Kevin Love vs. Tristan Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love, 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 / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

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.

Kevin Love played 18 years in the NBA, 4 more than Tristan Thompson, who played 14. Kevin Love had the first of his seasons in 2008-09, while Tristan Thompson had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
Kevin Love	18	6	2008-09 to 2025-26
Tristan Thompson	14	9	2011-12 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14


Rookie Season
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2008-09	2011-12
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	81	25.3	11.1	3.4	5.7	9.1	1.0	0.4	0.6	1.5	2.5	3.9	8.5	.459	0.0	0.2	.105	3.3	4.1	.789
difference:	+21	+1.6	+2.9	+0.3	+2.3	+2.6	+0.5	+0.1	+0.4	-0.1	-0.3	+0.7	+1.1	+.020		+0.2		+1.5	+0.9	+.237
Tristan Thompson	60	23.7	8.2	3.1	3.4	6.5	0.5	0.5	1.0	1.4	2.2	3.2	7.4	.439	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	3.2	.552

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor Tristan Thompson played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2009-10	2012-13
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	60	28.6	14.0	3.8	7.2	11.0	2.3	0.7	0.4	2.0	2.3	4.9	10.8	.450	0.6	1.8	.330	3.8	4.6	.815
difference:	+22	+2.7	+2.3	+0.1	+1.5	+1.6	+1.0		+0.5	-0.5	-0.6	+0.1	+1.1	+.038	+0.6	+1.8		+1.6	+1.1	+.207
Tristan Thompson	82	31.3	11.7	3.7	5.7	9.4	1.3	0.7	0.9	1.5	2.9	4.8	9.7	.488	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	3.5	.608

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor Tristan Thompson played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2010-11	2013-14
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Most Improved Player	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	73	35.8	20.2	4.5	10.7	15.2	2.5	0.6	0.4	2.1	2.0	6.6	14.1	.470	1.2	2.9	.417	5.8	6.8	.850
difference:	+9	+4.2	+8.5	+1.2	+4.8	+6.0	+1.6	+0.1		-0.8	-0.3	+2.2	+4.8	+.007	+1.2	+2.9		+2.9	+2.7	+.157
Tristan Thompson	82	31.6	11.7	3.3	5.9	9.2	0.9	0.5	0.4	1.3	2.3	4.4	9.3	.477	0.0	0.0	-	2.9	4.1	.693

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor Tristan Thompson played in the postseason in their season 3


Season 4
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2011-12	2014-15
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	55	39.0	26.0	4.1	9.2	13.3	2.0	0.9	0.5	2.3	2.8	8.6	19.3	.448	1.9	5.1	.372	6.9	8.4	.824
difference:	+27	+12.2	+17.5	+0.8	+4.5	+5.3	+1.5	+0.5	+0.2	-1.3	-0.5	+5.3	+13.3	+.099	+1.9	+5.1		+5.0	+5.4	+.183
Tristan Thompson	82	26.8	8.5	3.3	4.7	8.0	0.5	0.4	0.7	1.0	2.3	3.3	6.0	.547	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	3.0	.641

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	20	36.4	9.6	4.4	6.4	10.8	0.5	0.3	1.2	0.8	2.5	3.6	6.5	.558	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	4.1	.585


Season 5
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2012-13	2015-16
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	18	34.3	18.3	3.6	10.4	14.0	2.3	0.7	0.5	2.2	1.9	5.8	16.6	.352	1.1	5.1	.217	5.6	7.9	.704
difference:	+64	+6.6	+10.5	+0.3	+4.7	+5.0	+1.5	+0.2	+0.1	-1.5	-0.6	+2.8	+11.5	+.236	+1.1	+5.1		+3.8	+4.9	+.088
Tristan Thompson	82	27.7	7.8	3.3	5.7	9.0	0.8	0.5	0.6	0.7	2.5	3.0	5.1	.588	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	3.0	.616

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	21	29.6	6.7	4.1	4.9	9.0	0.7	0.4	0.9	0.8	2.6	2.3	4.4	.527	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.5	.575


Season 6
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2013-14	2016-17
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	77	36.3	26.1	2.9	9.6	12.5	4.4	0.8	0.5	2.5	1.8	8.4	18.5	.457	2.5	6.6	.376	6.8	8.2	.821
difference:	+1	+6.4	+18.0	+0.8	+4.1	+3.3	+3.4	+0.3	+0.6	-1.7	-0.5	+5.0	+12.9	+.143	+2.5	+6.6		+5.4	+5.5	+.323
Tristan Thompson	78	29.9	8.1	3.7	5.5	9.2	1.0	0.5	1.1	0.8	2.3	3.4	5.6	.600	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.7	.498

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	18	31.2	8.2	3.8	4.5	8.3	1.4	0.5	0.7	1.2	2.0	3.0	5.1	.587	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	3.3	.667


Season 7
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2014-15	2017-18
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	75	33.8	16.4	1.9	7.9	9.7	2.2	0.7	0.5	1.6	1.9	5.5	12.7	.434	1.9	5.2	.367	3.4	4.3	.804
difference:	+22	+13.6	+10.6	+0.5	+3.6	+3.1	+1.6	+0.4	+0.2	-0.9		+3.0	+8.3	+.128	+1.9	+5.2		+2.6	+2.8	+.260
Tristan Thompson	53	20.2	5.8	2.4	4.3	6.6	0.6	0.3	0.3	0.7	1.9	2.5	4.4	.562	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.5	.544

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	4	26.8	14.3	1.5	5.5	7.0	2.5	0.3	0.5	1.5	3.0	4.3	10.3	.415	2.3	5.3	.429	3.5	4.8	.737
difference:	+15	+4.9	+8.1	+0.8	+1.9	+1.1	+1.9	+0.2	+0.1	-0.9	-1.6	+1.7	+5.9	+.175	+2.3	+5.2	+.429	+2.4	+3.4	+.004
Tristan Thompson	19	21.9	6.2	2.3	3.6	5.9	0.6	0.1	0.4	0.6	1.4	2.6	4.4	.590	0.0	0.1	.000	1.1	1.4	.741


Season 8
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2015-16	2018-19
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	77	31.5	16.0	1.9	8.0	9.9	2.4	0.8	0.5	1.8	2.1	5.3	12.7	.419	2.1	5.7	.360	3.4	4.1	.822
difference:	+34	+3.6	+5.1	+2.1	+1.8	+0.3	+0.4	+0.1	+0.1	-0.4		+0.6	+3.9	+.110	+2.1	+5.7		+1.8	+1.6	+.180
Tristan Thompson	43	27.9	10.9	4.0	6.2	10.2	2.0	0.7	0.4	1.4	2.1	4.7	8.8	.529	0.0	0.0	-	1.6	2.5	.642

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	20	30.7	14.7	1.7	7.1	8.8	2.1	0.5	0.4	1.4	1.7	4.6	12.0	.385	2.3	5.6	.414	3.2	3.8	.840
Tristan Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2016-17	2019-20
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	60	31.4	19.0	2.5	8.6	11.1	1.9	0.9	0.4	2.0	2.1	6.2	14.5	.427	2.4	6.5	.373	4.3	4.9	.871
difference:	+3	+1.2	+7.0	+1.5	+2.4	+1.0	+0.2	+0.3	+0.5	-0.2	-0.1	+1.1	+4.6	+.085	+2.2	+6.1	+.018	+2.6	+2.1	+.256
Tristan Thompson	57	30.2	12.0	4.0	6.2	10.1	2.1	0.6	0.9	1.8	2.2	5.1	9.9	.512	0.2	0.4	.391	1.7	2.8	.615

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	18	32.1	16.8	2.0	8.6	10.6	1.7	1.2	0.9	1.7	2.6	5.3	12.1	.436	2.8	6.2	.450	3.5	4.2	.840
Tristan Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2017-18	2020-21
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	59	28.0	17.6	1.7	7.5	9.3	1.7	0.7	0.4	1.5	2.0	5.7	12.4	.458	2.3	5.6	.415	4.0	4.5	.880
difference:	+5	+4.2	+10.0	+1.4	+2.5	+1.2	+0.5	+0.3	+0.2	-0.4	-0.2	+2.6	+6.4	+.060	+2.3	+5.5	+.415	+2.7	+2.3	+.288
Tristan Thompson	54	23.8	7.6	3.1	5.0	8.1	1.2	0.4	0.6	1.1	2.2	3.1	6.0	.518	0.0	0.1	.000	1.3	2.2	.592

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	21	31.4	14.9	2.3	7.9	10.2	1.6	0.7	0.4	2.0	2.8	5.2	13.2	.392	1.7	5.0	.340	2.8	3.0	.922
difference:	+16	+5.0	+4.5	+3.5	+3.9	+0.4	+0.6	+0.1	+0.8	-1.0	-0.4	+1.2	+6.4	+.196	+1.7	+5.0		+0.4	+0.4	+.216
Tristan Thompson	5	26.4	10.4	5.8	4.0	9.8	1.0	0.8	1.2	1.0	2.4	4.0	6.8	.588	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	3.4	.706


Season 11
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2018-19	2021-22
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	22	27.2	17.0	1.5	9.4	10.9	2.2	0.3	0.2	1.9	2.5	5.0	12.9	.385	2.4	6.7	.361	4.7	5.2	.904
difference:	+35	+11.5	+11.0	+0.6	+6.5	+5.8	+1.6	+0.1	+0.2	-1.1	-0.8	+2.5	+8.2	+.143	+2.4	+6.6	+.028	+3.6	+3.2	+.378
Tristan Thompson	57	15.7	6.0	2.1	2.9	5.1	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.8	1.7	2.5	4.7	.528	0.0	0.1	.333	1.1	2.0	.526

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	5	7.6	0.8	0.4	1.2	1.6	0.4	0.2	0.0	1.0	0.8	0.4	1.0	.400	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 12
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2019-20	2022-23
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	56	31.8	17.6	1.0	8.8	9.8	3.2	0.6	0.3	2.5	1.6	5.8	13.0	.450	2.6	7.0	.374	3.3	3.9	.854
Tristan Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	6	5.3	1.8	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.8	1.8	.455	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.8	.200


Season 13
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2020-21	2023-24
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	25	24.9	12.2	0.7	6.8	7.4	2.5	0.6	0.1	1.5	1.0	4.1	10.1	.409	2.3	6.2	.365	1.7	2.0	.824
difference:	+24	+13.7	+8.9	+0.8	+4.7	+3.8	+1.5	+0.4	+0.2	-0.9	-0.2	+2.6	+7.7	+.199	+2.3	+6.2		+1.4	+0.9	+.536
Tristan Thompson	49	11.2	3.3	1.5	2.1	3.6	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.6	1.2	1.5	2.4	.608	0.0	0.0	-	0.3	1.1	.288

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	10	8.7	1.5	1.0	1.0	2.0	1.0	0.1	0.5	0.2	0.9	0.7	1.6	.438	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.2	.500


Season 14
	Kevin Love	Tristan Thompson
Season	2021-22	2024-25
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

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14th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	74	22.5	13.6	1.2	6.1	7.2	2.2	0.4	0.2	1.3	1.4	4.4	10.3	.430	2.5	6.4	.392	2.2	2.7	.838
difference:	+34	+14.3	+11.9	+0.4	+3.5	+3.8	+1.6	+0.3	+0.1	-0.9	-0.5	+3.6	+8.5	+.007	+2.5	+6.3	+.392	+2.0	+1.9	+.605
Tristan Thompson	40	8.2	1.7	0.8	2.6	3.4	0.6	0.1	0.3	0.4	0.9	0.8	1.8	.437	0.0	0.1	.000	0.2	0.8	.233

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	3	9.7	2.3	0.7	4.3	5.0	0.3	0.3	0.7	0.7	0.7	1.0	2.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.3	1.0	.333

Additional Years

* Kevin Love played 4 seasons more than Tristan Thompson in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 15 to 18, from 2023 to 2026—Kevin Love played in two Playoffs.

Kevin Love vs. Tristan Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love, 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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Season 13

13th Season Stats Comparison

Season 14

14th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years