Wes Matthews vs. George Mikan Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of George Mikan and Wes Matthews, 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.

Wes Matthews played 9 years in the NBA, 2 more than George Mikan, who played 7. Wes Matthews had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, while George Mikan had his rookie season in 1948-49. 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
Wes Matthews 9 7 1980-81 to 1989-90
George Mikan 7 7 1948-49 to 1955-56

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Wes Matthews George Mikan
Season 1980-811948-49
Team Washington Bullets, Atlanta HawksMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 79 28.7 12.4 0.6 1.2 1.8 5.2 1.4 0.2 3.3 3.1 4.9 9.9 .494 0.1 0.3 .238 2.6 3.2 .802
George Mikan 60 - 28.3 - - - 3.6 - - - 4.3 9.7 23.4 .416 - - - 8.9 11.5 .772
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews ------- --- ----------
George Mikan 10 - 30.3 - - - 2.1 - - - 4.4 10.3 22.7 .454 - - - 9.7 12.1 .802

Season 2

Wes Matthews George Mikan
Season 1981-821949-50
Team Atlanta HawksMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf 1st RdNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 47 17.8 6.9 0.4 0.8 1.2 3.0 1.1 0.0 1.3 2.7 2.8 6.3 .440 0.0 0.2 .250 1.3 1.7 .759
George Mikan 68 - 27.4 - - - 2.9 - - - 4.4 9.5 23.5 .407 - - - 8.3 10.7 .779
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 2 14.0 4.0 0.0 0.0 0 2.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 2.0 1.0 5.0 .200 0.0 0.0 - 2.0 2.0 1.000
George Mikan 12 - 31.3 - - - 3.0 - - - 3.9 10.1 26.3 .383 - - - 11.2 14.2 .788

Season 3

Wes Matthews George Mikan
Season 1982-831950-51
Team Atlanta HawksMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf 1st RdLakers 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 %
Wes Matthews 64 18.5 6.9 0.4 1.0 1.4 3.9 0.9 0.1 1.9 2.0 2.7 6.6 .403 0.2 0.8 .292 1.3 1.8 .768
George Mikan 68 - 28.4 - - 14.1 3.1 - - - 4.5 10.0 23.3 .428 - - - 8.5 10.5 .803
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 3 12.7 3.3 0.0 0.0 0 3.7 0.0 0.3 1.0 1.7 1.0 3.0 .333 0.0 0.3 .000 1.3 1.7 .800
George Mikan 7 - 24.0 - - 10.6 1.3 - - - 3.6 8.9 21.7 .408 - - - 6.3 7.9 .800

Season 4

Wes Matthews George Mikan
Season 1983-841951-52
Team Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ersMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf 1st RdNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 20 19.4 7.5 0.4 1.0 1.4 4.2 0.8 0.2 2.0 2.3 3.1 6.6 .466 0.1 0.4 .125 1.4 1.8 .750
George Mikan 64 40.2 23.8 - - 13.5 3.0 - - - 4.5 8.5 22.1 .385 - - - 6.8 8.7 .780
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 4 5.8 2.5 0.0 0.0 0 1.0 0.3 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 .500 0.3 0.5 .500 0.3 0.5 .500
George Mikan 13 42.5 23.6 - - 15.9 2.8 - - - 4.8 7.6 20.1 .379 - - - 8.4 10.6 .790

Season 5

Wes Matthews George Mikan
Season 1984-851952-53
Team Chicago BullsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Rebounds Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs Bulls Lost East Conf 1st RdNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 78 19.5 5.7 0.2 0.7 0.9 4.5 0.9 0.2 1.6 1.7 2.4 4.9 .495 0.0 0.2 .125 0.8 1.1 .694
George Mikan 70 37.9 20.6 - - 14.4 2.9 - - - 4.1 7.1 17.9 .399 - - - 6.3 8.1 .780
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 4 22.8 7.3 0.5 1.0 1.5 3.0 1.3 0.0 1.8 2.5 2.8 8.0 .344 0.0 0.8 .000 1.8 2.3 .778
George Mikan 12 38.6 19.8 - - 15.4 1.9 - - - 4.7 6.5 17.8 .366 - - - 6.8 9.3 .732

Season 6

Wes Matthews George Mikan
Season 1985-861953-54
Team San Antonio SpursMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Spurs Lost West Conf 1st RdNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 75 24.7 10.9 0.4 1.3 1.7 6.3 1.2 0.4 3.1 2.2 4.3 8.0 .531 0.1 0.3 .160 2.3 2.8 .820
George Mikan 72 32.8 18.1 - - 14.3 2.4 - - - 3.7 6.1 16.1 .380 - - - 5.9 7.6 .777
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 3 38.7 25.3 0.3 2.0 2.3 8.0 2.0 0.0 3.7 2.3 11.7 18.0 .648 0.0 0.3 .000 2.0 2.7 .750
George Mikan 13 32.6 19.4 - - 13.2 1.9 - - - 4.3 6.7 14.6 .458 - - - 6.0 7.4 .813

Note: George Mikan didn't play in 1954-55.

Season 7

Wes Matthews George Mikan
Season 1986-871955-56
Team Los Angeles LakersMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionLakers 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 %
Wes Matthews 50 10.6 4.2 0.3 0.7 0.9 2.0 0.5 0.1 1.0 1.1 1.8 3.7 .476 0.0 0.1 .333 0.6 0.7 .806
George Mikan 37 20.7 10.5 - - 8.3 1.4 - - - 4.1 4.0 10.1 .395 - - - 2.5 3.3 .770
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 12 5.1 2.3 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.8 0.1 0.0 1.1 0.8 0.9 1.9 .478 0.0 0.1 .000 0.5 0.6 .857
George Mikan 3 20.0 12.0 - - 9.3 1.7 - - - 4.7 4.3 11.7 .371 - - - 3.3 4.3 .769

Season 8

Wes Matthews George Mikan
Season 1987-88-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 51 13.8 5.7 0.3 1.0 1.3 2.7 0.5 0.1 1.4 1.3 2.2 4.9 .460 0.1 0.6 .233 1.1 1.3 .831
George Mikan ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews 10 2.7 1.2 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.5 .400 0.0 0.1 .000 0.8 1.0 .800
George Mikan ------- --- ----------

Note: Wes Matthews didn't play in 1988-89.

Season 9

Wes Matthews George Mikan
Season 1989-90-
Team Atlanta Hawks-
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 %
Wes Matthews 1 13.0 4.0 0.0 0.0 0 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 3.0 .333 0.0 1.0 .000 2.0 2.0 1.000
George Mikan ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Wes Matthews ------- --- ----------
George Mikan ------- --- ----------