Yao Ming vs. Ernie Vandeweghe Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ernie Vandeweghe and Yao Ming, 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.

Yao Ming played 8 years in the NBA, 2 more than Ernie Vandeweghe, who played 6. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while Ernie Vandeweghe had his rookie season in 1949-50. 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
Yao Ming 8 4 2002-03 to 2010-11
Ernie Vandeweghe 6 4 1949-50 to 1955-56

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season
Yao Ming Ernie Vandeweghe
Season 2002-031949-50
Team Houston RocketsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayKnicks Lost East Div Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe 42 - 10.0 - - - 1.9 - - - 3.0 3.9 9.3 .421 - - - 2.2 3.3 .664
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Ernie Vandeweghe 4 - 8.0 - - - 0.8 - - - 4.0 2.3 6.5 .346 - - - 3.5 4.0 .875

Season 2
Yao Ming Ernie Vandeweghe
Season 2003-041950-51
Team Houston RocketsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf 1st RdKnicks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe 44 - 7.7 - - 4.4 2.8 - - - 3.3 3.1 7.6 .402 - - - 1.5 2.2 .701
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe 14 - 7.2 - - 4.7 2.4 - - - 3.9 2.6 6.5 .407 - - - 1.9 2.6 .730

Season 3
Yao Ming Ernie Vandeweghe
Season 2004-051951-52
Team Houston RocketsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf 1st RdKnicks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe 57 26.4 9.2 - - 4.6 2.9 - - - 3.3 3.5 8.0 .438 - - - 2.2 2.8 .775
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe 14 29.6 10.8 - - 4.9 1.9 - - - 4.1 3.6 8.4 .432 - - - 3.5 4.3 .817

Season 4
Yao Ming Ernie Vandeweghe
Season 2005-061952-53
Team Houston RocketsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayKnicks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe 61 28.6 12.0 - - 5.6 2.4 - - - 4.0 4.5 10.2 .435 - - - 3.1 4.0 .766
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Ernie Vandeweghe 11 30.9 13.1 - - 5.8 2.5 - - - 4.5 4.5 10.2 .438 - - - 4.2 5.5 .754

Season 5
Yao Ming Ernie Vandeweghe
Season 2006-071953-54
Team Houston RocketsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe 15 18.1 6.6 - - 1.3 1.9 - - - 2.5 2.5 6.9 .359 - - - 1.7 2.1 .806
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe ------- --- ----------

Note: Ernie Vandeweghe didn't play in 1954-55.

Season 6
Yao Ming Ernie Vandeweghe
Season 2007-081955-56
Team Houston RocketsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe 5 15.4 4.4 - - 2.6 2.4 - - - 3.0 2.0 6.2 .323 - - - 0.4 0.4 1.000
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Ernie Vandeweghe ------- --- ----------

Season 7
Yao Ming Ernie Vandeweghe
Season 2008-09-
Team Houston Rockets-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf Semis-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe ------- --- ----------

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

Season 8
Yao Ming Ernie Vandeweghe
Season 2010-11-
Team Houston Rockets-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
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 %
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
Ernie Vandeweghe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Ernie Vandeweghe ------- --- ----------
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