Damian Lillard vs. Tom Sanders Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tom Sanders and Damian Lillard, 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.

Damian Lillard played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Tom Sanders, who played 13. Damian Lillard had the first of his seasons in 2012-13, while Tom Sanders had his rookie season in 1960-61. 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
Rookie Season
	Damian Lillard	Tom Sanders
Season	2012-13	1960-61
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	82	38.6	19.0	0.5	2.6	3.1	6.5	0.9	0.2	3.0	2.1	6.7	15.7	.429	2.3	6.1	.368	3.3	3.9	.844
Tom Sanders	68	15.9	5.3	-	-	5.7	0.6	-	-	-	1.9	2.2	5.2	.420	-	-	-	1.0	1.5	.670
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tom Sanders	10	21.6	8.9	-	-	8.4	0.7	-	-	-	4.2	3.7	7.5	.493	-	-	-	1.5	2.4	.625

Season 2
	Damian Lillard	Tom Sanders
Season	2013-14	1961-62
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	82	35.8	20.7	0.4	3.1	3.5	5.6	0.8	0.3	2.4	2.4	6.7	15.9	.424	2.7	6.8	.394	4.5	5.2	.871
Tom Sanders	80	29.1	11.2	-	-	9.5	0.9	-	-	-	3.5	4.4	10.1	.435	-	-	-	2.5	3.3	.749
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	11	42.4	22.9	1.1	4.0	5.1	6.5	1.0	0.1	2.7	2.6	7.5	17.2	.439	2.5	6.4	.386	5.4	6.0	.894
Tom Sanders	14	31.4	10.1	-	-	8.2	1.0	-	-	-	4.6	4.0	9.3	.431	-	-	-	2.1	2.6	.806

Season 3
	Damian Lillard	Tom Sanders
Season	2014-15	1962-63
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	82	35.7	21.0	0.6	4.0	4.6	6.2	1.2	0.3	2.7	2.0	7.2	16.6	.434	2.4	7.0	.343	4.2	4.9	.864
Tom Sanders	80	26.9	10.8	-	-	7.2	1.2	-	-	-	3.3	4.2	9.3	.456	-	-	-	2.3	3.2	.738
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	5	40.2	21.6	0.4	3.6	4.0	4.6	0.4	0.6	2.4	3.0	7.8	19.2	.406	1.0	6.2	.161	5.0	6.4	.781
Tom Sanders	13	29.8	9.8	-	-	7.4	1.5	-	-	-	4.7	4.0	9.2	.437	-	-	-	1.8	2.4	.774

Season 4
	Damian Lillard	Tom Sanders
Season	2015-16	1963-64
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	75	35.7	25.1	0.6	3.4	4.0	6.8	0.9	0.4	3.2	2.2	8.2	19.7	.419	3.1	8.1	.375	5.5	6.2	.892
Tom Sanders	80	29.6	11.4	-	-	8.3	1.3	-	-	-	3.5	4.4	10.5	.417	-	-	-	2.7	3.5	.761
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	11	39.7	26.5	1.1	3.2	4.3	6.3	1.3	0.3	3.0	2.1	8.1	22.0	.368	3.8	9.7	.393	6.5	7.1	.910
Tom Sanders	10	30.2	9.1	-	-	6.8	0.6	-	-	-	4.5	3.4	9.4	.362	-	-	-	2.3	3.4	.676

Season 5
	Damian Lillard	Tom Sanders
Season	2016-17	1964-65
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	75	35.9	27.0	0.6	4.3	4.9	5.9	0.9	0.3	2.6	2.0	8.8	19.8	.444	2.9	7.7	.370	6.5	7.3	.895
Tom Sanders	80	30.7	11.8	-	-	8.3	1.2	-	-	-	4.0	4.7	10.9	.429	-	-	-	2.4	3.2	.745
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	4	37.8	27.8	1.0	3.5	4.5	3.3	1.3	0.5	3.3	2.8	9.8	22.5	.433	2.3	8.0	.281	6.0	6.3	.960
Tom Sanders	12	30.4	13.3	-	-	8.5	1.6	-	-	-	4.8	5.3	12.7	.421	-	-	-	2.6	3.6	.721

Season 6
	Damian Lillard	Tom Sanders
Season	2017-18	1965-66
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	73	36.6	26.9	0.8	3.6	4.5	6.6	1.1	0.4	2.8	1.6	8.5	19.4	.439	3.1	8.6	.361	6.8	7.4	.916
Tom Sanders	72	26.3	12.6	-	-	7.1	1.3	-	-	-	4.4	4.8	11.3	.428	-	-	-	2.9	3.8	.764
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	4	40.5	18.5	0.8	3.8	4.5	4.8	1.3	0.0	4.0	2.0	6.3	17.8	.352	2.3	7.5	.300	3.8	4.3	.882
Tom Sanders	17	29.4	13.5	-	-	6.5	1.6	-	-	-	4.1	5.7	11.8	.483	-	-	-	2.1	2.8	.750

Season 7
	Damian Lillard	Tom Sanders
Season	2018-19	1966-67
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Div 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		%
Damian Lillard	80	35.5	25.8	0.9	3.8	4.6	6.9	1.1	0.4	2.7	1.9	8.5	19.2	.444	3.0	8.0	.369	5.9	6.4	.912
Tom Sanders	81	23.8	10.2	-	-	5.4	1.1	-	-	-	3.8	4.0	9.3	.428	-	-	-	2.2	2.7	.817
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	16	40.6	26.9	0.5	4.3	4.8	6.6	1.7	0.3	3.8	2.5	8.6	20.6	.418	3.7	9.9	.373	5.9	7.1	.833
Tom Sanders	9	16.0	4.9	-	-	4.8	0.6	-	-	-	3.4	2.3	6.8	.344	-	-	-	0.2	0.6	.400

Season 8
	Damian Lillard	Tom Sanders
Season	2019-20	1967-68
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	66	37.5	30.0	0.5	3.8	4.3	8.0	1.1	0.3	2.9	1.7	9.5	20.4	.463	4.1	10.2	.401	7.0	7.8	.888
Tom Sanders	78	25.4	10.2	-	-	5.8	1.3	-	-	-	3.8	3.8	8.9	.428	-	-	-	2.6	3.3	.784
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	4	35.8	24.3	0.3	3.3	3.5	4.3	0.5	0.3	3.5	1.0	6.5	16.0	.406	3.3	8.3	.394	8.0	8.3	.970
Tom Sanders	14	20.6	8.3	-	-	4.5	0.9	-	-	-	3.8	3.6	7.1	.505	-	-	-	1.1	1.5	.762

Season 9
	Damian Lillard	Tom Sanders
Season	2020-21	1968-69
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	67	35.8	28.8	0.5	3.7	4.2	7.5	0.9	0.3	3.0	1.5	9.0	19.9	.451	4.1	10.5	.391	6.7	7.2	.928
Tom Sanders	82	26.6	11.2	-	-	7.0	1.3	-	-	-	3.6	4.4	10.3	.430	-	-	-	2.3	3.1	.733
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	6	41.3	34.3	0.2	4.2	4.3	10.2	1.0	0.7	2.2	1.5	10.3	22.3	.463	5.8	13.0	.449	7.8	8.3	.940
Tom Sanders	15	13.1	5.8	-	-	3.2	0.5	-	-	-	2.7	2.1	4.9	.438	-	-	-	1.5	2.1	.742

Season 11
	Damian Lillard	Tom Sanders
Season	2022-23	1970-71
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	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		%
Damian Lillard	58	36.3	32.2	0.8	4.0	4.8	7.3	0.9	0.3	3.3	1.9	9.6	20.7	.463	4.2	11.3	.371	8.8	9.6	.914
Tom Sanders	17	7.1	2.3	-	-	1.0	0.6	-	-	-	1.5	0.9	2.6	.364	-	-	-	0.4	0.5	.875
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tom Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Damian Lillard	Tom Sanders
Season	2023-24	1971-72
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Damian Lillard	73	35.3	24.3	0.5	3.9	4.4	7.0	1.0	0.2	2.6	1.8	7.4	17.5	.424	3.0	8.5	.354	6.5	7.0	.920
Tom Sanders	82	19.9	6.6	-	-	4.3	1.2	-	-	-	3.1	2.6	6.4	.410	-	-	-	1.4	1.7	.816
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	4	39.0	31.3	0.5	2.8	3.3	5.0	1.0	0.0	2.3	2.0	8.5	20.3	.420	5.0	12.0	.417	9.3	9.5	.974
Tom Sanders	11	16.9	4.3	-	-	2.4	0.9	-	-	-	3.3	1.5	4.8	.321	-	-	-	1.2	1.9	.619