Yao Ming vs. Michael Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Smith 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 Michael Smith, who played 7. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while Michael Smith had his rookie season in 1994-95. 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 Smith 7 1 1994-95 to 2000-01

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season
Yao Ming Michael Smith
Season 2002-031994-95
Team Houston RocketsSacramento Kings
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
Michael Smith 82 21.2 6.9 2.1 3.8 5.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 1.3 2.9 2.7 5.0 .542 0.0 0.0 .000 1.5 3.2 .485
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Michael Smith ------- --- ----------

Season 2
Yao Ming Michael Smith
Season 2003-041995-96
Team Houston RocketsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets Lost West Conf 1st RdKings 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 %
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 Smith 65 21.3 5.5 2.2 3.8 6.0 1.7 0.7 0.7 1.1 2.6 2.2 3.7 .605 0.0 0.0 1.000 1.0 2.7 .384
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 Smith 4 21.8 4.8 1.8 3.8 5.5 2.0 0.3 0.5 0.5 3.5 1.8 3.0 .583 0.0 0.0 - 1.3 2.8 .455

Season 3
Yao Ming Michael Smith
Season 2004-051996-97
Team Houston RocketsSacramento Kings
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 Smith 81 31.2 6.6 3.2 6.3 9.5 2.4 1.0 0.7 1.6 3.1 2.5 4.6 .539 0.0 0.0 - 1.6 3.2 .496
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 Smith ------- --- ----------

Season 4
Yao Ming Michael Smith
Season 2005-061997-98
Team Houston RocketsSacramento Kings, Vancouver Grizzlies
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 Smith 48 21.9 5.2 2.5 3.9 6.4 1.8 0.9 0.3 1.1 2.0 1.9 4.0 .479 0.0 0.0 .000 1.4 2.1 .631
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Michael Smith ------- --- ----------

Season 5
Yao Ming Michael Smith
Season 2006-071998-99
Team Houston RocketsVancouver Grizzlies
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 Smith 48 22.9 4.8 2.8 4.5 7.3 1.0 1.0 0.4 1.3 2.2 1.6 3.0 .535 0.0 0.0 .000 1.6 2.7 .594
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 Smith ------- --- ----------

Season 6
Yao Ming Michael Smith
Season 2007-081999-00
Team Houston RocketsWashington Wizards
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
Michael Smith 46 24.9 6.3 2.6 4.6 7.2 1.2 0.6 0.5 1.0 2.8 2.3 4.2 .563 0.0 0.0 .000 1.6 2.2 .723
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Michael Smith ------- --- ----------

Season 7
Yao Ming Michael Smith
Season 2008-092000-01
Team Houston RocketsWashington Wizards
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 Smith 79 20.4 3.8 2.2 4.9 7.1 1.3 0.7 0.5 0.8 2.0 1.3 2.8 .486 0.0 0.0 .000 1.1 1.9 .578
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 Smith ------- --- ----------

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

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