Pau Gasol vs. Klay Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Klay Thompson and Pau Gasol, 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.

Pau Gasol played 18 years in the NBA, 6 more than Klay Thompson, who played 12. Pau Gasol had the first of his seasons in 2001-02, while Klay 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.

Rookie Season
	Pau Gasol	Klay Thompson
Season	2001-02	2011-12
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First 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		%
Pau Gasol	82	36.7	17.6	2.9	6.0	8.9	2.7	0.5	2.1	2.7	2.4	6.7	13.0	.518	0.0	0.1	.200	4.1	5.8	.709
difference:	+16	+12.3	+5.1	+2.5	+3.9	+6.5	+0.7	+0.2	+1.8	-1.1	-0.1	+1.9	+2.1	+.075	+1.7	+4.0	+.214	+2.9	+4.4	+.159
Klay Thompson	66	24.4	12.5	0.4	2.1	2.4	2.0	0.7	0.3	1.6	2.3	4.8	10.9	.443	1.7	4.1	.414	1.2	1.4	.868
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Pau Gasol nor Klay Thompson played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 4
	Pau Gasol	Klay Thompson
Season	2004-05	2014-15
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Pau Gasol	56	32.0	17.8	2.3	5.0	7.3	2.4	0.7	1.7	2.4	2.6	6.4	12.4	.514	0.0	0.1	.167	5.0	6.6	.768
difference:	+21	+0.1	+3.9	+1.9	+2.1	+4.1	+0.5	+0.4	+0.9	-0.5	-1.0	+1.4	+4.5	+.051	+3.1	+7.0	+.272	+2.1	+3.3	+.111
Klay Thompson	77	31.9	21.7	0.4	2.9	3.2	2.9	1.1	0.8	1.9	1.6	7.8	16.9	.463	3.1	7.1	.439	2.9	3.3	.879
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Pau Gasol	4	33.0	21.3	3.8	3.8	7.5	2.5	0.5	1.8	1.8	3.0	9.8	20.0	.488	0.3	0.3	1.000	1.5	3.0	.500
difference:	+17	+3.2	+2.7	+3.4	+0.4	+3.6	+0.1	+0.3	+0.9	-0.2		+2.7	+4.1	+.042	+2.4	+6.7	+.610	+0.2	+0.9	+.300
Klay Thompson	21	36.2	18.6	0.4	3.4	3.9	2.6	0.8	0.9	2.0	3.0	7.1	15.9	.446	2.7	7.0	.390	1.7	2.1	.800

Season 5
	Pau Gasol	Klay Thompson
Season	2005-06	2015-16
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Warriors Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Pau Gasol	80	39.2	20.4	2.4	6.5	8.9	4.6	0.6	1.9	2.9	2.3	7.5	14.9	.503	0.0	0.2	.250	5.3	7.7	.689
difference:		+5.9	+1.7	+2.0	+3.1	+5.1	+2.5	+0.2	+1.3	-1.2	-0.4	+0.6	+2.4	+.033	+3.5	+7.9	+.175	+2.9	+4.9	+.184
Klay Thompson	80	33.3	22.1	0.4	3.4	3.8	2.1	0.8	0.6	1.7	1.9	8.1	17.3	.470	3.5	8.1	.425	2.4	2.8	.873
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Pau Gasol	4	39.5	20.3	1.0	5.8	6.8	3.0	0.5	1.3	2.8	2.8	7.3	16.8	.433	0.0	0.3	.000	5.8	7.5	.767
difference:	+20	+4.1	+4.0	+0.4	+2.8	+3.1	+0.7	+0.6	+0.9	-0.8	-0.6	+1.1	+2.1	+.011	+4.1	+9.3	+.424	+2.4	+3.5	+.087
Klay Thompson	24	35.4	24.3	0.6	3.0	3.7	2.3	1.1	0.4	2.0	2.2	8.4	18.9	.444	4.1	9.6	.424	3.4	4.0	.854

Season 6
	Pau Gasol	Klay Thompson
Season	2006-07	2016-17
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
Pau Gasol	59	36.2	20.8	2.5	7.3	9.8	3.4	0.5	2.1	2.7	2.3	7.8	14.5	.538	0.1	0.2	.273	5.1	6.8	.748
difference:	+19	+2.2	+1.5	+1.9	+4.3	+6.1	+1.3	+0.3	+1.6	-1.1	-0.5	+0.5	+3.1	+.070	+3.3	+8.1	+.141	+2.7	+4.0	+.105
Klay Thompson	78	34.0	22.3	0.6	3.0	3.7	2.1	0.8	0.5	1.6	1.8	8.3	17.6	.468	3.4	8.3	.414	2.4	2.8	.853
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Pau Gasol	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Klay Thompson	17	35.1	15.0	0.6	3.2	3.9	2.1	0.8	0.3	1.4	2.6	5.5	13.9	.397	2.4	6.2	.387	1.5	1.9	.788

Season 7
	Pau Gasol	Klay Thompson
Season	2007-08	2017-18
Team	Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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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		%
Pau Gasol	66	35.6	18.9	2.3	6.0	8.4	3.2	0.5	1.5	1.9	2.1	7.2	13.5	.534	0.1	0.2	.250	4.4	5.5	.807
difference:	+7	+1.3	+1.1	+1.9	+2.6	+4.6	+0.7	+0.3	+1.0	-0.1	-0.5	+0.7	+2.7	+.046	+3.0	+6.9	+.190	+3.3	+4.2	+.030
Klay Thompson	73	34.3	20.0	0.4	3.4	3.8	2.5	0.8	0.5	1.8	1.6	7.9	16.2	.488	3.1	7.1	.440	1.1	1.3	.837
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Pau Gasol	21	39.8	16.9	2.6	6.7	9.3	4.0	0.5	1.9	2.1	2.9	6.7	12.7	.530	0.0	0.0	-	3.4	5.0	.692
difference:		+2.0	+2.7	+2.1	+3.1	+5.2	+2.2	+0.3	+1.6	-0.6	-0.6	+0.9	+3.6	+.065	+3.2	+7.5		+2.1	+3.5	+.179
Klay Thompson	21	37.8	19.6	0.5	3.6	4.1	1.8	0.8	0.3	1.5	2.3	7.6	16.3	.465	3.2	7.5	.427	1.3	1.5	.871

Season 8
	Pau Gasol	Klay Thompson
Season	2008-09	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Pau Gasol	81	37.0	18.9	3.2	6.4	9.6	3.5	0.6	1.0	1.9	2.1	7.3	12.9	.567	0.0	0.0	-	4.2	5.4	.781
difference:	+3	+3.0	+2.6	+2.7	+3.0	+5.8	+1.1	+0.5	+0.4	-0.4	-0.1	+1.1	+5.1	+.100	+3.1	+7.7		+2.5	+3.4	+.035
Klay Thompson	78	34.0	21.5	0.5	3.4	3.8	2.4	1.1	0.6	1.5	2.0	8.4	18.0	.467	3.1	7.7	.402	1.7	2.0	.816
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Pau Gasol	23	40.5	18.3	3.0	7.9	10.8	2.5	0.8	2.0	1.9	3.0	7.0	12.0	.580	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.1	.714
difference:	+2	+1.5	+2.4	+2.4	+4.4	+6.7	+0.4	+0.5	+1.3	-0.1	-0.2	+0.8	+5.1	+.124	+3.3	+7.5		+2.5	+4.1	+.188
Klay Thompson	21	39.0	20.7	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.1	1.3	0.7	1.8	2.8	7.8	17.1	.456	3.3	7.5	.443	1.8	2.0	.902

Note: Klay Thompson didn't play in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Season 9
	Pau Gasol	Klay Thompson
Season	2009-10	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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		%
Pau Gasol	65	37.0	18.3	3.7	7.6	11.3	3.4	0.6	1.7	2.2	2.3	7.0	13.0	.536	0.0	0.1	.000	4.4	5.6	.790
difference:	+33	+7.6	+2.1	+3.2	+4.2	+7.4	+0.6	+0.1	+1.2	-0.9	-0.6	+0.7	+4.9	+.107	+3.6	+9.2	+.385	+3.0	+4.0	+.112
Klay Thompson	32	29.4	20.4	0.5	3.4	3.9	2.8	0.5	0.5	1.3	1.7	7.7	17.9	.429	3.6	9.3	.385	1.4	1.6	.902
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Pau Gasol	23	39.7	19.6	4.0	7.1	11.1	3.5	0.4	2.1	1.9	2.7	7.2	13.3	.539	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	6.9	.759
difference:	+1	+3.7	+0.6	+3.7	+3.5	+7.2	+1.2	+0.7	+1.4	-0.6	-0.6		+3.4	+.110	+3.5	+9.0	+.385	+4.0	+5.5	+.108
Klay Thompson	22	36.0	19.0	0.3	3.6	3.9	2.3	1.1	0.7	1.3	2.1	7.2	16.7	.429	3.5	9.1	.385	1.2	1.4	.867

Season 10
	Pau Gasol	Klay Thompson
Season	2010-11	2022-23
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Pau Gasol	82	37.0	18.8	3.3	6.9	10.2	3.3	0.6	1.6	1.7	2.5	7.2	13.7	.529	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	5.2	.823
difference:	+13	+4.0	+3.1	+2.7	+3.3	+6.1	+0.9	+0.1	+1.2	-0.1	-0.6	+0.7	+4.4	+.093	+4.4	+10.6		+2.6	+3.3	+.056
Klay Thompson	69	33.0	21.9	0.6	3.6	4.1	2.4	0.7	0.4	1.8	1.9	7.9	18.1	.436	4.4	10.6	.412	1.7	1.9	.879
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Pau Gasol	10	35.8	13.1	3.2	4.6	7.8	3.8	0.4	1.7	1.7	3.3	4.7	11.2	.420	0.1	0.2	.500	3.6	4.5	.800
difference:	+3	+0.2	+5.4	+3.1	+0.5	+3.6	+1.6	+0.1	+1.4	-0.3	-1.1	+1.8	+5.6	+.032	+3.7	+10.3	+.132	+2.0	+2.7	+.075
Klay Thompson	13	36.0	18.5	0.1	4.1	4.2	2.2	0.5	0.3	2.0	2.2	6.5	16.8	.388	3.8	10.5	.368	1.6	1.8	.875

Additional Years
* Pau Gasol played 6 seasons more than Klay Thompson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 18, from 2014 to 2019—Pau Gasol played in 3 Playoffs. In those 6 extra years over Klay Thompson, Pau Gasol got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-Star Game