Rudy LaRusso vs. Ben Simmons Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Simmons and Rudy LaRusso, 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.

Rudy LaRusso played 10 years in the NBA, 4 more than Ben Simmons, who played 6. Rudy LaRusso had the first of his seasons in 1959-60, while Ben Simmons 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
Rudy LaRusso 10 9 1959-60 to 1968-69
Ben Simmons 6 3 2017-18 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Rudy LaRusso Ben Simmons
Season 1959-602017-18
Team Minneapolis LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Div Finals76ers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 71 29.5 13.7 - - 9.6 1.2 - - - 3.1 5.0 12.9 .389 - - - 3.7 5.0 .742
Ben Simmons 81 33.7 15.8 1.8 6.3 8.1 8.2 1.7 0.9 3.4 2.6 6.7 12.3 .545 0.0 0.1 .000 2.4 4.2 .560
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 9 35.7 15.4 - - 7.8 2.4 - - - 3.8 6.2 14.7 .424 - - - 3.0 3.9 .771
Ben Simmons 10 36.9 16.3 1.6 7.8 9.4 7.7 1.7 0.8 4.4 3.4 6.1 12.5 .488 0.0 0.1 .000 4.1 5.8 .707

Season 2

Rudy LaRusso Ben Simmons
Season 1960-612018-19
Team Los Angeles LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Div Finals76ers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 79 32.8 14.6 - - 9.9 1.7 - - - 3.5 5.3 12.6 .419 - - - 4.1 5.2 .790
Ben Simmons 79 34.2 16.9 2.2 6.6 8.8 7.7 1.4 0.8 3.5 2.6 6.8 12.2 .563 0.0 0.1 .000 3.3 5.4 .600
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 12 30.0 12.2 - - 8.0 2.0 - - - 3.6 4.8 12.0 .396 - - - 2.7 4.0 .667
Ben Simmons 12 35.1 13.9 1.9 5.1 7.0 6.0 1.3 1.0 2.7 3.8 6.0 9.7 .621 0.0 0.0 - 1.9 3.3 .575

Season 3

Rudy LaRusso Ben Simmons
Season 1961-622019-20
Team Los Angeles LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement Steals Leader
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 80 34.4 17.2 - - 10.4 2.2 - - - 3.2 6.5 13.9 .466 - - - 4.3 5.6 .763
Ben Simmons 57 35.4 16.4 2.0 5.8 7.8 8.0 2.1 0.6 3.5 3.3 6.6 11.4 .580 0.0 0.1 .286 3.2 5.2 .621
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 13 35.5 14.1 - - 9.1 1.7 - - - 3.9 4.4 12.0 .365 - - - 5.3 7.0 .758
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 4

Rudy LaRusso Ben Simmons
Season 1962-632020-21
Team Los Angeles LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost NBA Finals76ers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 75 33.4 12.3 - - 10.0 2.5 - - - 3.4 4.3 10.1 .422 - - - 3.8 5.2 .718
Ben Simmons 58 32.4 14.3 1.6 5.6 7.2 6.9 1.6 0.6 3.0 2.9 5.6 10.1 .557 0.1 0.2 .300 3.0 4.9 .613
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 13 35.8 14.4 - - 9.8 2.2 - - - 4.5 5.0 11.8 .422 - - - 4.4 5.8 .760
Ben Simmons 12 33.5 11.9 2.1 5.8 7.9 8.8 1.3 0.8 2.3 3.3 4.9 7.9 .621 0.0 0.1 .000 2.1 6.1 .342

Note: Ben Simmons didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 5

Rudy LaRusso Ben Simmons
Season 1963-642022-23
Team Los Angeles LakersBrooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Div SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 79 34.8 12.3 - - 10.1 2.4 - - - 3.4 4.3 9.8 .434 - - - 3.8 5.0 .751
Ben Simmons 42 26.3 6.9 1.0 5.3 6.3 6.1 1.3 0.6 2.3 3.3 3.2 5.6 .566 0.0 0.0 .000 0.6 1.4 .439
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 5 37.8 9.0 - - 6.0 2.2 - - - 4.6 2.6 6.6 .394 - - - 3.8 4.4 .864
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Rudy LaRusso Ben Simmons
Season 1964-652023-24
Team Los Angeles LakersBrooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Lakers Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 77 33.6 14.1 - - 9.4 2.6 - - - 3.4 4.9 10.7 .461 - - - 4.2 5.4 .773
Ben Simmons 15 23.9 6.1 2.1 5.9 7.9 5.7 0.8 0.6 1.8 2.4 2.9 4.9 .581 0.0 0.0 - 0.4 1.0 .400
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 11 35.9 15.0 - - 8.1 2.6 - - - 4.7 5.1 12.5 .409 - - - 4.8 6.7 .716
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 7

Rudy LaRusso Ben Simmons
Season 1965-66-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost NBA Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 76 30.5 15.4 - - 8.7 2.2 - - - 3.4 5.4 11.8 .457 - - - 4.6 5.9 .787
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 14 28.4 11.9 - - 7.1 1.9 - - - 3.4 4.1 8.9 .460 - - - 3.8 4.8 .791
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Rudy LaRusso Ben Simmons
Season 1966-67-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
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 %
Rudy LaRusso 45 28.7 12.8 - - 7.8 1.7 - - - 3.3 4.7 11.3 .415 - - - 3.5 5.0 .696
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso ------- --- ----------
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 9

Rudy LaRusso Ben Simmons
Season 1967-68-
Team San Francisco Warriors-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Warriors 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 %
Rudy LaRusso 79 35.7 21.8 - - 9.4 2.3 - - - 4.3 7.6 17.6 .433 - - - 6.6 8.4 .790
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 10 38.5 20.3 - - 9.9 1.7 - - - 3.5 7.2 18.2 .396 - - - 5.9 8.1 .728
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 10

Rudy LaRusso Ben Simmons
Season 1968-69-
Team San Francisco Warriors-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Warriors 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 %
Rudy LaRusso 75 37.1 20.7 - - 8.3 2.1 - - - 3.6 7.4 18.0 .410 - - - 5.9 7.5 .794
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Rudy LaRusso 6 35.8 18.2 - - 8.5 2.5 - - - 3.8 5.7 15.0 .378 - - - 6.8 8.8 .774
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------