John Salley vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nate Thurmond 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.

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 less than Nate Thurmond, who played 14. John Salley had the first of his seasons in 1986-87, 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
	John Salley	Nate Thurmond
Season	1986-87	1963-64
Team	Detroit Pistons	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
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
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		%
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
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
	John Salley	Nate Thurmond
Season	1987-88	1964-65
Team	Detroit Pistons	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost NBA 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	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
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		%
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
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	John Salley	Nate Thurmond
Season	1988-89	1965-66
Team	Detroit Pistons	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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	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
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		%
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
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	John Salley	Nate Thurmond
Season	1989-90	1966-67
Team	Detroit Pistons	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
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
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		%
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
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
	John Salley	Nate Thurmond
Season	1990-91	1967-68
Team	Detroit Pistons	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
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
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		%
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
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	John Salley	Nate Thurmond
Season	1991-92	1968-69
Team	Detroit Pistons	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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
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		%
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
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
	John Salley	Nate Thurmond
Season	1992-93	1969-70
Team	Miami Heat	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		%
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
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		%
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	John Salley	Nate Thurmond
Season	1993-94	1970-71
Team	Miami Heat	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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
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		%
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
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
	John Salley	Nate Thurmond
Season	1994-95	1971-72
Team	Miami Heat	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		%
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
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		%
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nate Thurmond	5	46.0	25.4	-	-	17.8	5.2	-	-	-	2.4	10.6	24.4	.434	-	-	-	4.2	5.6	.750

Season 10
	John Salley	Nate Thurmond
Season	1995-96	1972-73
Team	Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
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
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		%
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
Nate Thurmond	11	41.8	14.5	-	-	13.2	3.6	-	-	-	2.7	5.8	14.6	.398	-	-	-	2.9	3.6	.800

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

Season 11
	John Salley	Nate Thurmond
Season	1999-00	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
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	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
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		%
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
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-