Ralph Sampson vs. Lance Stephenson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lance Stephenson and Ralph Sampson, 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.

Ralph Sampson played 9 years in the NBA, 1 less than Lance Stephenson, who played 10. Ralph Sampson had the first of his seasons in 1983-84, while Lance Stephenson had his rookie season in 2010-11. 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
Ralph Sampson	9	4	1983-84 to 1991-92
Lance Stephenson	10	6	2010-11 to 2021-22

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


Rookie Season
	Ralph Sampson	Lance Stephenson
Season	1983-84	2010-11
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Ralph Sampson	82	32.8	21.0	3.6	7.6	11.1	2.0	0.9	2.4	3.6	4.1	8.7	16.7	.523	0.0	0.0	.250	3.5	5.3	.661
Lance Stephenson	12	9.6	3.1	0.1	1.4	1.5	1.8	0.3	0.0	1.3	1.2	1.1	3.3	.333	0.0	0.4	.000	0.9	1.2	.786

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lance Stephenson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Ralph Sampson	Lance Stephenson
Season	1984-85	2011-12
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pacers 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		%
Ralph Sampson	82	37.6	22.1	2.8	7.6	10.4	2.7	1.0	2.0	4.0	3.7	9.2	18.3	.502	0.0	0.1	.000	3.7	5.5	.676
Lance Stephenson	42	10.5	2.5	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.1	0.5	0.1	0.9	0.7	1.1	3.0	.376	0.1	0.7	.133	0.2	0.4	.471

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ralph Sampson	5	38.6	21.2	5.0	11.6	16.6	1.4	0.4	1.6	3.4	4.6	8.6	20.0	.430	0.2	0.2	1.000	3.8	7.4	.514
Lance Stephenson	4	3.0	1.5	0.0	0.0	0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.5	2.3	.222	0.3	0.5	.500	0.3	0.5	.500


Season 3
	Ralph Sampson	Lance Stephenson
Season	1985-86	2012-13
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost NBA Finals	Pacers Lost East 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		%
Ralph Sampson	79	36.3	18.9	3.3	7.9	11.1	3.6	1.3	1.6	3.6	3.9	7.9	16.2	.488	0.0	0.2	.133	3.1	4.8	.641
Lance Stephenson	78	29.2	8.8	0.6	3.3	3.9	2.9	1.0	0.2	1.4	2.1	3.5	7.7	.460	0.8	2.4	.330	1.0	1.5	.652

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ralph Sampson	20	37.1	20.0	3.3	7.5	10.8	4.0	1.5	1.8	3.6	4.0	7.8	15.1	.518	0.1	0.1	1.000	4.3	5.9	.729
Lance Stephenson	19	35.4	9.4	0.7	6.8	7.6	3.3	1.2	0.1	1.9	2.5	3.6	8.9	.408	0.9	3.4	.281	1.2	1.9	.622


Season 4
	Ralph Sampson	Lance Stephenson
Season	1986-87	2013-14
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers Lost East 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		%
Ralph Sampson	43	30.8	15.6	2.0	6.6	8.7	2.8	0.9	1.3	2.9	3.9	6.4	13.2	.489	0.0	0.1	.000	2.7	4.4	.624
Lance Stephenson	78	35.3	13.8	1.2	5.9	7.2	4.6	0.7	0.1	2.7	2.5	5.5	11.2	.491	1.1	3.1	.352	1.8	2.5	.711

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ralph Sampson	10	33.0	18.6	2.7	6.1	8.8	2.1	0.2	1.2	3.1	4.7	7.5	14.6	.514	0.1	0.2	.500	3.5	4.3	.814
Lance Stephenson	19	37.1	13.6	1.3	5.6	6.9	4.2	0.8	0.2	2.4	2.9	5.3	11.6	.455	1.3	3.5	.358	1.8	2.6	.714


Season 5
	Ralph Sampson	Lance Stephenson
Season	1987-88	2014-15
Team	Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors	Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Ralph Sampson	48	34.6	15.6	2.9	6.7	9.6	2.5	0.9	1.8	3.6	3.4	6.2	14.2	.438	0.0	0.2	.182	3.1	4.1	.760
Lance Stephenson	61	25.8	8.2	0.6	3.9	4.5	3.9	0.6	0.1	2.1	2.2	3.4	9.0	.376	0.3	1.7	.171	1.1	1.8	.627

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lance Stephenson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Ralph Sampson	Lance Stephenson
Season	1988-89	2015-16
Team	Golden State Warriors	Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis	Grizzlies 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		%
Ralph Sampson	61	17.8	6.4	1.7	3.3	5.0	1.3	0.5	1.1	1.5	2.8	2.7	6.0	.449	0.0	0.1	.375	1.0	1.6	.653
Lance Stephenson	69	19.9	8.3	0.6	2.7	3.2	1.9	0.6	0.1	1.4	2.0	3.3	6.9	.481	0.4	1.1	.385	1.3	1.6	.784

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ralph Sampson	3	14.3	6.7	2.0	2.7	4.7	0.3	0.3	0.7	1.3	2.7	3.0	7.3	.409	0.0	1.3	.000	0.7	1.3	.500
Lance Stephenson	4	23.8	13.0	0.3	1.3	1.5	1.8	0.3	0.0	0.8	2.5	5.8	11.0	.523	0.5	1.3	.400	1.0	1.3	.800


Season 7
	Ralph Sampson	Lance Stephenson
Season	1989-90	2016-17
Team	Sacramento Kings	New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pacers 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		%
Ralph Sampson	26	16.0	4.2	0.4	2.8	3.2	1.1	0.5	0.8	1.3	2.5	1.8	5.0	.372	0.0	0.2	.250	0.5	0.9	.522
Lance Stephenson	18	20.1	6.8	0.2	2.7	2.9	3.3	0.3	0.2	1.4	1.8	3.0	6.7	.450	0.3	1.1	.300	0.4	0.7	.615

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lance Stephenson	4	26.8	16.0	0.3	5.0	5.3	2.8	0.5	0.0	1.0	2.8	6.8	13.3	.509	1.8	4.5	.389	0.8	1.0	.750


Season 8
	Ralph Sampson	Lance Stephenson
Season	1990-91	2017-18
Team	Sacramento Kings	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pacers 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		%
Ralph Sampson	25	13.9	3.0	1.6	2.8	4.4	0.7	0.4	0.7	1.1	2.2	1.4	3.7	.366	0.0	0.2	.200	0.2	0.8	.263
Lance Stephenson	82	22.6	9.2	0.8	4.4	5.2	2.9	0.6	0.2	1.6	2.2	3.7	8.6	.427	0.8	2.8	.289	1.0	1.5	.661

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lance Stephenson	7	21.3	10.4	0.4	2.3	2.7	2.9	0.3	0.1	1.3	2.9	4.3	9.3	.462	1.1	3.7	.308	0.7	1.3	.556


Season 9
	Ralph Sampson	Lance Stephenson
Season	1991-92	2018-19
Team	Washington Bullets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Ralph Sampson	10	10.8	2.2	1.1	1.9	3.0	0.4	0.3	0.8	1.0	1.4	0.9	2.9	.310	0.0	0.2	.000	0.4	0.6	.667
Lance Stephenson	68	16.5	7.2	0.5	2.7	3.2	2.1	0.6	0.1	1.3	1.6	2.7	6.4	.426	1.1	2.9	.371	0.7	1.1	.685

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lance Stephenson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Lance Stephenson didn't play in 2019-20 and 2020-21.


Season 10
	Ralph Sampson	Lance Stephenson
Season	-	2021-22
Team	-	Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers
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		%
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lance Stephenson	46	17.7	8.3	0.3	2.5	2.8	3.6	0.5	0.1	1.6	2.1	3.2	7.0	.455	0.6	2.0	.300	1.4	1.7	.788

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Ralph Sampson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lance Stephenson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Ralph Sampson vs. Lance Stephenson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lance Stephenson and Ralph Sampson, 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