Cooper Flagg vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison
Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nate Thurmond and Cooper Flagg, 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.
Cooper Flagg played 1 year in the NBA, 13 less than Nate Thurmond, who played 14. Cooper Flagg had his first NBA Season in 2025-26, 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 |
| Cooper Flagg | 1 | 0 | 2025-26 |
| Nate Thurmond | 14 | 9 | 1963-64 to 1976-77 |
Comparison Season by Season |
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Jump to season: | ||
Rookie Season |
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| Cooper Flagg | Nate Thurmond | |
| Season | 2025-26 | 1963-64 |
| Team | Dallas Mavericks | San Francisco Warriors |
| Honors & Awards | - |  All-Rookie First Team |
| Playoffs | Did Not Play | Warriors Lost NBA Finals |
Rookie Season Stats Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| Cooper Flagg | 1 | 32.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 13.0 | .308 | 0.0 | 1.0 | .000 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.000 |
| difference: | +75 | +6.1 | +3.0 | +0.4 | +1.1 | -0.6 | +1.1 | +5.7 | +.087 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +.451 | ||||||||
| 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 | % | ||||
| Cooper Flagg | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Nate Thurmond | 12 | 34.2 | 10.0 | - | - | 12.3 | 0.8 | - | - | - | 3.8 | 3.5 | 8.0 | .438 | - | - | - | 3.0 | 4.4 | .679 |
Additional Years |
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* Nate Thurmond played 13 seasons more than Cooper Flagg in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 2 to 14, from 1965 to 1977—Nate Thurmond played in 8 Playoffs. In those 13 extra years over Cooper Flagg, Nate Thurmond got these achievements: | |
| Honors & Awards | 2 All-Defensive First Team 3 All-Defensive Second Team 7 All-Star Game |