Karl Malone vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nate Thurmond and Karl Malone, 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.

Karl Malone played 19 years in the NBA, 5 more than Nate Thurmond, who played 14. Karl Malone had the first of his seasons in 1985-86, 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 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
Karl Malone 19 19 1985-86 to 2003-04
Nate Thurmond 14 9 1963-64 to 1976-77

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14

Rookie Season

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1985-861963-64
Team Utah JazzSan Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf 1st RdWarriors Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 81 30.6 14.9 2.1 6.7 8.9 2.9 1.3 0.5 3.4 3.6 6.2 12.5 .496 0.0 0.0 - 2.4 5.0 .481
difference:+5+4.7+7.9+1.5+1.8-1.2+3.3+5.2+.101+1.1+2.7+.068
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 4 36.0 21.8 1.5 6.0 7.5 1.0 2.0 0.0 1.5 4.5 9.5 18.0 .528 0.0 0.0 - 2.8 6.5 .423
difference:+8+1.8+11.8+4.8+0.2-0.7+6.0+10.0+.090+0.2+2.1+.256
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

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1986-871964-65
Team Utah JazzSan Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 82 34.8 21.7 3.4 7.0 10.4 1.9 1.3 0.7 2.9 3.9 8.9 17.3 .512 0.0 0.1 .000 3.9 6.6 .598
difference:+5+6.4+5.2+7.7+0.1-0.9+2.2+1.2+.093+0.8+2.0+.060
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 5 40.0 20.0 3.0 6.6 9.6 1.2 2.2 0.8 3.4 4.0 7.4 17.6 .420 0.0 0.0 - 5.2 7.2 .722
Nate Thurmond DNP------ --- ----------

Season 3

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1987-881965-66
Team Utah JazzSan Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 82 39.0 27.7 3.4 8.6 12.0 2.4 1.4 0.6 4.0 3.6 10.5 20.1 .520 0.0 0.1 .000 6.7 9.6 .700
difference:+9+0.6+11.4+6.0+0.9-0.5+4.3+4.8+.114+2.9+3.7+.046
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 11 44.9 29.7 3.0 8.8 11.8 1.5 1.2 0.6 3.5 3.2 11.2 23.2 .482 0.0 0.1 .000 7.4 10.2 .723
Nate Thurmond DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1988-891966-67
Team Utah JazzSan Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf 1st RdWarriors Lost NBA Finals
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 80 39.1 29.1 3.2 7.4 10.7 2.7 1.8 0.9 3.6 3.6 10.1 19.5 .519 0.1 0.2 .313 8.8 11.5 .766
difference:+15+3.4+10.4+10.6+0.1-0.8+2.9+3.1+.082+4.5+4.7+.137
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 3 45.3 30.7 7.3 9.0 16.3 1.3 1.0 0.3 4.3 5.3 11.0 22.0 .500 0.0 0.0 - 8.7 10.7 .813
difference:+12+0.7+14.8+6.8+1.8-1.8+4.8+7.7+.067+5.2+4.6+.242
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

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1989-901967-68
Team Utah JazzSan Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 82 38.1 31.0 2.8 8.3 11.1 2.8 1.5 0.6 3.7 3.2 11.1 19.8 .562 0.2 0.5 .372 8.5 11.1 .762
difference:+31+5.5+10.5+10.9+1.4-0.5+3.6+1.6+.151+3.0+2.5+.118
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 5 40.6 25.2 3.2 7.0 10.2 2.2 2.2 1.0 2.4 4.4 9.2 21.0 .438 0.0 0.2 .000 6.8 9.0 .756
Nate Thurmond DNP------ --- ----------

Season 6

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1990-911968-69
Team Utah JazzSan Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf SemisWarriors Lost West Div Semis
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 82 40.3 29.0 2.9 8.9 11.8 3.3 1.1 1.0 3.0 3.3 10.3 19.6 .527 0.0 0.2 .286 8.3 10.8 .770
difference:+11+4.9+7.5+7.9+0.3-0.9+2.3+.117+2.9+2.1+.155
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 9 42.6 29.7 2.6 10.8 13.3 3.2 1.0 1.2 2.9 3.9 10.6 23.2 .455 0.0 0.9 .000 8.6 10.1 .846
difference:+3+1.2+13.0+6.2+1.5-0.9+3.9+6.2+.063+5.3+4.4+.258
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

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1991-921969-70
Team Utah JazzSan Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 81 37.7 28.0 2.8 8.4 11.2 3.0 1.3 0.6 3.1 2.8 9.9 18.7 .526 0.0 0.2 .176 8.3 10.7 .778
difference:+38+6.9+6.1+6.5+0.5-0.2+2.0+0.5+.112+2.2+2.7+.024
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 16 43.0 29.1 2.7 8.6 11.3 2.6 1.4 1.2 2.9 3.6 9.3 17.8 .521 0.0 0.1 .000 10.6 13.1 .805
Nate Thurmond DNP------ --- ----------

Season 8

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1992-931970-71
Team Utah JazzSan Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf 1st RdWarriors Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 82 37.8 27.0 2.8 8.4 11.2 3.8 1.5 1.0 2.9 3.2 9.7 17.6 .552 0.0 0.2 .200 7.5 10.2 .740
difference:+3.1+7.0+2.6+0.7-0.9+2.1+0.5+.107+2.7+3.6+.010
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 5 43.2 24.0 2.4 8.0 10.4 2.0 1.2 0.4 4.0 4.2 8.8 19.4 .454 0.2 0.4 .500 6.2 7.6 .816
difference:+4.8+6.4+0.2+1.0-0.2+1.6+.083+3.0+3.6+.016
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

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1993-941971-72
Team Utah JazzGolden State Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf FinalsWarriors Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 82 40.6 25.2 2.9 8.6 11.5 4.0 1.5 1.5 2.9 3.3 9.4 18.9 .497 0.1 0.4 .250 6.2 9.0 .694
difference:+4+2.5+3.8+4.6+1.1-0.6+1.3+0.3+.065+0.9+1.8+.049
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 16 43.9 27.1 3.3 9.1 12.4 3.4 1.4 0.8 2.1 3.7 9.9 21.1 .467 0.0 0.3 .000 7.4 10.0 .738
difference:+11+2.1+1.7+5.4+1.8-1.3+0.7+3.3+.033+3.2+4.4+.012
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

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1994-951972-73
Team Utah JazzGolden State Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf 1st RdWarriors Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 82 38.1 26.7 1.9 8.7 10.6 3.5 1.6 1.0 2.9 3.3 10.1 18.9 .536 0.1 0.5 .268 6.3 8.5 .742
difference:+3+5.2+9.6+6.5-0.3+3.6+4.2+.090+2.3+2.9+.024
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 5 43.2 30.2 3.0 10.2 13.2 3.8 1.4 0.4 2.8 3.6 9.6 20.6 .466 0.2 0.6 .333 10.8 15.6 .692
difference:+6+1.4+15.7+0.2-0.9+3.8+6.0+.068+7.9+12.0+.108
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

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1995-961973-74
Team Utah JazzGolden State Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 82 38.0 25.7 2.1 7.7 9.8 4.2 1.7 0.7 2.4 3.0 9.6 18.5 .519 0.2 0.5 .400 6.2 8.6 .723
difference:+20+1.7+12.7+1.9+2.4+4.4+1.5+1.0+2.2-0.1+4.6+7.3+.075+3.1+4.0+.057
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 18 40.3 26.5 2.6 7.7 10.3 4.4 1.9 0.6 2.5 3.4 10.4 22.3 .469 0.0 0.2 .000 5.6 9.8 .574
Nate Thurmond DNP------ --- ----------

Season 12

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1996-971974-75
Team Utah JazzChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Jazz Lost NBA FinalsBulls Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 82 36.6 27.4 2.4 7.5 9.9 4.5 1.4 0.6 2.8 2.6 10.5 19.2 .550 0.0 0.2 .000 6.4 8.4 .755
difference:+2+2.1+19.5+0.8+0.6+1.4+0.4+0.8+1.8-0.8+7.4+10.6+.186+4.7+5.6+.166
Nate Thurmond 80 34.5 7.9 3.2 8.1 11.3 4.1 0.6 2.4 - 3.4 3.1 8.6 .364 - - - 1.7 2.8 .589
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 20 40.8 26.0 3.0 8.4 11.4 2.9 1.4 0.8 2.7 3.0 9.4 21.5 .435 0.1 0.1 .500 7.2 10.0 .720
difference:+7+21.3+22.5+1.2+3.6+4.7+0.5+1.0+0.8-0.2+8.3+18.6+.067+5.8+7.2+.234
Nate Thurmond 13 19.5 3.5 1.8 4.8 6.7 2.4 0.4 1.6 - 2.8 1.1 2.9 .368 - - - 1.4 2.8 .486

Season 13

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1997-981975-76
Team Utah JazzChicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Jazz Lost NBA FinalsCavaliers Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 81 37.4 27.0 2.3 8.0 10.3 3.9 1.2 0.9 3.0 2.9 9.6 18.2 .530 0.0 0.1 .333 7.8 10.2 .761
difference:+3+19.5+22.6+0.8+4.2+5.0+2.7+0.9+0.4-0.8+7.8+13.9+.109+7.0+8.6+.257
Nate Thurmond 78 17.9 4.4 1.5 3.8 5.3 1.2 0.3 1.3 - 2.1 1.8 4.3 .421 - - - 0.8 1.6 .504
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 20 39.8 26.3 2.4 8.5 10.9 3.4 1.1 1.0 3.0 3.5 9.9 21.0 .471 0.0 0.2 .000 6.5 8.3 .788
difference:+7+11.0+19.6+0.5+2.4+1.9+1.2+0.6+1.2-0.5+7.1+14.9+.003+5.5+5.8+.382
Nate Thurmond 13 28.8 6.7 2.9 6.1 9.0 2.2 0.5 2.2 - 4.0 2.8 6.1 .468 - - - 1.0 2.5 .406

Season 14

Karl Malone Nate Thurmond
Season 1998-991976-77
Team Utah JazzCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf SemisCavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
14th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 49 37.4 23.8 2.2 7.3 9.4 4.1 1.3 0.6 3.3 2.7 8.0 16.3 .493 0.0 0.0 - 7.7 9.8 .788
difference:+17.1+18.3+0.3+2.1+1.8+2.4+1.0+1.1-0.1+6.0+11.3+.086+6.3+7.6+.146
Nate Thurmond 49 20.3 5.5 2.5 5.2 7.6 1.7 0.3 1.7 - 2.6 2.0 5.0 .407 - - - 1.4 2.2 .642
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Karl Malone 11 41.0 21.8 3.3 8.0 11.3 4.7 1.2 0.7 3.6 3.4 7.8 18.7 .417 0.0 0.1 .000 6.2 7.8 .791
difference:+10+40.0+21.8+3.3+7.0+10.3+4.7+1.2+0.3-3.4+7.8+18.7+6.2+7.8
Nate Thurmond 1 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 - 0.0 0.0 0.0 - - - - 0.0 0.0 -

Additional Years

* Karl Malone played 5 seasons more than Nate Thurmond in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 15 to 19, from 2000 to 2004—Karl Malone played in 5 Playoffs.

In those 5 extra years over Nate Thurmond, Karl Malone got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 3 All-Star Game