Mike Sanders vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nate Thurmond and Mike Sanders, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

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.

Mike Sanders played 11 years in the NBA, 3 less than Nate Thurmond, who played 14. Mike Sanders had the first of his seasons in 1982-83, while Nate Thurmond had his rookie season in 1963-64. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14
Rookie Season
	Mike Sanders	Nate Thurmond
Season	1982-83	1963-64
Team	San Antonio Spurs	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	Warriors Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	26	15.1	7.0	1.2	2.4	3.6	0.7	0.7	0.2	1.1	2.2	2.9	6.0	.484	0.0	0.1	.000	1.2	1.7	.721
Nate Thurmond	76	25.9	7.0	-	-	10.4	1.1	-	-	-	2.4	2.9	7.3	.395	-	-	-	1.3	2.3	.549
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	6	4.2	2.3	0.3	1.2	1.5	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.2	2.2	.538	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
Nate Thurmond	12	34.2	10.0	-	-	12.3	0.8	-	-	-	3.8	3.5	8.0	.438	-	-	-	3.0	4.4	.679

Season 2
	Mike Sanders	Nate Thurmond
Season	1983-84	1964-65
Team	Phoenix Suns	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	50	11.7	4.5	0.8	1.3	2.1	0.9	0.5	0.2	0.9	2.0	1.9	4.1	.478	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	0.8	.690
Nate Thurmond	77	41.2	16.5	-	-	18.1	2.0	-	-	-	3.0	6.7	16.1	.419	-	-	-	3.1	4.6	.658
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	15	10.1	4.0	0.7	0.7	1.3	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.9	2.1	1.5	3.1	.478	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	1.1	.941
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Mike Sanders	Nate Thurmond
Season	1984-85	1965-66
Team	Phoenix Suns	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	21	19.9	10.2	1.8	2.4	4.2	1.4	1.1	0.2	1.6	2.8	4.0	8.3	.486	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	2.8	.763
Nate Thurmond	73	39.6	16.3	-	-	18.0	1.5	-	-	-	3.1	6.2	15.3	.406	-	-	-	3.8	5.9	.654
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	3	30.3	17.3	2.7	2.3	5.0	3.3	1.7	0.0	3.0	2.7	7.3	12.3	.595	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	3.3	.800
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Mike Sanders	Nate Thurmond
Season	1985-86	1966-67
Team	Phoenix Suns	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Warriors Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	82	20.0	11.0	1.3	2.1	3.3	1.8	0.9	0.4	1.7	2.9	4.2	8.2	.513	0.0	0.2	.200	2.5	3.1	.809
Nate Thurmond	65	42.5	18.7	-	-	21.3	2.6	-	-	-	2.8	7.2	16.4	.437	-	-	-	4.3	6.8	.629
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nate Thurmond	15	46.0	15.9	-	-	23.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.5	6.2	14.3	.433	-	-	-	3.5	6.1	.571

Season 5
	Mike Sanders	Nate Thurmond
Season	1986-87	1967-68
Team	Phoenix Suns	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	82	20.2	10.5	1.2	2.1	3.3	1.5	0.7	0.3	1.3	2.6	4.4	8.8	.494	0.0	0.2	.118	1.7	2.2	.781
Nate Thurmond	51	43.6	20.5	-	-	22.0	4.2	-	-	-	2.7	7.5	18.2	.411	-	-	-	5.5	8.6	.644
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Mike Sanders	Nate Thurmond
Season	1987-88	1968-69
Team	Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Warriors Lost West Div Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	59	15.0	6.2	0.6	1.2	1.8	0.9	0.5	0.2	0.8	2.2	2.6	5.1	.505	0.0	0.0	.000	1.0	1.3	.776
Nate Thurmond	71	45.2	21.5	-	-	19.7	3.6	-	-	-	2.4	8.0	19.6	.410	-	-	-	5.4	8.7	.615
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	5	26.8	12.8	2.2	2.8	5.0	1.4	0.6	0.4	2.2	4.2	5.6	10.4	.538	0.0	0.2	.000	1.6	2.0	.800
Nate Thurmond	6	43.8	16.7	-	-	19.5	4.7	-	-	-	3.0	6.7	17.0	.392	-	-	-	3.3	5.7	.588

Season 7
	Mike Sanders	Nate Thurmond
Season	1988-89	1969-70
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	82	25.6	9.3	1.2	2.5	3.7	1.6	1.1	0.4	1.3	2.8	4.0	8.9	.453	0.0	0.1	.300	1.2	1.6	.719
Nate Thurmond	43	44.6	21.9	-	-	17.7	3.5	-	-	-	2.6	7.9	19.2	.414	-	-	-	6.1	8.0	.754
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	5	17.4	6.6	1.2	2.0	3.2	0.8	0.4	0.2	2.0	2.2	3.0	6.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.0	.600
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Mike Sanders	Nate Thurmond
Season	1989-90	1970-71
Team	Indiana Pacers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	82	18.7	6.2	1.0	1.9	2.8	1.1	0.5	0.3	1.0	2.7	2.7	5.8	.470	0.1	0.2	.357	0.7	0.9	.733
Nate Thurmond	82	40.9	20.0	-	-	13.8	3.1	-	-	-	2.3	7.6	17.1	.445	-	-	-	4.8	6.6	.730
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	3	8.0	3.7	1.7	0.3	2.0	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.3	1.7	3.7	.455	0.3	0.3	1.000	0.0	0.0	-
Nate Thurmond	5	38.4	17.6	-	-	10.2	3.0	-	-	-	4.0	7.2	19.4	.371	-	-	-	3.2	4.0	.800

Season 9
	Mike Sanders	Nate Thurmond
Season	1990-91	1971-72
Team	Indiana Pacers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	80	17.0	5.8	0.9	1.4	2.3	1.3	0.5	0.3	0.8	2.5	2.6	6.2	.417	0.1	0.3	.200	0.6	0.7	.825
Nate Thurmond	78	43.1	21.4	-	-	16.1	2.9	-	-	-	2.7	8.1	18.6	.432	-	-	-	5.3	7.2	.743
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	5	8.2	3.0	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.4	0.2	1.8	1.2	2.0	.600	0.2	0.4	.500	0.4	0.8	.500
Nate Thurmond	5	46.0	25.4	-	-	17.8	5.2	-	-	-	2.4	10.6	24.4	.434	-	-	-	4.2	5.6	.750

Season 10
	Mike Sanders	Nate Thurmond
Season	1991-92	1972-73
Team	Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals	Warriors Lost West Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	31	20.4	7.1	0.9	2.2	3.1	1.7	0.8	0.3	0.7	2.7	3.0	5.2	.571	0.0	0.1	.333	1.2	1.5	.766
Nate Thurmond	79	43.3	17.1	-	-	17.1	3.5	-	-	-	3.0	6.5	14.7	.446	-	-	-	4.0	5.6	.718
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	17	24.6	7.6	1.2	2.1	3.2	2.2	0.9	0.7	1.4	3.6	3.3	6.8	.487	0.1	0.2	.333	1.0	1.2	.810
Nate Thurmond	11	41.8	14.5	-	-	13.2	3.6	-	-	-	2.7	5.8	14.6	.398	-	-	-	2.9	3.6	.800

Season 11
	Mike Sanders	Nate Thurmond
Season	1992-93	1973-74
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	53	22.4	8.6	1.0	2.2	3.2	1.4	0.7	0.6	1.1	2.8	3.7	7.5	.497	0.0	0.1	.250	1.1	1.5	.756
Nate Thurmond	62	39.7	13.0	4.0	10.1	14.2	2.7	0.7	2.9	-	2.9	5.0	11.2	.444	-	-	-	3.1	4.6	.666
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	8	18.1	5.8	1.0	1.3	2.3	1.3	1.0	0.1	0.4	2.1	2.5	6.0	.417	0.0	0.3	.000	0.8	1.3	.600
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-