Nikola Jokic vs. Tristan Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tristan Thompson and Nikola Jokic, 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.

Nikola Jokic played 10 years in the NBA, 4 less than Tristan Thompson, who played 14. Nikola Jokic had the first of his seasons in 2015-16, 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
Nikola Jokic	10	7	2015-16 to 2024-25
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


Rookie Season
	Nikola Jokic	Tristan Thompson
Season	2015-16	2011-12
Team	Denver Nuggets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Nikola Jokic	80	21.7	10.0	2.3	4.7	7.0	2.4	1.0	0.6	1.3	2.6	3.8	7.5	.512	0.4	1.1	.333	1.9	2.4	.811
difference:	+20	+2.0	+1.8	+0.8	+1.3	+0.5	+1.9	+0.5	+0.4	-0.1	-0.4	+0.6	+0.1	+.073	+0.4	+1.1		+0.1	+0.8	+.259
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 Nikola Jokic nor Tristan Thompson played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Nikola Jokic	Tristan Thompson
Season	2016-17	2012-13
Team	Denver Nuggets	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		%
Nikola Jokic	73	27.9	16.7	2.9	6.9	9.8	4.9	0.8	0.8	2.3	2.9	6.8	11.7	.578	0.6	1.9	.324	2.6	3.1	.825
difference:	+9	+3.4	+5.0	+0.8	+1.2	+0.4	+3.6	+0.1	+0.1	-0.8		+2.0	+2.0	+.090	+0.6	+1.9		+0.4	+0.4	+.217
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 Nikola Jokic nor Tristan Thompson played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	Nikola Jokic	Tristan Thompson
Season	2017-18	2013-14
Team	Denver Nuggets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
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		%
Nikola Jokic	75	32.6	18.5	2.6	8.1	10.7	6.1	1.2	0.8	2.8	2.8	6.7	13.5	.499	1.5	3.7	.396	3.5	4.2	.850
difference:	+7	+1.0	+6.8	+0.7	+2.2	+1.5	+5.2	+0.7	+0.4	-1.5	-0.5	+2.3	+4.2	+.022	+1.5	+3.7		+0.6	+0.1	+.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 Nikola Jokic nor Tristan Thompson played in the postseason in their season 3


Season 4
	Nikola Jokic	Tristan Thompson
Season	2018-19	2014-15
Team	Denver Nuggets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Nikola Jokic	80	31.3	20.1	2.9	8.0	10.8	7.3	1.4	0.7	3.1	2.9	7.7	15.1	.511	1.0	3.4	.307	3.6	4.4	.821
difference:	+2	+4.5	+11.6	+0.4	+3.3	+2.8	+6.8	+1.0		-2.1	-0.6	+4.4	+9.1	+.036	+1.0	+3.4		+1.7	+1.4	+.180
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		%
Nikola Jokic	14	39.8	25.1	3.9	9.1	13.0	8.4	1.1	0.9	2.6	3.9	9.4	18.6	.506	1.6	4.0	.393	4.7	5.6	.846
difference:	+6	+3.4	+15.5	+0.5	+2.7	+2.2	+7.9	+0.8	+0.3	-1.8	-1.4	+5.8	+12.1	+.052	+1.6	+4.0		+2.3	+1.5	+.261
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
	Nikola Jokic	Tristan Thompson
Season	2019-20	2015-16
Team	Denver Nuggets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Nikola Jokic	73	32.0	19.9	2.3	7.5	9.7	7.0	1.2	0.6	3.1	3.0	7.7	14.7	.528	1.1	3.5	.314	3.4	4.1	.817
difference:	+9	+4.3	+12.1	+1.0	+1.8	+0.7	+6.2	+0.7		-2.4	-0.5	+4.7	+9.6	+.060	+1.1	+3.5		+1.6	+1.1	+.201
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		%
Nikola Jokic	19	36.5	24.4	1.9	7.9	9.8	5.7	1.1	0.8	3.3	3.6	9.4	18.1	.519	2.2	5.2	.429	3.5	4.2	.835
difference:	+2	+6.9	+17.7	+2.2	+3.0	+0.8	+5.0	+0.7	+0.1	-2.5	-1.0	+7.1	+13.7	+.008	+2.2	+5.2		+1.5	+0.7	+.260
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
	Nikola Jokic	Tristan Thompson
Season	2020-21	2016-17
Team	Denver Nuggets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Nikola Jokic	72	34.6	26.4	2.8	8.0	10.8	8.3	1.3	0.7	3.1	2.7	10.2	18.0	.566	1.3	3.3	.388	4.8	5.5	.868
difference:	+6	+4.7	+18.3	+0.9	+2.5	+1.6	+7.3	+0.8	+0.4	-2.3	-0.4	+6.8	+12.4	+.034	+1.3	+3.3		+3.4	+2.8	+.370
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		%
Nikola Jokic	10	34.5	29.8	3.7	7.9	11.6	5.0	0.6	0.9	2.4	2.3	11.6	22.8	.509	2.0	5.3	.377	4.6	5.5	.836
difference:	+8	+3.3	+21.6	+0.1	+3.4	+3.3	+3.6	+0.1	+0.2	-1.2	-0.3	+8.6	+17.7	+.078	+2.0	+5.3		+2.4	+2.2	+.169
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
	Nikola Jokic	Tristan Thompson
Season	2021-22	2017-18
Team	Denver Nuggets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Nikola Jokic	74	33.5	27.1	2.8	11.0	13.8	7.9	1.5	0.9	3.8	2.6	10.3	17.7	.583	1.3	3.9	.337	5.1	6.3	.810
difference:	+21	+13.3	+21.3	+0.4	+6.7	+7.2	+7.3	+1.2	+0.6	-3.1	-0.7	+7.8	+13.3	+.021	+1.3	+3.9		+4.3	+4.8	+.266
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		%
Nikola Jokic	5	34.2	31.0	3.4	9.8	13.2	5.8	1.6	1.0	4.8	4.0	12.2	21.2	.575	1.0	3.6	.278	5.6	6.6	.848
difference:	+14	+12.3	+24.8	+1.1	+6.2	+7.3	+5.2	+1.5	+0.6	-4.2	-2.6	+9.6	+16.8	+.015	+1.0	+3.5	+.278	+4.5	+5.2	+.107
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
	Nikola Jokic	Tristan Thompson
Season	2022-23	2018-19
Team	Denver Nuggets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
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		%
Nikola Jokic	69	33.7	24.5	2.4	9.4	11.8	9.8	1.3	0.7	3.6	2.5	9.4	14.8	.632	0.8	2.2	.383	4.9	6.0	.822
difference:	+26	+5.8	+13.6	+1.6	+3.2	+1.6	+7.8	+0.6	+0.3	-2.2	-0.4	+4.7	+6.0	+.103	+0.8	+2.2		+3.3	+3.5	+.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		%
Nikola Jokic	20	39.5	30.0	3.5	10.0	13.5	9.5	1.1	1.0	3.5	3.5	11.4	20.7	.548	1.8	3.8	.461	5.6	7.0	.799
Tristan Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Nikola Jokic	Tristan Thompson
Season	2023-24	2019-20
Team	Denver Nuggets	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Nikola Jokic	79	34.6	26.4	2.8	9.5	12.4	9.0	1.4	0.9	3.0	2.5	10.4	17.9	.583	1.1	2.9	.359	4.5	5.5	.817
difference:	+22	+4.4	+14.4	+1.2	+3.3	+2.3	+6.9	+0.8		-1.2	-0.3	+5.3	+8.0	+.071	+0.9	+2.5	+.032	+2.8	+2.7	+.202
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		%
Nikola Jokic	12	40.2	28.7	3.6	9.8	13.4	8.7	1.4	0.7	3.3	2.7	11.1	20.3	.545	1.2	4.4	.264	5.3	5.9	.901
Tristan Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Nikola Jokic	Tristan Thompson
Season	2024-25	2020-21
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	70	36.7	29.6	2.9	9.9	12.7	10.2	1.8	0.6	3.3	2.3	11.2	19.5	.576	2.0	4.7	.417	5.2	6.4	.800
difference:	+16	+12.9	+22.0	+0.2	+4.9	+4.6	+9.0	+1.4		-2.2	-0.1	+8.1	+13.5	+.058	+2.0	+4.6	+.417	+3.9	+4.2	+.208
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		%
Nikola Jokic	14	40.2	26.2	2.1	10.6	12.7	8.0	2.0	0.9	3.9	3.4	9.4	19.1	.489	1.9	5.1	.380	5.6	7.2	.772
difference:	+9	+13.8	+15.8	+3.7	+6.6	+2.9	+7.0	+1.2	+0.3	-2.9	-1.0	+5.4	+12.3	+.099	+1.9	+5.1		+3.2	+3.8	+.066
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

Additional Years

* Tristan Thompson played 4 seasons more than Nikola Jokic in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 11 to 14, from 2022 to 2025—Tristan Thompson played in 4 Playoffs.

Nikola Jokic vs. Tristan Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tristan Thompson and Nikola Jokic, 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

Additional Years