Hakeem Olajuwon vs. David Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of David Thompson and Hakeem Olajuwon, 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.

Hakeem Olajuwon played 18 years in the NBA, 10 more than David Thompson, who played 8. Hakeem Olajuwon had the first of his seasons in 1984-85, while David Thompson had his rookie season in 1976-77. 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.

Rookie Season
	Hakeem Olajuwon	David Thompson
Season	1984-85	1976-77
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	35.5	20.6	5.4	6.5	11.9	1.4	1.2	2.7	2.9	4.2	8.3	15.3	.538	0.0	0.0	-	4.1	6.7	.613
difference:		+1.1	+5.3	+3.7	+4.1	+7.8	+2.7	+0.2	+2.1		-1.3	+1.7	+4.5	+.031				+1.7	+0.9	+.153
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	5	37.4	21.2	6.6	6.4	13.0	1.4	1.4	2.6	2.2	4.4	8.4	17.6	.477	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	9.2	.478
difference:	+1	+2.1	+3.5	+4.4	+3.4	+7.8	+2.6	+0.1	+1.9		-0.7	+0.9	+2.6	+.014				+1.6	+0.4	+.201
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

Season 2
	Hakeem Olajuwon	David Thompson
Season	1985-86	1977-78
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	68	36.3	23.5	4.9	6.6	11.5	2.0	2.0	3.4	2.9	4.0	9.2	17.5	.526	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	7.9	.645
difference:	+12	+1.5	+3.7	+2.9	+3.7	+6.6	+2.5	+0.8	+2.2	-0.2	-1.3	+1.1	+2.3	+.005				+1.4	+0.5	+.133
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	20	38.3	26.9	5.1	6.8	11.8	2.0	2.0	3.5	2.2	4.4	10.3	19.4	.530	0.0	0.1	.000	6.4	10.0	.638
difference:	+7	+1.3	+1.7	+3.7	+4.1	+7.7	+2.0	+1.3	+1.9	-0.8	-1.8	+0.2	+3.0	+.080				+1.3	+3.8	+.187
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

Season 3
	Hakeem Olajuwon	David Thompson
Season	1986-87	1978-79
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	75	36.8	23.4	4.2	7.2	11.4	2.9	1.9	3.4	3.0	3.9	9.0	17.8	.508	0.0	0.1	.200	5.3	7.6	.702
difference:	+1	+1.7	+0.6	+2.8	+5.0	+7.8	+0.1	+1.0	+2.3	-0.6	-1.5	+0.1		+.004				+0.5	+0.1	+.051
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	10	38.9	29.2	3.9	7.4	11.3	2.5	1.3	4.3	3.6	4.4	11.0	17.9	.615	0.0	0.1	.000	7.2	9.7	.742
difference:	+7	+1.8	+1.2	+1.6	+2.7	+4.3	+1.5		+4.0	-0.4	-0.4	+1.7	+5.1	+.064				+4.5	+6.0	+.015
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

Season 4
	Hakeem Olajuwon	David Thompson
Season	1987-88	1979-80
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	79	35.8	22.8	3.8	8.3	12.1	2.1	2.1	2.7	3.1	4.1	9.0	17.5	.514	0.0	0.1	.000	4.8	6.9	.695
difference:	+40	+4.0	+1.3	+2.4	+5.3	+7.6	+1.1	+1.1	+1.7	-0.1	-1.4	+1.6	+1.7	+.046	+0.2	+0.4	+.368	+1.7	+1.7	+.063
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	37.5	5.0	11.8	16.8	1.8	2.3	2.8	2.3	3.5	14.0	24.5	.571	0.0	0.3	.000	9.5	10.8	.884
David Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Hakeem Olajuwon	David Thompson
Season	1988-89	1980-81
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	36.9	24.8	4.1	9.4	13.5	1.8	2.6	3.4	3.4	4.0	9.6	19.0	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	5.5	8.0	.696
difference:	+5	+2.9	+0.7	+2.7	+7.1	+9.8	+1.2	+1.9	+2.6	-0.2	-1.0	+0.1	+0.2	+.002	+0.1	+0.4	+.256	+0.9		+.099
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	25.3	3.5	9.5	13.0	3.0	2.5	2.8	2.5	4.3	10.5	20.3	.519	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.3	.680
David Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Hakeem Olajuwon	David Thompson
Season	1989-90	1981-82
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	38.1	24.3	3.6	10.4	14.0	2.9	2.1	4.6	3.9	3.8	9.8	19.6	.501	0.0	0.1	.167	4.7	6.5	.713
difference:	+21	+17.7	+9.4	+2.7	+8.9	+11.6	+1.0	+1.5	+4.1	-1.6	-1.4	+4.7	+9.0	+.015	+0.1	+0.1	+.119	+0.2	+0.9	+.101
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.3	18.5	3.8	7.8	11.5	2.0	2.5	5.8	2.8	4.8	7.8	17.5	.443	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.3	.706
difference:	+1	+18.3	+6.8	+2.5	+5.8	+8.2		+2.2	+5.8	-0.1	-2.1	+2.8	+6.5	+.012	+0.3	+1.0		+1.7	+2.0	+.135
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

Season 7
	Hakeem Olajuwon	David Thompson
Season	1990-91	1982-83
Team	Houston Rockets	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	56	36.8	21.2	3.9	9.8	13.8	2.3	2.2	3.9	3.1	3.9	8.7	17.1	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	3.8	4.9	.769
difference:	+19	+8.1	+5.3	+2.6	+7.5	+10.2	+0.7	+1.6	+3.5	-0.9	-2.0	+2.8	+4.8	+.027			+.200	+0.2	+0.2	+.015
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	3	43.0	22.0	4.0	10.7	14.7	2.0	1.3	2.7	2.7	3.7	8.7	15.0	.578	0.0	0.3	.000	4.7	5.7	.824
difference:	+1	+10.5	+10.0	+4.0	+10.7	+14.7	+1.5	+0.8	+2.2	-0.7	-0.2	+4.2	+2.5	+.218		+0.3		+1.7	+0.7	+.224
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

Season 8
	Hakeem Olajuwon	David Thompson
Season	1991-92	1983-84
Team	Houston Rockets	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	70	37.7	21.6	3.5	8.6	12.1	2.2	1.8	4.3	2.7	3.8	8.4	16.8	.502	0.0	0.0	-	4.7	6.1	.766
difference:	+51	+19.3	+9.0	+2.6	+7.2	+9.8	+1.5	+1.3	+3.6	-1.3	-2.2	+3.7	+8.1	+.037		+0.1		+1.4	+2.3	+.083
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
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Hakeem Olajuwon nor David Thompson played in the postseason in their season 8

Additional Years
* Hakeem Olajuwon played 10 seasons more than David Thompson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 18, from 1993 to 2002—Hakeem Olajuwon played in 8 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 10 extra years over David Thompson, Hakeem Olajuwon got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Finals MVP 1 Season MVP 3 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive First Team 2 All-Defensive Second Team 2 Defensive Player of the Year 1 Blocks Leader 5 All-Star Game