Sam Bowie vs. Nikola Jokic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Jokic and Sam Bowie, 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.

Sam Bowie played 10 years in the NBA, 1 more than Nikola Jokic, who played 9. Sam Bowie had the first of his seasons in 1984-85, while Nikola Jokic had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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
Sam Bowie	10	5	1984-85 to 1994-95
Nikola Jokic	9	6	2015-16 to 2023-24

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


Rookie Season
	Sam Bowie	Nikola Jokic
Season	1984-85	2015-16
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 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		%
Sam Bowie	76	29.2	10.0	2.7	5.9	8.6	2.8	0.7	2.7	2.3	3.7	3.9	7.3	.537	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	3.0	.711
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Bowie	9	28.8	7.3	1.8	6.7	8.4	2.3	0.4	2.3	1.3	4.0	2.9	6.6	.441	0.0	0.0	-	1.6	2.8	.560
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Sam Bowie	Nikola Jokic
Season	1985-86	2016-17
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets
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		%
Sam Bowie	38	29.8	11.8	2.4	6.2	8.6	2.6	0.6	2.5	2.3	3.7	4.4	9.1	.484	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.2	.708
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Bowie	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Sam Bowie	Nikola Jokic
Season	1986-87	2017-18
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets
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		%
Sam Bowie	5	32.6	16.0	2.8	3.8	6.6	1.8	0.2	2.0	3.0	3.8	6.0	13.2	.455	0.0	0.0	-	4.0	6.0	.667
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Bowie	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Sam Bowie didn't play in 1987-88.


Season 4
	Sam Bowie	Nikola Jokic
Season	1988-89	2018-19
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
Sam Bowie	20	20.6	8.6	1.8	3.5	5.3	1.8	0.4	1.7	1.7	2.2	3.5	7.7	.451	0.3	0.4	.714	1.4	2.5	.571
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Bowie	3	22.3	10.3	3.3	3.3	6.7	1.0	0.0	2.3	1.0	2.7	4.0	9.3	.429	0.3	0.7	.500	2.0	2.7	.750
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


Season 5
	Sam Bowie	Nikola Jokic
Season	1989-90	2019-20
Team	New Jersey Nets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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		%
Sam Bowie	68	32.5	14.7	3.0	7.1	10.1	1.3	0.6	1.8	1.8	3.1	5.1	12.3	.416	0.1	0.5	.323	4.3	5.6	.776
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Bowie	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 6
	Sam Bowie	Nikola Jokic
Season	1990-91	2020-21
Team	New Jersey Nets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
Sam Bowie	62	30.9	12.9	2.8	4.9	7.7	2.4	0.7	1.5	2.3	2.8	5.1	11.7	.434	0.1	0.4	.182	2.7	3.7	.732
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Bowie	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 7
	Sam Bowie	Nikola Jokic
Season	1991-92	2021-22
Team	New Jersey Nets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets 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		%
Sam Bowie	71	30.7	15.0	2.9	5.3	8.1	2.6	0.6	1.7	2.1	3.0	5.9	13.3	.445	0.1	0.4	.320	3.0	3.9	.757
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Bowie	4	28.0	9.3	2.0	2.8	4.8	2.3	0.8	0.8	1.3	4.8	3.5	8.3	.424	0.3	0.5	.500	2.0	3.0	.667
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


Season 8
	Sam Bowie	Nikola Jokic
Season	1992-93	2022-23
Team	New Jersey Nets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Sam Bowie	79	26.5	9.1	2.0	5.0	7.0	1.6	0.4	1.6	1.5	2.9	3.6	8.1	.450	0.0	0.1	.333	1.8	2.3	.779
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Bowie	3	23.7	3.3	0.7	3.3	4.0	0.7	2.0	0.3	1.3	3.0	1.3	3.0	.444	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	0.7	1.000
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


Season 9
	Sam Bowie	Nikola Jokic
Season	1993-94	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets TBD

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Bowie	25	22.2	8.9	1.1	4.2	5.2	1.9	0.2	1.1	1.7	2.6	3.0	6.9	.436	0.0	0.2	.250	2.9	3.3	.867
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Bowie	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	7	40.1	27.0	3.7	11.3	15.0	9.4	1.3	0.3	3.9	2.9	10.1	18.7	.542	1.1	4.0	.286	5.6	5.9	.951


Season 10
	Sam Bowie	Nikola Jokic
Season	1994-95	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West 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		%
Sam Bowie	67	18.3	4.6	1.1	3.2	4.3	1.8	0.3	1.2	1.4	2.7	1.8	4.0	.442	0.0	0.2	.182	1.0	1.3	.764
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Bowie	10	13.5	2.1	1.3	2.0	3.3	0.3	0.1	0.9	0.6	2.5	0.8	3.0	.267	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.5	1.000
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Sam Bowie vs. Nikola Jokic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Jokic and Sam Bowie, 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