Yao Ming vs. John Wetzel Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Wetzel 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, 1 more than John Wetzel, who played 7. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while John Wetzel had his rookie season in 1967-68. 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
John Wetzel 7 2 1967-68 to 1975-76

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season
Yao Ming John Wetzel
Season 2002-031967-68
Team Houston RocketsLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First 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 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
John Wetzel 38 11.4 3.7 - - 2.2 1.3 - - - 1.4 1.4 3.1 .437 - - - 0.9 1.2 .761
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
John Wetzel ------- --- ----------

Note: John Wetzel didn't play in 1968-69 and 1969-70.

Season 2
Yao Ming John Wetzel
Season 2003-041970-71
Team Houston RocketsPhoenix Suns
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third 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 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
John Wetzel 70 15.6 4.7 - - 2.2 1.6 - - - 2.2 1.8 4.1 .431 - - - 1.2 1.4 .822
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
John Wetzel ------- --- ----------

Season 3
Yao Ming John Wetzel
Season 2004-051971-72
Team Houston RocketsPhoenix Suns
Honors & Awards 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 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
John Wetzel 51 8.2 1.7 - - 1.3 1.1 - - - 1.4 0.6 1.6 .378 - - - 0.5 0.6 .800
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
John Wetzel ------- --- ----------

Season 4
Yao Ming John Wetzel
Season 2005-061972-73
Team Houston RocketsAtlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayHawks Lost East 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 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
John Wetzel 28 18.0 3.5 - - 2.1 1.4 - - - 1.5 1.5 3.4 .447 - - - 0.5 0.6 .824
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
John Wetzel 3 11.0 2.0 - - 0.7 1.3 - - - 2.0 1.0 2.3 .429 - - - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 5
Yao Ming John Wetzel
Season 2006-071973-74
Team Houston RocketsAtlanta Hawks
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
John Wetzel 70 17.6 3.6 0.6 1.9 2.4 2.0 1.0 0.3 - 2.1 1.5 3.6 .425 - - - 0.6 0.8 .719
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
John Wetzel ------- --- ----------

Season 6
Yao Ming John Wetzel
Season 2007-081974-75
Team Houston RocketsAtlanta Hawks
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
John Wetzel 63 12.5 3.8 0.5 1.3 1.8 1.2 0.8 0.1 - 1.7 1.4 3.2 .426 - - - 1.1 1.2 .883
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
John Wetzel ------- --- ----------

Season 7
Yao Ming John Wetzel
Season 2008-091975-76
Team Houston RocketsPhoenix Suns
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf SemisSuns 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 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
John Wetzel 37 6.7 1.7 0.2 0.8 1.0 0.5 0.2 0.1 - 0.8 0.6 1.2 .478 - - - 0.5 0.6 .833
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
John Wetzel 2 2.5 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - 1.0 0.0 0.0 - - - - 1.0 1.0 1.000

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

Season 8
Yao Ming John Wetzel
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
John Wetzel ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
John Wetzel ------- --- ----------
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