Deandre Ayton vs. Nathaniel Clifton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nathaniel Clifton and Deandre Ayton, 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.

Deandre Ayton played 6 years in the NBA, 2 less than Nathaniel Clifton, who played 8. Deandre Ayton had the first of his seasons in 2018-19, while Nathaniel Clifton had his rookie season in 1950-51. 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
Deandre Ayton 6 3 2018-19 to 2023-24
Nathaniel Clifton 8 6 1950-51 to 1957-58

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Deandre Ayton Nathaniel Clifton
Season 2018-191950-51
Team Phoenix SunsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayKnicks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton 71 30.7 16.3 3.1 7.1 10.3 1.8 0.9 0.9 1.8 2.9 7.2 12.3 .585 0.0 0.1 .000 2.0 2.7 .746
Nathaniel Clifton 65 - 8.6 - - 7.6 2.5 - - - 4.1 3.2 10.1 .322 - - - 2.2 4.0 .532
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton ------- --- ----------
Nathaniel Clifton 14 - 7.1 - - 9.8 3.3 - - - 4.4 2.9 8.4 .347 - - - 1.3 3.3 .391

Season 2

Deandre Ayton Nathaniel Clifton
Season 2019-201951-52
Team Phoenix SunsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayKnicks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton 38 32.5 18.2 3.9 7.6 11.5 1.9 0.7 1.5 2.1 3.1 8.2 14.9 .546 0.1 0.3 .231 1.8 2.3 .753
Nathaniel Clifton 62 33.9 10.6 - - 11.8 3.4 - - - 3.7 3.9 11.8 .335 - - - 2.7 4.1 .664
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton ------- --- ----------
Nathaniel Clifton 14 33.0 9.4 - - 9.5 2.4 - - - 4.8 2.8 9.5 .293 - - - 3.9 5.4 .711

Season 3

Deandre Ayton Nathaniel Clifton
Season 2020-211952-53
Team Phoenix SunsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Suns Lost NBA FinalsKnicks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton 69 30.7 14.4 3.3 7.2 10.5 1.4 0.6 1.2 1.5 2.8 6.2 10.0 .626 0.1 0.3 .200 1.9 2.5 .769
Nathaniel Clifton 70 35.7 10.6 - - 10.9 3.3 - - - 3.9 3.9 11.3 .343 - - - 2.9 4.9 .583
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton 22 36.4 15.8 3.0 8.8 11.8 1.1 0.8 1.1 1.3 2.9 7.0 10.6 .658 0.0 0.0 - 1.8 2.4 .736
Nathaniel Clifton 11 36.8 12.0 - - 12.7 3.5 - - - 4.4 4.6 11.7 .395 - - - 2.7 4.3 .638

Season 4

Deandre Ayton Nathaniel Clifton
Season 2021-221953-54
Team Phoenix SunsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf SemisKnicks Lost E Div Round Robin
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton 58 29.5 17.2 2.6 7.7 10.2 1.4 0.7 0.7 1.6 2.4 7.6 12.0 .634 0.1 0.3 .368 1.8 2.4 .746
Nathaniel Clifton 72 30.3 9.6 - - 7.3 2.4 - - - 3.0 3.6 9.7 .368 - - - 2.4 3.8 .628
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton 13 30.5 17.9 2.5 6.4 8.9 1.7 0.4 0.8 1.5 2.6 8.1 12.6 .640 0.2 0.3 .500 1.6 2.5 .636
Nathaniel Clifton 4 31.3 6.3 - - 9.8 1.5 - - - 3.8 2.0 6.8 .296 - - - 2.3 4.3 .529

Season 5

Deandre Ayton Nathaniel Clifton
Season 2022-231954-55
Team Phoenix SunsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf SemisKnicks Lost East Div Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton 67 30.4 18.0 2.6 7.4 10.0 1.7 0.6 0.8 1.8 2.8 7.8 13.2 .589 0.1 0.4 .292 2.3 3.0 .760
Nathaniel Clifton 72 33.2 13.1 - - 8.5 2.8 - - - 3.1 5.0 12.9 .386 - - - 3.1 4.6 .683
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton 10 31.9 13.4 2.9 6.8 9.7 1.0 0.6 0.7 1.7 3.5 6.1 11.1 .550 0.0 0.0 - 1.2 2.3 .522
Nathaniel Clifton 3 36.7 19.7 - - 7.7 4.3 - - - 4.0 6.7 17.3 .385 - - - 6.3 8.0 .792

Season 6

Deandre Ayton Nathaniel Clifton
Season 2023-241955-56
Team Portland Trail BlazersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton 55 32.4 16.7 3.2 7.9 11.1 1.6 1.0 0.8 1.8 2.0 7.8 13.6 .570 0.0 0.2 .100 1.2 1.4 .823
Nathaniel Clifton 64 24.0 8.8 - - 6.0 2.4 - - - 3.0 3.3 8.5 .394 - - - 2.1 3.0 .707
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton ------- --- ----------
Nathaniel Clifton ------- --- ----------

Season 7

Deandre Ayton Nathaniel Clifton
Season -1956-57
Team -New York Knicks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Did Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton ------- --- ----------
Nathaniel Clifton 71 31.4 10.7 - - 7.8 2.3 - - - 3.4 4.3 11.5 .377 - - - 2.1 3.1 .673
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton ------- --- ----------
Nathaniel Clifton ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Deandre Ayton Nathaniel Clifton
Season -1957-58
Team -Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Pistons Lost West Div Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton ------- --- ----------
Nathaniel Clifton 68 21.1 7.7 - - 5.9 1.1 - - - 3.0 3.2 8.8 .363 - - - 1.3 2.1 .623
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Deandre Ayton ------- --- ----------
Nathaniel Clifton 7 10.6 4.0 - - 3.3 0.6 - - - 1.6 1.6 4.3 .367 - - - 0.9 1.1 .750