Vinnie Johnson vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Vinnie Johnson, 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.

Vinnie Johnson played 13 years in the NBA, 5 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Vinnie Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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
Vinnie Johnson	13	10	1979-80 to 1991-92
Yao Ming	8	4	2002-03 to 2010-11

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1979-80	2002-03
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	38	8.6	3.2	0.5	0.9	1.4	1.4	0.5	0.1	1.1	1.1	1.2	3.0	.391	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.0	.795
Yao Ming	82	29.0	13.5	2.4	5.8	8.2	1.7	0.4	1.8	2.1	2.8	4.9	9.8	.498	0.0	0.0	.500	3.7	4.5	.811

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	5	2.4	0.4	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.6	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1980-81	2003-04
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	81	28.5	13.0	2.4	2.1	4.5	4.2	1.0	0.2	2.7	2.4	5.2	9.7	.534	0.0	0.1	.200	2.6	3.3	.793
Yao Ming	82	32.8	17.5	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.5	12.5	.522	0.0	0.0	.000	4.4	5.4	.809

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	5	37.6	15.0	2.2	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.4	1.4	2.6	4.0	6.2	13.6	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.4	.765


Season 3
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1981-82	2004-05
Team	Seattle Supersonics, Detroit Pistons	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	74	17.5	7.4	1.1	1.0	2.1	2.3	0.8	0.3	1.3	1.4	2.9	6.0	.489	0.0	0.2	.250	1.4	1.9	.754
Yao Ming	80	30.6	18.3	2.6	5.8	8.4	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.5	3.7	6.7	12.2	.552	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	6.2	.783

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	7	31.9	21.4	3.3	4.4	7.7	0.7	0.3	2.7	2.7	4.4	7.9	12.0	.655	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.9	.727


Season 4
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1982-83	2005-06
Team	Detroit Pistons	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	30.6	15.8	2.0	2.3	4.3	3.7	1.1	0.6	1.9	3.2	6.3	12.4	.513	0.1	0.5	.275	3.0	3.8	.778
Yao Ming	57	34.2	22.3	2.6	7.6	10.2	1.5	0.5	1.6	2.6	3.4	8.2	15.8	.519	0.0	0.0	.000	5.9	6.9	.853

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1983-84	2006-07
Team	Detroit Pistons	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Rockets 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	23.3	13.0	1.6	1.3	2.9	3.3	0.5	0.2	1.6	2.4	5.2	11.0	.473	0.0	0.2	.211	2.5	3.4	.753
Yao Ming	48	33.8	25.0	2.1	7.3	9.4	2.0	0.4	2.0	3.5	3.3	8.8	17.1	.516	0.0	0.0	.000	7.4	8.6	.862

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	5	26.4	10.2	1.0	1.8	2.8	2.4	0.2	0.2	0.8	1.8	3.4	9.2	.370	0.0	0.2	.000	3.4	3.8	.895
Yao Ming	7	37.1	25.1	3.3	7.0	10.3	0.9	0.1	0.7	4.7	3.9	7.9	17.9	.440	0.0	0.0	-	9.4	10.7	.880


Season 6
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1984-85	2007-08
Team	Detroit Pistons	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	25.5	12.8	1.6	1.4	3.1	4.0	0.9	0.2	1.6	2.5	5.2	11.5	.454	0.1	0.3	.185	2.3	3.0	.769
Yao Ming	55	37.2	22.0	3.1	7.7	10.8	2.3	0.5	2.0	3.3	3.1	7.9	15.5	.507	0.0	0.0	.000	6.3	7.4	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	9	26.1	14.2	1.7	1.3	3.0	3.2	0.7	0.1	1.7	2.7	5.9	11.4	.515	0.0	0.3	.000	2.4	3.1	.786
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1985-86	2008-09
Team	Detroit Pistons	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Rockets 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	79	25.0	13.9	1.5	1.4	2.9	3.4	1.0	0.3	1.1	2.3	5.9	12.6	.467	0.0	0.2	.154	2.1	2.7	.771
Yao Ming	77	33.6	19.7	2.6	7.2	9.9	1.8	0.4	1.9	3.0	3.3	7.4	13.4	.548	0.0	0.0	1.000	4.9	5.7	.866

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	4	21.3	12.8	2.0	2.3	4.3	2.8	0.8	0.0	1.3	2.3	5.5	12.3	.449	0.0	0.3	.000	1.8	3.3	.538
Yao Ming	9	35.9	17.1	2.1	8.8	10.9	1.0	0.4	1.2	1.9	3.0	6.0	11.0	.545	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	5.7	.902

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.


Season 8
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1986-87	2010-11
Team	Detroit Pistons	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	78	27.8	15.7	1.6	1.7	3.3	3.8	1.2	0.2	1.7	2.0	6.8	14.8	.462	0.1	0.2	.286	2.0	2.6	.786
Yao Ming	5	18.2	10.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.6	3.6	7.4	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.938

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	15	25.9	14.7	1.3	1.6	2.9	4.1	0.6	0.3	1.5	2.2	6.3	13.8	.459	0.0	0.1	.000	2.1	2.4	.861
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1987-88	-
Team	Detroit Pistons	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pistons 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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	23.6	12.2	1.1	1.7	2.8	3.3	0.7	0.2	1.9	2.0	5.2	11.7	.443	0.1	0.3	.208	1.8	2.6	.677
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	23	20.7	10.3	1.5	1.7	3.3	1.9	0.7	0.2	0.9	2.1	4.4	10.4	.423	0.0	0.3	.143	1.4	2.2	.660
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1988-89	-
Team	Detroit Pistons	-
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	25.3	13.8	1.3	1.8	3.1	3.0	0.9	0.2	1.3	1.9	5.6	12.1	.464	0.2	0.5	.295	2.4	3.2	.734
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	17	21.9	14.1	0.9	1.7	2.6	2.5	0.2	0.2	1.2	1.9	5.4	11.8	.455	0.6	1.4	.417	2.8	3.6	.758
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1989-90	-
Team	Detroit Pistons	-
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		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	24.0	9.8	1.3	1.8	3.1	3.1	0.9	0.2	1.5	1.7	4.1	9.5	.431	0.1	0.4	.147	1.6	2.4	.668
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	20	23.2	10.3	1.4	1.4	2.8	2.7	0.4	0.2	1.6	1.9	4.3	9.2	.462	0.1	0.4	.286	1.7	2.2	.791
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1990-91	-
Team	Detroit Pistons	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	82	29.1	11.7	1.3	2.1	3.4	3.3	0.9	0.2	1.4	2.0	5.0	11.4	.434	0.1	0.4	.324	1.6	2.5	.646
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	15	29.2	15.2	2.5	2.6	5.1	2.9	0.7	0.3	1.1	2.2	6.8	14.7	.464	0.1	0.9	.154	1.5	2.1	.710
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Vinnie Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1991-92	-
Team	San Antonio Spurs	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	60	22.5	8.0	1.1	1.9	3.0	2.4	0.7	0.2	1.2	1.6	3.4	8.3	.405	0.3	1.0	.317	0.9	1.4	.647
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Vinnie Johnson	3	23.0	8.3	1.0	1.7	2.7	2.3	1.7	0.3	1.7	2.3	3.7	8.0	.458	0.7	1.3	.500	0.3	0.7	.500
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Vinnie Johnson vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Vinnie Johnson, 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