Josh Giddey vs. David Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of David Thompson and Josh Giddey, 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.

Josh Giddey played 4 years in the NBA, 4 less than David Thompson, who played 8. Josh Giddey had the first of his seasons in 2021-22, 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.

Their Careers

Player
Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Josh Giddey 4 1 2021-22 to 2024-25
David Thompson 8 5 1976-77 to 1983-84

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4

Rookie Season

Josh Giddey David Thompson
Season 2021-221976-77
Team Oklahoma City ThunderDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Rookie Second Team-
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNuggets Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey 54 31.5 12.5 1.8 6.0 7.8 6.4 0.9 0.4 3.2 1.6 5.2 12.4 .419 1.0 3.9 .263 1.0 1.5 .709
difference:+28+5.1+13.4+0.1+3.6+3.7+2.3+0.5+0.2-1.3+4.8+7.4+.088+4.8+6.1+.057
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey DNP------ --- ----------
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

Josh Giddey David Thompson
Season 2022-231977-78
Team Oklahoma City ThunderDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNuggets Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey 76 31.2 16.6 1.9 5.9 7.9 6.2 0.8 0.4 2.8 1.9 7.1 14.7 .482 1.0 3.1 .325 1.4 1.9 .731
difference:+4+6.6+10.6+0.1+3.0+3.0+1.7+0.4+0.8-0.3-0.8+3.2+5.1+.039+5.1+6.5+.047
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey DNP------ --- ----------
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

Josh Giddey David Thompson
Season 2023-241978-79
Team Oklahoma City ThunderDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs Thunder Lost West Conf SemisNuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey 80 25.1 12.3 1.4 5.0 6.4 4.8 0.7 0.6 2.1 1.4 5.0 10.6 .475 1.0 3.0 .337 1.3 1.6 .806
difference:+4+10.0+11.7+2.8+2.8+1.8+0.2+0.5-0.3-1.0+4.1+7.2+.037+4.5+6.1+.053
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey 10 18.1 8.7 0.7 2.9 3.6 2.1 0.2 0.4 1.2 0.9 3.4 7.5 .453 1.2 3.4 .353 0.7 0.8 .875
difference:+7+22.6+19.3+1.6+1.8+3.4+1.9+1.1+0.1-2.8-3.1+9.3+15.5+.098+2.0+2.9+.148
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

Josh Giddey David Thompson
Season 2024-251979-80
Team Chicago BullsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey 70 30.2 14.6 1.8 6.3 8.1 7.2 1.2 0.6 2.9 1.7 5.3 11.4 .465 1.5 4.0 .378 2.5 3.2 .781
difference:+31+1.6+6.9+0.4+3.3+3.6+4.0+0.2+0.4-0.1-1.0+2.1+4.4+.003+1.3+3.5+.010+4.0+5.4+.023
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
* Neiher Josh Giddey nor David Thompson played in the postseason in their season 4

Additional Years

* David Thompson played 4 seasons more than Josh Giddey in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 5 to 8, from 1981 to 1984—David Thompson played in two Playoffs.

In those 4 extra years over Josh Giddey, David Thompson got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 All-Star Game