Blake Griffin vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nate Thurmond and Blake Griffin, 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.

Blake Griffin played 13 years in the NBA, 1 less than Nate Thurmond, who played 14. Blake Griffin had the first of his seasons in 2010-11, 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 achievements, 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
Blake Griffin	13	10	2010-11 to 2022-23
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


Rookie Season
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2010-11	1963-64
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Warriors Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	82	38.0	22.5	3.3	8.8	12.1	3.8	0.8	0.5	2.7	3.1	8.5	16.8	.506	0.1	0.3	.292	5.4	8.5	.642
difference:	+6	+12.1	+15.5			+1.7	+2.7				-0.7	+5.6	+9.5	+.111				+4.1	+6.2	+.093
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		%
Blake Griffin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2011-12	1964-65
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	66	36.2	20.7	3.3	7.6	10.9	3.2	0.8	0.7	2.3	3.3	8.5	15.5	.549	0.0	0.2	.125	3.7	7.1	.521
difference:	+11	+5.0	+4.2			+7.2	+1.2				-0.3	+1.8	+0.6	+.130				+0.6	+2.5	+.137
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		%
Blake Griffin	11	35.7	19.1	1.7	5.2	6.9	2.5	1.8	0.9	2.3	3.7	7.6	15.3	.500	0.0	0.1	.000	3.8	6.0	.636
Nate Thurmond	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2012-13	1965-66
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	80	32.5	18.0	2.3	6.0	8.3	3.7	1.2	0.6	2.3	2.9	7.2	13.4	.538	0.1	0.4	.179	3.5	5.3	.660
difference:	+7	+7.1	+1.7			+9.7	+2.2				-0.2	+1.0	+1.9	+.132				+0.3	+0.6	+.006
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		%
Blake Griffin	6	26.3	13.2	1.3	4.2	5.5	2.5	0.0	0.8	2.2	4.0	4.8	10.7	.453	0.0	0.0	-	3.5	4.3	.808
Nate Thurmond	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2013-14	1966-67
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf Semis	Warriors Lost NBA Finals

more >>

4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	80	35.8	24.1	2.4	7.1	9.5	3.9	1.2	0.6	2.8	3.3	9.0	17.0	.528	0.2	0.6	.273	6.0	8.4	.715
difference:	+15	+6.7	+5.4			+11.8	+1.3				-0.5	+1.8	+0.6	+.091				+1.7	+1.6	+.086
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		%
Blake Griffin	13	36.8	23.5	2.7	4.7	7.4	3.8	1.2	1.1	2.4	4.2	9.0	18.0	.500	0.1	0.5	.143	5.5	7.4	.740
difference:	+2	+9.2	+7.6			+15.7	+0.7				-0.7	+2.8	+3.7	+.067				+2.0	+1.3	+.169
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
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2014-15	1967-68
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	67	35.2	21.9	1.9	5.7	7.6	5.3	0.9	0.5	2.3	2.9	8.6	17.1	.502	0.1	0.4	.400	4.6	6.4	.728
difference:	+16	+8.4	+1.4			+14.4	+1.1				-0.2	+1.1	+1.1	+.091				+0.9	+2.2	+.084
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		%
Blake Griffin	14	39.8	25.5	2.7	10.0	12.7	6.1	1.0	1.0	3.2	3.1	10.0	19.6	.511	0.1	0.5	.143	5.4	7.6	.717
Nate Thurmond	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2015-16	1968-69
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Warriors Lost West Div Semis

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	35	33.4	21.4	1.5	6.9	8.4	4.9	0.8	0.5	2.4	2.7	8.6	17.2	.499	0.2	0.5	.333	4.0	5.5	.727
difference:	+36	+11.8	+0.1			+11.3	+1.3				-0.3	+0.6	+2.4	+.089				+1.4	+3.2	+.112
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		%
Blake Griffin	4	31.8	15.0	1.8	7.0	8.8	4.0	0.8	0.5	2.3	2.3	5.0	13.3	.377	0.3	0.5	.500	4.8	6.3	.760
difference:	+2	+12.0	+1.7			+10.7	+0.7				-0.7	+1.7	+3.7	+.015				+1.5	+0.6	+.172
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
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2016-17	1969-70
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	61	34.0	21.6	1.8	6.3	8.1	4.9	0.9	0.4	2.3	2.6	7.9	15.9	.493	0.6	1.9	.336	5.2	6.9	.760
difference:	+18	+10.6	+0.3			+9.6	+1.4						+3.3	+.079				+0.9	+1.1	+.006
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		%
Blake Griffin	3	33.0	20.3	1.0	5.0	6.0	2.3	0.7	0.3	2.0	0.7	8.3	17.0	.490	1.3	2.0	.667	2.3	2.3	1.000
Nate Thurmond	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2017-18	1970-71
Team	Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	58	34.0	21.4	1.3	6.1	7.4	5.8	0.7	0.3	2.8	2.4	7.5	17.2	.438	1.9	5.6	.345	4.5	5.7	.785
difference:	+24	+6.9	+1.4			+6.4	+2.7				-0.1	+0.1	+0.1	+.007				+0.3	+0.9	+.055
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		%
Blake Griffin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2018-19	1971-72
Team	Detroit Pistons	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	75	35.0	24.5	1.3	6.2	7.5	5.4	0.7	0.4	3.4	2.7	8.3	17.9	.462	2.5	7.0	.362	5.5	7.3	.753
difference:	+3	+8.1	+3.1			+8.6	+2.5					+0.2	+0.7	+.030				+0.2	+0.1	+.010
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		%
Blake Griffin	2	29.0	24.5	2.0	4.0	6.0	6.0	1.0	0.0	3.0	4.5	9.0	19.5	.462	3.0	6.5	.462	3.5	3.5	1.000
difference:	+3	+17.0	+0.9			+11.8	+0.8				-2.1	+1.6	+4.9	+.028				+0.7	+2.1	+.250
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
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2019-20	1972-73
Team	Detroit Pistons	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Warriors Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	18	28.4	15.5	0.9	3.7	4.7	3.3	0.4	0.4	2.2	1.5	4.9	13.9	.352	1.5	6.2	.243	4.2	5.4	.776
difference:	+61	+14.9	+1.6			+12.4	+0.2				-1.5	+1.6	+0.8	+.094				+0.2	+0.2	+.058
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		%
Blake Griffin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2020-21	1973-74
Team	Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	46	25.8	11.0	0.8	4.1	4.9	3.0	0.7	0.3	1.3	2.4	3.8	8.9	.423	1.5	4.5	.341	1.9	2.5	.744
difference:	+16	+13.9	+2.0	+3.2	+6.0	+9.3	+0.3		+2.6		-0.5	+1.2	+2.3	+.021				+1.2	+2.1	+.078
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		%
Blake Griffin	12	26.5	9.0	1.3	4.7	5.9	1.8	0.8	0.5	0.4	3.3	3.5	6.6	.532	1.2	3.0	.389	0.8	1.2	.714
Nate Thurmond	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2021-22	1974-75
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Bulls Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	56	17.1	6.4	1.1	3.0	4.1	1.9	0.5	0.3	0.6	1.7	2.4	5.6	.425	0.7	2.6	.262	1.0	1.4	.724
difference:	+24	+17.4	+1.5	+2.1	+5.1	+7.2	+2.2	+0.1	+2.1		-1.7	+0.7	+3.0	+.061				+0.7	+1.4	+.135
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		%
Blake Griffin	2	12.5	4.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	0.5	0.5	0.5	1.5	1.0	3.5	.286	1.0	2.5	.400	1.0	1.0	1.000
difference:	+11	+7.0	+0.5	+0.8	+3.8	+4.7	+0.4	+0.1	+1.1		-1.3	+0.1	+0.6	+.082				+0.4	+1.8	+.514
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
	Blake Griffin	Nate Thurmond
Season	2022-23	1975-76
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Blake Griffin	41	13.9	4.1	1.1	2.6	3.8	1.5	0.3	0.2	0.5	1.8	1.5	3.2	.485	0.6	1.6	.348	0.5	0.8	.656
difference:	+37	+4.0	+0.3	+0.4	+1.2	+1.5	+0.3		+1.1		-0.3	+0.3	+1.1	+.064				+0.3	+0.8	+.152
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		%
Blake Griffin	1	6.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
difference:	+12	+22.8	+6.7	+1.9	+5.1	+7.0	+2.2	+0.5	+2.2		-2.0	+2.8	+5.1	+.468				+1.0	+2.5
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

Additional Years

* Nate Thurmond played 1 season more than Blake Griffin in the NBA.

In that period—his season 14 in 1977—Nate Thurmond played in the Playoffs.

Blake Griffin vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nate Thurmond and Blake Griffin, 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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Season 13

13th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years