Jonathan Bender vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nate Thurmond and Jonathan Bender, 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.

Jonathan Bender played 8 years in the NBA, 6 less than Nate Thurmond, who played 14. Jonathan Bender had the first of his seasons in 1999-00, 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
	Jonathan Bender	Nate Thurmond
Season	1999-00	1963-64
Team	Indiana Pacers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Pacers Lost NBA 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		%
Jonathan Bender	24	5.4	2.7	0.2	0.7	0.9	0.1	0.0	0.2	0.3	0.8	1.0	2.9	.329	0.1	0.5	.167	0.7	1.0	.667
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		%
Jonathan Bender	9	2.1	1.3	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4	0.7	.667	0.1	0.1	1.000	0.3	0.7	.500
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
	Jonathan Bender	Nate Thurmond
Season	2000-01	1964-65
Team	Indiana Pacers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers 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		%
Jonathan Bender	59	9.7	3.3	0.2	1.0	1.3	0.5	0.1	0.5	0.7	1.2	1.1	3.2	.355	0.2	0.7	.268	0.8	1.2	.735
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		%
Jonathan Bender	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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Jonathan Bender	Nate Thurmond
Season	2001-02	1965-66
Team	Indiana Pacers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers 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		%
Jonathan Bender	78	21.1	7.4	0.8	2.3	3.1	0.8	0.2	0.6	1.2	1.9	2.5	5.9	.430	0.6	1.6	.360	1.8	2.3	.773
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		%
Jonathan Bender	5	9.2	1.2	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.4	0.4	0.6	1.0	1.2	0.6	1.2	.500	0.0	0.2	.000	0.0	0.0	-
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Jonathan Bender	Nate Thurmond
Season	2002-03	1966-67
Team	Indiana Pacers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Jonathan Bender	46	17.8	6.6	0.9	2.0	2.9	0.9	0.2	1.2	0.9	1.9	2.4	5.5	.441	0.4	1.2	.358	1.3	1.8	.714
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		%
Jonathan Bender	3	11.3	5.7	1.0	1.3	2.3	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.0	0.7	1.7	5.0	.333	1.0	3.0	.333	1.3	2.0	.667
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
	Jonathan Bender	Nate Thurmond
Season	2003-04	1967-68
Team	Indiana Pacers	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers 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		%
Jonathan Bender	21	12.9	7.0	0.4	1.5	1.9	0.4	0.2	0.5	1.6	1.1	2.4	5.0	.472	0.4	1.0	.409	1.9	2.2	.830
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		%
Jonathan Bender	16	12.3	4.8	0.6	1.1	1.8	0.4	0.1	0.9	0.8	1.2	1.8	4.3	.406	0.6	1.6	.360	0.8	1.0	.750
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Jonathan Bender	Nate Thurmond
Season	2004-05	1968-69
Team	Indiana Pacers	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		%
Jonathan Bender	7	13.3	5.1	0.7	1.3	2.0	0.6	0.1	0.3	1.4	1.3	2.3	5.7	.400	0.1	0.7	.200	0.4	0.9	.500
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		%
Jonathan Bender	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jonathan Bender	Nate Thurmond
Season	2005-06	1969-70
Team	Indiana Pacers	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		%
Jonathan Bender	2	10.5	5.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	1.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	1.0	2.0	2.5	.800	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.0	1.000
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		%
Jonathan Bender	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Jonathan Bender didn't play in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Season 8
	Jonathan Bender	Nate Thurmond
Season	2009-10	1970-71
Team	New York Knicks	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		%
Jonathan Bender	25	11.7	4.7	0.6	1.5	2.1	0.6	0.1	0.7	1.1	1.3	1.6	4.0	.400	0.6	1.6	.359	1.0	1.0	.923
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		%
Jonathan Bender	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jonathan Bender	Nate Thurmond
Season	-	1971-72
Team	-	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	-	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		%
Jonathan Bender	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Jonathan Bender	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jonathan Bender	Nate Thurmond
Season	-	1972-73
Team	-	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	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		%
Jonathan Bender	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Jonathan Bender	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jonathan Bender	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		%
Jonathan Bender	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Jonathan Bender	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nate Thurmond	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-