4	2.3	4.5	10.8	.417	2.3	6.1	.383	0.8	1.0	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	8	18.1	5.8	1.0	1.3	2.3	1.3	1.0	0.1	0.4	2.1	2.5	6.0	.417	0.0	0.3	.000	0.8	1.3	.600
J.R. Smith	18	31.1	12.8	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.2	0.9	0.6	0.8	3.0	4.6	11.4	.403	2.8	7.9	.359	0.8	1.1	.700


Season 12
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2015-16
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	77	30.7	12.4	0.6	2.3	2.8	1.7	1.1	0.3	0.8	2.6	4.6	11.0	.415	2.6	6.6	.400	0.6	0.9	.634

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	21	34.8	11.5	0.3	2.9	3.2	1.4	1.2	0.2	0.5	2.6	3.9	9.0	.436	3.1	7.2	.430	0.6	1.0	.619


Season 13
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2016-17
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Cavaliers 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		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	41	29.0	8.6	0.4	2.3	2.8	1.5	1.0	0.3	0.6	1.9	3.0	8.7	.346	2.3	6.6	.351	0.2	0.4	.667

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	18	27.1	8.1	0.3	2.1	2.3	0.7	0.7	0.3	0.7	2.3	2.8	5.5	.505	2.2	4.4	.500	0.3	0.6	.455


Season 14
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2017-18
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Cavaliers 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		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	80	28.1	8.3	0.4	2.6	2.9	1.8	0.9	0.1	1.0	2.0	3.0	7.4	.403	1.8	4.8	.375	0.5	0.7	.696

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	22	32.1	8.7	0.5	2.3	2.7	1.1	1.0	0.2	0.9	2.5	3.0	8.5	.348	2.0	5.5	.367	0.8	1.0	.773


Season 15
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2018-19
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
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		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	11	20.2	6.7	0.0	1.6	1.6	1.9	1.0	0.3	1.0	1.7	2.5	7.2	.342	1.1	3.5	.308	0.7	0.9	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Mike Sanders	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2019-20
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	6	13.2	2.8	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.7	0.8	1.2	3.7	.318	0.2	1.8	.091	0.3	0.3	1.000

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	10	7.5	2.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.1	0.7	2.6	.269	0.6	2.2	.273	0.0	0.0	-

Mike Sanders vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith and Mike Sanders, 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