Wilt Chamberlain vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nate Thurmond and Wilt Chamberlain, 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.

Wilt Chamberlain and Nate Thurmond both played 14 years in the NBA. Wilt Chamberlain had the first of his seasons in 1959-60, 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Wilt Chamberlain	14	13	1959-60 to 1972-73
Nate Thurmond	14	9	1963-64 to 1976-77

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14


Rookie Season
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1959-60	1963-64
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	72	46.4	37.6	-	-	27.0	2.3	-	-	-	2.1	14.8	32.1	.461	-	-	-	8.0	13.8	.582
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	9	46.1	33.2	-	-	25.8	2.1	-	-	-	1.9	13.9	28.0	.496	-	-	-	5.4	12.2	.445
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1960-61	1964-65
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	79	47.8	38.4	-	-	27.2	1.9	-	-	-	1.6	15.8	31.1	.509	-	-	-	6.7	13.3	.504
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	3	48.0	37.0	-	-	23.0	2.0	-	-	-	3.3	15.0	32.0	.469	-	-	-	7.0	12.7	.553
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1961-62	1965-66
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	80	48.5	50.4	-	-	25.7	2.4	-	-	-	1.5	20.0	39.5	.506	-	-	-	10.4	17.0	.613
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	12	48.0	35.0	-	-	26.6	3.1	-	-	-	2.3	13.5	28.9	.467	-	-	-	8.0	12.6	.636
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1962-63	1966-67
Team	San Francisco Warriors	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	80	47.6	44.8	-	-	24.3	3.4	-	-	-	1.7	18.3	34.6	.528	-	-	-	8.3	13.9	.593
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1963-64	1967-68
Team	San Francisco Warriors	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost NBA 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	80	46.1	36.9	-	-	22.3	5.0	-	-	-	2.3	15.1	28.7	.524	-	-	-	6.8	12.7	.531
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	12	46.5	34.7	-	-	25.2	3.3	-	-	-	2.3	14.6	26.8	.543	-	-	-	5.5	11.6	.475
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1964-65	1968-69
Team	San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Finals	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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	73	45.2	34.7	-	-	22.9	3.4	-	-	-	2.0	14.6	28.5	.510	-	-	-	5.6	12.1	.464
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	11	48.7	29.3	-	-	27.2	4.4	-	-	-	2.6	11.2	21.1	.530	-	-	-	6.9	12.4	.559
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1965-66	1969-70
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wilt Chamberlain	79	47.3	33.5	-	-	24.6	5.2	-	-	-	2.2	13.6	25.2	.540	-	-	-	6.3	12.4	.513
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	5	48.0	28.0	-	-	30.2	3.0	-	-	-	2.0	11.2	22.0	.509	-	-	-	5.6	13.6	.412
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1966-67	1970-71
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	81	45.5	24.1	-	-	24.2	7.8	-	-	-	1.8	9.7	14.2	.683	-	-	-	4.8	10.8	.441
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	15	47.9	21.7	-	-	29.1	9.0	-	-	-	2.5	8.8	15.2	.579	-	-	-	4.1	10.7	.388
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1967-68	1971-72
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	Rebounds Leader	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Div Finals	Warriors 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	82	46.8	24.3	-	-	23.8	8.6	-	-	-	2.0	10.0	16.8	.595	-	-	-	4.3	11.4	.380
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	13	48.5	23.7	-	-	24.7	6.5	-	-	-	2.2	9.5	17.8	.534	-	-	-	4.6	12.2	.380
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1968-69	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Warriors 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	81	45.3	20.5	-	-	21.1	4.5	-	-	-	1.8	7.9	13.6	.583	-	-	-	4.7	10.6	.446
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	18	46.2	13.9	-	-	24.7	2.6	-	-	-	3.1	5.3	9.8	.545	-	-	-	3.2	8.2	.392
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
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1969-70	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wilt Chamberlain	12	42.1	27.3	-	-	18.4	4.1	-	-	-	2.6	10.8	18.9	.568	-	-	-	5.8	13.1	.446
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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	18	47.3	22.1	-	-	22.2	4.5	-	-	-	2.3	8.8	16.0	.549	-	-	-	4.6	11.2	.406
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1970-71	1974-75
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Rebounds Leader	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Bulls 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		%
Wilt Chamberlain	82	44.3	20.7	-	-	18.2	4.3	-	-	-	2.1	8.1	15.0	.545	-	-	-	4.4	8.2	.538
Nate Thurmond	80	34.5	7.9	3.2	8.1	11.3	4.1	0.6	2.4	-	3.4	3.1	8.6	.364	-	-	-	1.7	2.8	.589

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wilt Chamberlain	12	46.2	18.3	-	-	20.2	4.4	-	-	-	2.8	7.1	15.6	.455	-	-	-	4.2	8.1	.515
Nate Thurmond	13	19.5	3.5	1.8	4.8	6.7	2.4	0.4	1.6	-	2.8	1.1	2.9	.368	-	-	-	1.4	2.8	.486


Season 13
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1971-72	1975-76
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wilt Chamberlain	82	42.3	14.8	-	-	19.2	4.0	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	9.3	.649	-	-	-	2.7	6.4	.422
Nate Thurmond	78	17.9	4.4	1.5	3.8	5.3	1.2	0.3	1.3	-	2.1	1.8	4.3	.421	-	-	-	0.8	1.6	.504

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wilt Chamberlain	15	46.9	14.7	-	-	21.0	3.3	-	-	-	3.1	5.3	9.5	.563	-	-	-	4.0	8.1	.492
Nate Thurmond	13	28.8	6.7	2.9	6.1	9.0	2.2	0.5	2.2	-	4.0	2.8	6.1	.468	-	-	-	1.0	2.5	.406


Season 14
	Wilt Chamberlain	Nate Thurmond
Season	1972-73	1976-77
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wilt Chamberlain	82	43.2	13.2	-	-	18.6	4.5	-	-	-	2.3	5.2	7.1	.727	-	-	-	2.8	5.5	.510
Nate Thurmond	49	20.3	5.5	2.5	5.2	7.6	1.7	0.3	1.7	-	2.6	2.0	5.0	.407	-	-	-	1.4	2.2	.642

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wilt Chamberlain	17	47.1	10.4	-	-	22.5	3.5	-	-	-	2.8	3.8	6.8	.552	-	-	-	2.9	5.8	.500
Nate Thurmond	1	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	-	0.0	0.0	0.0	-	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-

Wilt Chamberlain vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison

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

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13

Season 14