Emeka Okafor vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nate Thurmond and Emeka Okafor, 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.

Emeka Okafor played 10 years in the NBA, 4 less than Nate Thurmond, who played 14. Emeka Okafor had the first of his seasons in 2004-05, 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 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: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14
Rookie Season
	Emeka Okafor	Nate Thurmond
Season	2004-05	1963-64
Team	Charlotte Bobcats	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Warriors Lost NBA 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		%
Emeka Okafor	73	35.6	15.1	3.8	7.1	10.9	0.9	0.8	1.7	1.7	2.9	6.1	13.7	.447	0.0	0.0	.000	2.9	4.7	.609
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		%
Emeka Okafor	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Emeka Okafor	Nate Thurmond
Season	2005-06	1964-65
Team	Charlotte Bobcats	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Emeka Okafor	26	33.6	13.2	3.6	6.4	10.0	1.2	0.8	1.9	2.0	3.4	5.0	12.2	.415	0.0	0.0	-	3.2	4.8	.656
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		%
Emeka Okafor	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Emeka Okafor	Nate Thurmond
Season	2006-07	1965-66
Team	Charlotte Bobcats	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Emeka Okafor	67	34.8	14.4	3.9	7.4	11.3	1.2	0.9	2.6	1.7	3.1	5.9	11.0	.532	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	4.4	.593
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		%
Emeka Okafor	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Emeka Okafor	Nate Thurmond
Season	2007-08	1966-67
Team	Charlotte Bobcats	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Warriors Lost NBA 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		%
Emeka Okafor	82	33.1	13.8	3.1	7.6	10.7	0.9	0.8	1.7	2.0	2.9	5.6	10.5	.535	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	4.6	.570
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		%
Emeka Okafor	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Emeka Okafor	Nate Thurmond
Season	2008-09	1967-68
Team	Charlotte Bobcats	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Emeka Okafor	82	32.8	13.2	3.4	6.7	10.1	0.6	0.6	1.7	1.8	3.0	5.3	9.4	.561	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	4.5	.593
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		%
Emeka Okafor	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Emeka Okafor	Nate Thurmond
Season	2009-10	1968-69
Team	New Orleans Hornets	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Warriors Lost West Div Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Emeka Okafor	82	28.9	10.4	3.1	6.0	9.0	0.7	0.7	1.5	1.4	2.7	4.2	8.0	.530	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	3.3	.562
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		%
Emeka Okafor	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Emeka Okafor	Nate Thurmond
Season	2010-11	1969-70
Team	New Orleans Hornets	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hornets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Emeka Okafor	72	31.8	10.3	3.2	6.3	9.5	0.6	0.6	1.8	1.7	3.2	4.2	7.3	.573	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	3.6	.562
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		%
Emeka Okafor	6	31.3	7.3	2.8	2.7	5.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	4.7	3.3	5.2	.645	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.8	.364
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Emeka Okafor	Nate Thurmond
Season	2011-12	1970-71
Team	New Orleans Hornets	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Emeka Okafor	27	28.9	9.9	2.6	5.3	7.9	0.9	0.6	1.0	1.4	2.7	4.2	7.9	.533	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.7	.514
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		%
Emeka Okafor	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Emeka Okafor	Nate Thurmond
Season	2012-13	1971-72
Team	Washington Wizards	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Emeka Okafor	79	26.0	9.7	2.5	6.2	8.8	1.2	0.6	1.0	1.4	1.8	4.2	8.7	.477	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.4	.571
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		%
Emeka Okafor	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nate Thurmond	5	46.0	25.4	-	-	17.8	5.2	-	-	-	2.4	10.6	24.4	.434	-	-	-	4.2	5.6	.750

Note: Emeka Okafor didn't play in 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Season 10
	Emeka Okafor	Nate Thurmond
Season	2017-18	1972-73
Team	New Orleans Pelicans	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pelicans Lost West Conf Semis	Warriors Lost West 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		%
Emeka Okafor	26	13.6	4.4	1.8	2.8	4.6	0.3	0.3	1.0	0.5	1.2	1.8	3.7	.505	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	0.8	.818
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		%
Emeka Okafor	1	4.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	Emeka Okafor	Nate Thurmond
Season	-	1973-74
Team	-	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	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		%
Emeka Okafor	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Emeka Okafor	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-