John Paxson vs. Tristan Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tristan Thompson and John Paxson, 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.

John Paxson played 11 years in the NBA, 2 less than Tristan Thompson, who played 13. John Paxson had the first of his seasons in 1983-84, while Tristan Thompson had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
John Paxson	11	10	1983-84 to 1993-94
Tristan Thompson	13	8	2011-12 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	1983-84	2011-12
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
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		%
John Paxson	49	9.3	2.9	0.1	0.6	0.7	3.0	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.0	1.2	2.8	.445	0.1	0.4	.182	0.3	0.5	.615
Tristan Thompson	60	23.7	8.2	3.1	3.4	6.5	0.5	0.5	1.0	1.4	2.2	3.2	7.4	.439	0.0	0.0	.000	1.8	3.2	.552

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	1984-85	2012-13
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs 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		%
John Paxson	78	16.1	6.2	0.2	0.6	0.9	2.8	0.6	0.0	1.0	1.5	2.5	4.9	.509	0.1	0.4	.294	1.1	1.3	.840
Tristan Thompson	82	31.3	11.7	3.7	5.7	9.4	1.3	0.7	0.9	1.5	2.9	4.8	9.7	.488	0.0	0.0	.000	2.2	3.5	.608

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	5	22.8	10.2	0.0	1.0	1.0	4.2	1.0	0.0	1.0	1.8	4.2	8.4	.500	0.4	1.8	.222	1.4	1.8	.778
Tristan Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	1985-86	2013-14
Team	Chicago Bulls	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East 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		%
John Paxson	75	20.9	5.3	0.2	1.0	1.3	3.7	0.7	0.0	0.8	2.3	2.0	4.4	.466	0.2	0.7	.300	1.0	1.2	.804
Tristan Thompson	82	31.6	11.7	3.3	5.9	9.2	0.9	0.5	0.4	1.3	2.3	4.4	9.3	.477	0.0	0.0	.000	2.9	4.1	.693

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	3	26.7	9.0	0.0	0.0	0	1.7	1.0	0.0	1.0	3.0	2.3	5.0	.467	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	5.7	.765
Tristan Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	1986-87	2014-15
Team	Chicago Bulls	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers 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		%
John Paxson	82	32.8	11.3	0.3	1.4	1.7	5.7	0.8	0.1	1.3	2.5	4.7	9.7	.487	0.6	1.7	.371	1.3	1.6	.809
Tristan Thompson	82	26.8	8.5	3.3	4.7	8.0	0.5	0.4	0.7	1.0	2.3	3.3	6.0	.547	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	3.0	.641

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	3	29.0	8.7	0.0	1.0	1.0	3.7	0.7	0.0	1.7	3.0	3.7	7.3	.500	1.0	2.3	.429	0.3	0.3	1.000
Tristan Thompson	20	36.4	9.6	4.4	6.4	10.8	0.5	0.3	1.2	0.8	2.5	3.6	6.5	.558	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	4.1	.585


Season 5
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	1987-88	2015-16
Team	Chicago Bulls	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East 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		%
John Paxson	81	23.3	7.9	0.2	1.1	1.3	3.7	0.6	0.0	0.8	1.9	3.5	7.2	.493	0.4	1.2	.347	0.4	0.6	.733
Tristan Thompson	82	27.7	7.8	3.3	5.7	9.0	0.8	0.5	0.6	0.7	2.5	3.0	5.1	.588	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	3.0	.616

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	10	16.5	4.6	0.0	0.4	0.4	3.0	0.1	0.1	0.5	2.4	2.0	5.3	.377	0.2	1.2	.167	0.4	0.4	1.000
Tristan Thompson	21	29.6	6.7	4.1	4.9	9.0	0.7	0.4	0.9	0.8	2.6	2.3	4.4	.527	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.5	.575


Season 6
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	1988-89	2016-17
Team	Chicago Bulls	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals	Cavaliers 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		%
John Paxson	78	22.3	7.3	0.2	1.0	1.2	3.9	0.7	0.1	0.9	2.1	3.2	6.6	.480	0.6	1.7	.331	0.4	0.5	.861
Tristan Thompson	78	29.9	8.1	3.7	5.5	9.2	1.0	0.5	1.1	0.8	2.3	3.4	5.6	.600	0.0	0.0	.000	1.4	2.7	.498

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	16	18.9	5.8	0.1	0.5	0.6	2.1	0.8	0.0	0.9	2.2	2.3	4.9	.474	0.3	1.2	.263	0.9	1.0	.875
Tristan Thompson	18	31.2	8.2	3.8	4.5	8.3	1.4	0.5	0.7	1.2	2.0	3.0	5.1	.587	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	3.3	.667


Season 7
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	1989-90	2017-18
Team	Chicago Bulls	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals	Cavaliers 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		%
John Paxson	82	28.8	10.0	0.3	1.1	1.5	4.1	1.0	0.1	1.0	2.1	4.5	8.6	.516	0.4	1.1	.359	0.7	0.8	.824
Tristan Thompson	53	20.2	5.8	2.4	4.3	6.6	0.6	0.3	0.3	0.7	1.9	2.5	4.4	.562	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.5	.544

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	15	26.3	6.1	0.1	1.3	1.5	3.6	0.6	0.0	1.0	2.8	2.5	5.8	.425	0.3	0.6	.444	0.9	0.9	1.000
Tristan Thompson	19	21.9	6.2	2.3	3.6	5.9	0.6	0.1	0.4	0.6	1.4	2.6	4.4	.590	0.0	0.1	.000	1.1	1.4	.741


Season 8
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	1990-91	2018-19
Team	Chicago Bulls	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
John Paxson	82	24.0	8.7	0.2	0.9	1.1	3.6	0.8	0.0	0.8	1.7	3.9	7.0	.548	0.5	1.2	.438	0.4	0.5	.829
Tristan Thompson	43	27.9	10.9	4.0	6.2	10.2	2.0	0.7	0.4	1.4	2.1	4.7	8.8	.529	0.0	0.0	-	1.6	2.5	.642

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	17	28.6	8.2	0.1	1.2	1.4	3.1	0.6	0.0	0.4	1.9	3.6	6.9	.530	0.1	0.8	.143	0.8	0.8	1.000
Tristan Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	1991-92	2019-20
Team	Chicago Bulls	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
John Paxson	79	24.6	7.0	0.3	0.9	1.2	3.1	0.6	0.1	0.6	1.8	3.3	6.2	.528	0.2	0.6	.273	0.4	0.5	.784
Tristan Thompson	57	30.2	12.0	4.0	6.2	10.1	2.1	0.6	0.9	1.8	2.2	5.1	9.9	.512	0.2	0.4	.391	1.7	2.8	.615

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	22	27.2	7.9	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.8	0.6	0.0	0.6	2.4	3.3	6.3	.525	0.5	1.2	.444	0.7	0.9	.842
Tristan Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	1992-93	2020-21
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	59	17.5	4.2	0.2	0.7	0.8	2.3	0.6	0.0	0.5	1.7	1.8	3.9	.451	0.3	0.7	.463	0.3	0.3	.850
Tristan Thompson	54	23.8	7.6	3.1	5.0	8.1	1.2	0.4	0.6	1.1	2.2	3.1	6.0	.518	0.0	0.1	.000	1.3	2.2	.592

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	19	17.4	4.9	0.3	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.3	0.1	0.2	1.6	1.8	3.2	.583	0.8	1.3	.625	0.4	0.6	.727
Tristan Thompson	5	26.4	10.4	5.8	4.0	9.8	1.0	0.8	1.2	1.0	2.4	4.0	6.8	.588	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	3.4	.706


Season 11
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	1993-94	2021-22
Team	Chicago Bulls	Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	27	12.7	2.6	0.1	0.6	0.7	1.2	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.7	1.1	2.5	.441	0.3	0.8	.409	0.0	0.1	.500
Tristan Thompson	57	15.7	6.0	2.1	2.9	5.1	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.8	1.7	2.5	4.7	.528	0.0	0.1	.333	1.1	2.0	.526

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	9	6.4	0.7	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.6	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.3	0.8	.429	0.0	0.1	.000	0.0	0.0	-
Tristan Thompson	5	7.6	0.8	0.4	1.2	1.6	0.4	0.2	0.0	1.0	0.8	0.4	1.0	.400	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 12
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	-	2022-23
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Lakers 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		%
John Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	6	5.3	1.8	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.8	1.8	.455	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.8	.200


Season 13
	John Paxson	Tristan Thompson
Season	-	2023-24
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	49	11.2	3.3	1.5	2.1	3.6	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.6	1.2	1.5	2.4	.608	0.0	0.0	.000	0.3	1.1	.288

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	10	8.7	1.5	1.0	1.0	2.0	1.0	0.1	0.5	0.2	0.9	0.7	1.6	.438	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.2	.500

John Paxson vs. Tristan Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tristan Thompson and John Paxson, 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13