Nikola Jokic vs. Dennis Smith Jr. Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dennis Smith Jr. and Nikola Jokic, 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 / Games against each other

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.

Nikola Jokic played 9 years in the NBA, 2 more than Dennis Smith Jr., who played 7. Nikola Jokic had the first of his seasons in 2015-16, while Dennis Smith Jr. had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
Nikola Jokic 9 6 2015-16 to 2023-24
Dennis Smith Jr. 7 0 2017-18 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season
Nikola Jokic Dennis Smith Jr.
Season 2015-162017-18
Team Denver NuggetsDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
-Achievement All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 80 21.7 10.0 2.3 4.7 7.0 2.4 1.0 0.6 1.3 2.6 3.8 7.5 .512 0.4 1.1 .333 1.9 2.4 .811
Dennis Smith Jr. 69 29.7 15.2 0.7 3.0 3.8 5.2 1.0 0.3 2.8 2.2 5.9 14.8 .395 1.5 4.9 .313 1.9 2.8 .694
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Dennis Smith Jr. ------- --- ----------

Season 2
Nikola Jokic Dennis Smith Jr.
Season 2016-172018-19
Team Denver NuggetsDallas Mavericks, New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 73 27.9 16.7 2.9 6.9 9.8 4.9 0.8 0.8 2.3 2.9 6.8 11.7 .578 0.6 1.9 .324 2.6 3.1 .825
Dennis Smith Jr. 53 28.5 13.6 0.6 2.3 2.9 4.8 1.3 0.4 2.9 2.4 5.2 12.3 .428 1.3 3.9 .322 1.9 2.9 .635
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Dennis Smith Jr. ------- --- ----------

Season 3
Nikola Jokic Dennis Smith Jr.
Season 2017-182019-20
Team Denver NuggetsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 75 32.6 18.5 2.6 8.1 10.7 6.1 1.2 0.8 2.8 2.8 6.7 13.5 .499 1.5 3.7 .396 3.5 4.2 .850
Dennis Smith Jr. 34 15.8 5.5 0.6 1.7 2.3 2.9 0.8 0.2 1.7 1.9 2.1 6.2 .341 0.5 1.6 .296 0.8 1.6 .509
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Dennis Smith Jr. ------- --- ----------

Season 4
Nikola Jokic Dennis Smith Jr.
Season 2018-192020-21
Team Denver NuggetsNew York Knicks, Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 80 31.3 20.1 2.9 8.0 10.8 7.3 1.4 0.7 3.1 2.9 7.7 15.1 .511 1.0 3.4 .307 3.6 4.4 .821
Dennis Smith Jr. 23 18.3 6.7 0.5 1.9 2.4 3.3 1.0 0.6 1.1 1.6 2.5 6.3 .400 0.8 2.5 .328 0.8 1.1 .731
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 14 39.8 25.1 3.9 9.1 13.0 8.4 1.1 0.9 2.6 3.9 9.4 18.6 .506 1.6 4.0 .393 4.7 5.6 .846
Dennis Smith Jr. ------- --- ----------

Season 5
Nikola Jokic Dennis Smith Jr.
Season 2019-202021-22
Team Denver NuggetsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 73 32.0 19.9 2.3 7.5 9.7 7.0 1.2 0.6 3.1 3.0 7.7 14.7 .528 1.1 3.5 .314 3.4 4.1 .817
Dennis Smith Jr. 37 17.2 5.6 0.5 1.8 2.4 3.6 1.2 0.3 1.4 1.4 2.1 5.1 .418 0.2 0.7 .222 1.1 1.7 .656
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 19 36.5 24.4 1.9 7.9 9.8 5.7 1.1 0.8 3.3 3.6 9.4 18.1 .519 2.2 5.2 .429 3.5 4.2 .835
Dennis Smith Jr. ------- --- ----------

Season 6
Nikola Jokic Dennis Smith Jr.
Season 2020-212022-23
Team Denver NuggetsCharlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 72 34.6 26.4 2.8 8.0 10.8 8.3 1.3 0.7 3.1 2.7 10.2 18.0 .566 1.3 3.3 .388 4.8 5.5 .868
Dennis Smith Jr. 54 25.7 8.8 0.5 2.6 3.1 4.8 1.4 0.5 1.5 2.3 3.4 8.4 .412 0.4 2.1 .216 1.4 2.0 .736
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 10 34.5 29.8 3.7 7.9 11.6 5.0 0.6 0.9 2.4 2.3 11.6 22.8 .509 2.0 5.3 .377 4.6 5.5 .836
Dennis Smith Jr. ------- --- ----------

Season 7
Nikola Jokic Dennis Smith Jr.
Season 2021-222023-24
Team Denver NuggetsBrooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 74 33.5 27.1 2.8 11.0 13.8 7.9 1.5 0.9 3.8 2.6 10.3 17.7 .583 1.3 3.9 .337 5.1 6.3 .810
Dennis Smith Jr. 56 18.9 6.6 0.9 2.0 2.9 3.6 1.2 0.2 1.2 2.2 2.6 6.0 .435 0.6 1.9 .294 0.8 1.0 .741
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 5 34.2 31.0 3.4 9.8 13.2 5.8 1.6 1.0 4.8 4.0 12.2 21.2 .575 1.0 3.6 .278 5.6 6.6 .848
Dennis Smith Jr. ------- --- ----------

Season 8
Nikola Jokic Dennis Smith Jr.
Season 2022-23-
Team Denver Nuggets-
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 %
Nikola Jokic 69 33.7 24.5 2.4 9.4 11.8 9.8 1.3 0.7 3.6 2.5 9.4 14.8 .632 0.8 2.2 .383 4.9 6.0 .822
Dennis Smith Jr. ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 20 39.5 30.0 3.5 10.0 13.5 9.5 1.1 1.0 3.5 3.5 11.4 20.7 .548 1.8 3.8 .461 5.6 7.0 .799
Dennis Smith Jr. ------- --- ----------

Season 9
Nikola Jokic Dennis Smith Jr.
Season 2023-24-
Team Denver Nuggets-
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets TBD-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 79 34.6 26.4 2.8 9.5 12.4 9.0 1.4 0.9 3.0 2.5 10.4 17.9 .583 1.1 2.9 .359 4.5 5.5 .817
Dennis Smith Jr. ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 10 40.0 28.8 3.2 10.1 13.3 9.5 1.7 0.7 3.4 2.9 11.1 19.7 .563 1.2 3.9 .308 5.4 6.0 .900
Dennis Smith Jr. ------- --- ----------
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