Rudy LaRusso vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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, 6 less than J.R. Smith, who played 16. Rudy LaRusso had the first of his seasons in 1959-60, 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
Rudy LaRusso	10	9	1959-60 to 1968-69
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
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	1959-60	2004-05
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div 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		%
Rudy LaRusso	71	29.5	13.7	-	-	9.6	1.2	-	-	-	3.1	5.0	12.9	.389	-	-	-	3.7	5.0	.742
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	9	35.7	15.4	-	-	7.8	2.4	-	-	-	3.8	6.2	14.7	.424	-	-	-	3.0	3.9	.771
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	1960-61	2005-06
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div 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		%
Rudy LaRusso	79	32.8	14.6	-	-	9.9	1.7	-	-	-	3.5	5.3	12.6	.419	-	-	-	4.1	5.2	.790
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	12	30.0	12.2	-	-	8.0	2.0	-	-	-	3.6	4.8	12.0	.396	-	-	-	2.7	4.0	.667
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	1961-62	2006-07
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Rudy LaRusso	80	34.4	17.2	-	-	10.4	2.2	-	-	-	3.2	6.5	13.9	.466	-	-	-	4.3	5.6	.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		%
Rudy LaRusso	13	35.5	14.1	-	-	9.1	1.7	-	-	-	3.9	4.4	12.0	.365	-	-	-	5.3	7.0	.758
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
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	1962-63	2007-08
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Rudy LaRusso	75	33.4	12.3	-	-	10.0	2.5	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	10.1	.422	-	-	-	3.8	5.2	.718
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	13	35.8	14.4	-	-	9.8	2.2	-	-	-	4.5	5.0	11.8	.422	-	-	-	4.4	5.8	.760
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
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	1963-64	2008-09
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	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		%
Rudy LaRusso	79	34.8	12.3	-	-	10.1	2.4	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	9.8	.434	-	-	-	3.8	5.0	.751
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	5	37.8	9.0	-	-	6.0	2.2	-	-	-	4.6	2.6	6.6	.394	-	-	-	3.8	4.4	.864
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
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	1964-65	2009-10
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Rudy LaRusso	77	33.6	14.1	-	-	9.4	2.6	-	-	-	3.4	4.9	10.7	.461	-	-	-	4.2	5.4	.773
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	11	35.9	15.0	-	-	8.1	2.6	-	-	-	4.7	5.1	12.5	.409	-	-	-	4.8	6.7	.716
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
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	1965-66	2010-11
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Rudy LaRusso	76	30.5	15.4	-	-	8.7	2.2	-	-	-	3.4	5.4	11.8	.457	-	-	-	4.6	5.9	.787
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	14	28.4	11.9	-	-	7.1	1.9	-	-	-	3.4	4.1	8.9	.460	-	-	-	3.8	4.8	.791
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
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	1966-67	2011-12
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Rudy LaRusso	45	28.7	12.8	-	-	7.8	1.7	-	-	-	3.3	4.7	11.3	.415	-	-	-	3.5	5.0	.696
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	1967-68	2012-13
Team	San Francisco Warriors	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Div Finals	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		%
Rudy LaRusso	79	35.7	21.8	-	-	9.4	2.3	-	-	-	4.3	7.6	17.6	.433	-	-	-	6.6	8.4	.790
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	10	38.5	20.3	-	-	9.9	1.7	-	-	-	3.5	7.2	18.2	.396	-	-	-	5.9	8.1	.728
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
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	1968-69	2013-14
Team	San Francisco Warriors	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Div Semis	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		%
Rudy LaRusso	75	37.1	20.7	-	-	8.3	2.1	-	-	-	3.6	7.4	18.0	.410	-	-	-	5.9	7.5	.794
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	6	35.8	18.2	-	-	8.5	2.5	-	-	-	3.8	5.7	15.0	.378	-	-	-	6.8	8.8	.774
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2014-15
Team	-	New York Knicks, 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		%
Rudy LaRusso	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rudy LaRusso	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		%
Rudy LaRusso	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2016-17
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Cavaliers 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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2017-18
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Cavaliers 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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rudy LaRusso	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2018-19
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


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

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy LaRusso	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rudy LaRusso	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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	-

Rudy LaRusso vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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.

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