John Salley vs. David Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of David Thompson and John Salley, 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 Salley played 11 years in the NBA, 3 more than David Thompson, who played 8. John Salley had the first of his seasons in 1986-87, 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 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 Salley	11	9	1986-87 to 1999-00
David Thompson	8	5	1976-77 to 1983-84

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


Rookie Season
	John Salley	David Thompson
Season	1986-87	1976-77
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	Nuggets 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		%
John Salley	82	17.8	5.3	1.3	2.3	3.6	0.7	0.5	1.5	0.9	3.1	2.0	3.5	.562	0.0	0.0	.000	1.3	2.1	.614
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		%
John Salley	15	20.7	6.2	2.0	2.8	4.8	0.7	0.2	1.1	0.9	4.0	2.2	4.4	.500	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.8	.643
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
	John Salley	David Thompson
Season	1987-88	1977-78
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets 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 Salley	82	24.4	8.5	2.0	2.9	4.9	1.4	0.6	1.7	1.5	3.6	3.1	5.6	.566	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.2	.709
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		%
John Salley	23	27.1	7.0	2.8	4.0	6.7	0.9	0.7	1.6	1.0	3.8	2.4	4.5	.538	0.0	0.0	.000	2.1	3.0	.710
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
	John Salley	David Thompson
Season	1988-89	1978-79
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West 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 Salley	67	21.8	7.0	2.0	3.0	5.0	1.1	0.6	1.1	1.5	2.9	2.5	5.0	.498	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.9	.692
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		%
John Salley	17	23.1	8.9	2.0	2.6	4.6	0.5	0.5	1.5	0.7	3.4	3.4	5.8	.586	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	3.2	.667
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
	John Salley	David Thompson
Season	1989-90	1979-80
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
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 Salley	82	23.3	7.2	1.9	3.5	5.4	0.8	0.6	1.9	1.2	3.4	2.5	5.0	.512	0.0	0.0	.250	2.1	3.0	.713
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		%
John Salley	20	27.4	9.5	2.9	3.0	5.9	1.0	0.5	1.7	1.1	3.8	2.9	6.1	.475	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.9	.755
David Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	John Salley	David Thompson
Season	1990-91	1980-81
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	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 Salley	74	22.3	7.4	1.9	2.6	4.4	0.9	0.7	1.5	1.2	3.2	2.4	5.1	.475	0.0	0.0	.000	2.5	3.5	.727
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		%
John Salley	15	20.5	7.5	1.3	2.8	4.1	0.7	0.4	1.3	0.9	3.9	2.5	4.7	.543	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	4.0	.600
David Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	John Salley	David Thompson
Season	1991-92	1981-82
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West 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 Salley	72	24.6	9.5	1.5	2.6	4.1	1.6	0.7	1.5	1.4	3.1	3.5	6.8	.512	0.0	0.0	.000	2.6	3.6	.715
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		%
John Salley	5	29.8	12.6	2.0	4.0	6.0	2.8	0.6	2.8	1.8	3.6	4.0	8.8	.455	0.0	0.2	.000	4.6	5.6	.821
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
	John Salley	David Thompson
Season	1992-93	1982-83
Team	Miami Heat	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Supersonics Lost West 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 Salley	51	27.9	8.3	2.2	3.9	6.1	1.6	0.6	1.4	2.0	3.8	3.0	6.0	.502	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	2.8	.799
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		%
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	John Salley	David Thompson
Season	1993-94	1983-84
Team	Miami Heat	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Heat 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 Salley	76	25.1	7.7	1.7	3.6	5.4	1.8	0.7	1.0	1.2	3.4	2.7	5.7	.477	0.0	0.0	.667	2.2	3.0	.729
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
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	5	40.2	11.0	3.2	4.8	8.0	1.6	0.4	1.0	1.2	4.2	4.4	11.4	.386	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	3.2	.688
David Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	John Salley	David Thompson
Season	1994-95	-
Team	Miami Heat	-
Honors & Awards
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		%
John Salley	75	26.1	7.3	1.5	3.0	4.5	1.6	0.6	1.1	1.3	3.7	2.6	5.3	.499	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.8	.739
David Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 10
	John Salley	David Thompson
Season	1995-96	-
Team	Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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 Salley	42	16.0	4.4	1.1	2.2	3.3	1.3	0.5	0.6	1.3	2.6	1.5	3.3	.450	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.0	.694
David Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	16	5.3	0.9	0.3	0.4	0.7	0.4	0.1	0.1	0.3	1.6	0.4	0.7	.545	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.4	.286
David Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: John Salley didn't play in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99.


Season 11
	John Salley	David Thompson
Season	1999-00	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	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 Salley	45	6.7	1.6	0.4	1.0	1.4	0.6	0.2	0.3	0.4	1.5	0.6	1.5	.362	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.6	.750
David Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Salley	18	4.2	0.9	0.5	0.7	1.2	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.9	0.3	0.7	.385	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	0.6	.700
David Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

John Salley vs. David Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of David Thompson and John Salley, 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