Yao Ming vs. Michael Olowokandi Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Olowokandi 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 / Games against each other

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 less than Michael Olowokandi, who played 9. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while Michael Olowokandi had his rookie season in 1998-99. 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
Michael Olowokandi 9 1 1998-99 to 2006-07

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season
Yao Ming Michael Olowokandi
Season 2002-031998-99
Team Houston RocketsLos Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
-Achievement All-Rookie Second 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
Michael Olowokandi 45 28.4 8.9 2.7 5.3 7.9 0.6 0.6 1.2 1.9 3.0 3.8 8.9 .431 0.0 0.0 - 1.3 2.6 .483
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Michael Olowokandi ------- --- ----------

Season 2
Yao Ming Michael Olowokandi
Season 2003-041999-00
Team Houston RocketsLos Angeles Clippers
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
Michael Olowokandi 80 31.2 9.8 2.4 5.8 8.2 0.5 0.4 1.8 2.2 3.8 4.1 9.5 .437 0.0 0.0 - 1.5 2.4 .651
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
Michael Olowokandi ------- --- ----------

Season 3
Yao Ming Michael Olowokandi
Season 2004-052000-01
Team Houston RocketsLos Angeles Clippers
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
Michael Olowokandi 82 25.9 8.5 2.0 4.4 6.4 0.6 0.4 1.3 2.1 3.0 3.8 8.6 .435 0.0 0.0 - 1.0 1.9 .545
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
Michael Olowokandi ------- --- ----------

Season 4
Yao Ming Michael Olowokandi
Season 2005-062001-02
Team Houston RocketsLos Angeles Clippers
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 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
Michael Olowokandi 80 32.1 11.1 2.1 6.8 8.9 1.1 0.7 1.8 2.2 2.7 4.8 11.1 .433 0.0 0.0 - 1.5 2.4 .622
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Michael Olowokandi ------- --- ----------

Season 5
Yao Ming Michael Olowokandi
Season 2006-072002-03
Team Houston RocketsLos Angeles Clippers
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
Michael Olowokandi 36 38.0 12.3 1.6 7.5 9.1 1.3 0.5 2.2 2.7 3.1 5.2 12.1 .427 0.0 0.0 - 1.9 2.9 .657
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
Michael Olowokandi ------- --- ----------

Season 6
Yao Ming Michael Olowokandi
Season 2007-082003-04
Team Houston RocketsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayTimberwolves Lost West Conf Finals
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
Michael Olowokandi 43 21.5 6.5 1.8 3.9 5.7 0.6 0.4 1.6 1.3 3.2 2.8 6.6 .425 0.0 0.0 - 0.8 1.4 .590
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Michael Olowokandi 15 14.9 2.1 1.1 2.4 3.5 0.1 0.1 0.7 1.1 3.3 0.8 2.5 .324 0.0 0.1 .000 0.5 0.5 .875

Season 7
Yao Ming Michael Olowokandi
Season 2008-092004-05
Team Houston RocketsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf SemisDid 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 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
Michael Olowokandi 62 19.6 5.9 1.7 3.5 5.2 0.5 0.2 0.9 1.1 3.1 2.6 5.7 .456 0.0 0.0 - 0.7 1.1 .667
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
Michael Olowokandi ------- --- ----------

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

Season 8
Yao Ming Michael Olowokandi
Season 2010-112005-06
Team Houston RocketsMinnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards 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 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
Michael Olowokandi 48 19.1 5.0 1.0 3.5 4.6 0.5 0.5 0.7 1.1 2.5 2.2 5.0 .446 0.0 0.0 - 0.5 1.0 .511
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Michael Olowokandi ------- --- ----------

Season 9
Yao Ming Michael Olowokandi
Season -2006-07
Team -Boston Celtics
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 %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Michael Olowokandi 24 9.8 1.7 0.6 1.4 2.0 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.7 2.0 0.8 1.9 .413 0.0 0.0 - 0.1 0.1 .667
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Michael Olowokandi ------- --- ----------
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