David Thompson vs. Lenny Wilkens Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lenny Wilkens and David Thompson, 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.

David Thompson played 8 years in the NBA, 7 less than Lenny Wilkens, who played 15. David Thompson had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Lenny Wilkens 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 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
David Thompson	8	5	1976-77 to 1983-84
Lenny Wilkens	15	7	1960-61 to 1974-75

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8


Rookie Season
	David Thompson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1976-77	1960-61
Team	Denver Nuggets	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	82	36.6	25.9	1.7	2.4	4.1	4.1	1.4	0.6	-	2.9	10.0	19.8	.507	-	-	-	5.8	7.6	.766
difference:	+7	+11.3	+14.2			+0.4	+1.3					+5.6	+9.4	+.082				+2.9	+3.6	+.053
Lenny Wilkens	75	25.3	11.7	-	-	4.5	2.8	-	-	-	2.9	4.4	10.4	.425	-	-	-	2.9	4.0	.713

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	6	39.5	24.7	2.2	3.0	5.2	4.0	1.5	0.7	-	3.7	9.3	20.2	.463	-	-	-	6.0	8.8	.679
difference:	+6	+3.1	+10.5			+0.8	+0.5				-0.6	+4.0	+6.4	+.083				+2.3	+4.0	+.080
Lenny Wilkens	12	36.4	14.2	-	-	6.0	3.5	-	-	-	4.3	5.3	13.8	.380	-	-	-	3.7	4.8	.759


Season 2
	David Thompson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1977-78	1961-62
Team	Denver Nuggets	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	80	37.8	27.2	2.0	2.9	4.9	4.5	1.2	1.2	3.1	2.7	10.3	19.8	.521	-	-	-	6.5	8.4	.778
difference:	+60	+5.7	+9.0			+1.7	+1.3				-0.5	+3.3	+1.6	+.136				+2.3	+2.9	+.014
Lenny Wilkens	20	43.5	18.2	-	-	6.6	5.8	-	-	-	3.2	7.0	18.2	.385	-	-	-	4.2	5.5	.764

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	13	37.0	25.2	1.4	2.7	4.1	4.0	0.7	1.6	3.0	2.6	10.1	22.4	.450	-	-	-	5.1	6.2	.825
Lenny Wilkens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	David Thompson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1978-79	1962-63
Team	Denver Nuggets	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	76	35.1	24.0	1.4	2.2	3.6	3.0	0.9	1.1	2.4	2.4	9.1	17.8	.512	-	-	-	5.8	7.7	.753
difference:	+1	+0.8	+12.2			+1.8	+2.1				-1.0	+4.7	+6.7	+.113				+2.8	+3.4	+.057
Lenny Wilkens	75	34.3	11.8	-	-	5.4	5.1	-	-	-	3.4	4.4	11.1	.399	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.696

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	3	40.7	28.0	2.3	4.7	7.0	4.0	1.3	0.3	4.0	4.0	12.7	23.0	.551	-	-	-	2.7	3.7	.727
difference:	+8	+4.3	+14.3			+0.7	+2.3				-0.6	+7.5	+9.0	+.181				+0.7	+0.8	+.028
Lenny Wilkens	11	36.4	13.7	-	-	6.3	6.3	-	-	-	4.6	5.2	14.0	.370	-	-	-	3.4	4.5	.755


Season 4
	David Thompson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1979-80	1963-64
Team	Denver Nuggets	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	39	31.8	21.5	1.4	3.0	4.5	3.2	1.0	1.0	3.0	2.7	7.4	15.8	.468	0.2	0.5	.368	6.5	8.6	.758
difference:	+39	+0.6	+9.5			+0.2	+1.4				-1.0	+3.1	+5.4	+.055				+3.0	+3.9	+.018
Lenny Wilkens	78	32.4	12.0	-	-	4.3	4.6	-	-	-	3.7	4.3	10.4	.413	-	-	-	3.5	4.7	.740

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lenny Wilkens	12	34.4	14.3	-	-	5.0	5.3	-	-	-	3.5	5.3	11.9	.448	-	-	-	3.7	4.8	.759


Season 5
	David Thompson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1980-81	1964-65
Team	Denver Nuggets	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost West Div Semis

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	77	34.0	25.5	1.4	2.3	3.7	3.0	0.7	0.8	3.2	3.0	9.5	18.8	.506	0.1	0.5	.256	6.4	8.0	.795
difference:	+1	+2.6	+9.0			+1.0	+2.5				-0.6	+3.9	+5.4	+.092				+1.1	+0.8	+.049
Lenny Wilkens	78	36.6	16.5	-	-	4.7	5.5	-	-	-	3.6	5.6	13.4	.414	-	-	-	5.3	7.2	.746

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lenny Wilkens	4	36.8	16.0	-	-	3.0	3.8	-	-	-	3.5	5.0	14.3	.351	-	-	-	6.0	7.3	.828


Season 6
	David Thompson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1981-82	1965-66
Team	Denver Nuggets	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	61	20.4	14.9	0.9	1.5	2.4	1.9	0.6	0.5	2.3	2.4	5.1	10.6	.486	0.1	0.2	.286	4.5	5.6	.814
difference:	+8	+18.6	+3.1			+2.3	+4.3				-1.2	+0.9	+3.2	+.055				+1.6	+2.1	+.021
Lenny Wilkens	69	39.0	18.0	-	-	4.7	6.2	-	-	-	3.6	6.0	13.8	.431	-	-	-	6.1	7.7	.793

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	3	22.0	11.7	1.3	2.0	3.3	2.0	0.3	0.0	2.7	2.7	5.0	11.0	.455	0.3	1.0	.333	1.3	2.3	.571
difference:	+7	+17.1	+5.4			+2.1	+5.0				-1.6	+0.7	+3.3	+.056				+4.4	+6.0	+.116
Lenny Wilkens	10	39.1	17.1	-	-	5.4	7.0	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	14.3	.399	-	-	-	5.7	8.3	.687


Season 7
	David Thompson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1982-83	1966-67
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	75	28.7	15.9	1.3	2.3	3.6	3.0	0.6	0.4	2.2	1.9	5.9	12.3	.481	0.0	0.1	.200	4.0	5.1	.784
difference:	+3	+9.4	+1.5			+1.7	+2.7				-1.7	+0.2	+1.0	+.049				+1.9	+2.4	+.003
Lenny Wilkens	78	38.1	17.4	-	-	5.3	5.7	-	-	-	3.6	5.7	13.3	.432	-	-	-	5.9	7.5	.787

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	2	32.5	12.0	0.0	0.0	0	3.5	0.5	0.5	2.0	3.5	4.5	12.5	.360	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	5.0	.600
difference:	+7	+9.5	+9.4			+7.6	+3.7				-0.3	+1.9	+3.6	+.040				+5.6	+5.0	+.256
Lenny Wilkens	9	42.0	21.4	-	-	7.6	7.2	-	-	-	3.8	6.4	16.1	.400	-	-	-	8.6	10.0	.856


Season 8
	David Thompson	Lenny Wilkens
Season	1983-84	1967-68
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost West Div Semis

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	19	18.4	12.6	0.9	1.4	2.3	0.7	0.5	0.7	1.4	1.6	4.7	8.7	.539	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	3.8	.849
difference:	+63	+20.2	+7.4			+3.0	+7.6				-1.5	+2.0	+6.5	+.101				+3.4	+4.9	+.081
Lenny Wilkens	82	38.6	20.0	-	-	5.3	8.3	-	-	-	3.1	6.7	15.2	.438	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.768

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
David Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lenny Wilkens	6	39.5	18.3	-	-	6.3	7.8	-	-	-	3.8	6.7	15.2	.440	-	-	-	5.0	6.7	.750


Additional Years
* Lenny Wilkens played 7 seasons more than David Thompson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 15, from 1969 to 1975—Lenny Wilkens didn't play in the postseason. In those 7 extra years over David Thompson, Lenny Wilkens got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Assists Leader 4 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP

David Thompson vs. Lenny Wilkens Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lenny Wilkens and David Thompson, 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

Additional Years