Tim Duncan vs. Tom Heinsohn Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tom Heinsohn and Tim Duncan, 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.

Tim Duncan played 19 years in the NBA, 10 more than Tom Heinsohn, who played 9. Tim Duncan had the first of his seasons in 1997-98, while Tom Heinsohn had his rookie season in 1956-57. 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
	Tim Duncan	Tom Heinsohn
Season	1997-98	1956-57
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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		%
Tim Duncan	82	39.1	21.1	3.3	8.6	11.9	2.7	0.7	2.5	3.4	3.1	8.6	15.7	.549	0.0	0.1	.000	3.9	5.9	.662
difference:	+10	+9.2	+4.9			+2.1	+1.1				-1.1	+2.4	+0.1	+.152				+0.1	+1.1	+.128
Tom Heinsohn	72	29.9	16.2	-	-	9.8	1.6	-	-	-	4.2	6.2	15.6	.397	-	-	-	3.8	4.8	.790
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	9	41.6	20.7	2.2	6.8	9.0	1.9	0.6	2.6	2.8	2.7	8.1	15.6	.521	0.0	0.1	.000	4.4	6.7	.667
difference:	+1	+4.6	+2.2			+2.7	+0.1				-1.3	+0.9	+7.5	+.131				+0.5	+0.2	+.043
Tom Heinsohn	10	37.0	22.9	-	-	11.7	2.0	-	-	-	4.0	9.0	23.1	.390	-	-	-	4.9	6.9	.710

Season 2
	Tim Duncan	Tom Heinsohn
Season	1998-99	1957-58
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Tim Duncan	50	39.3	21.7	3.2	8.2	11.4	2.4	0.9	2.5	2.9	2.9	8.4	16.9	.495	0.0	0.1	.143	4.9	7.2	.690
difference:	+19	+7.3	+3.9			+1.2	+0.6				-1.1	+1.6	+0.9	+.113				+0.6	+1.5	+.056
Tom Heinsohn	69	32.0	17.8	-	-	10.2	1.8	-	-	-	4.0	6.8	17.8	.382	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	.746
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	17	43.1	23.2	3.2	8.2	11.5	2.8	0.8	2.6	3.1	2.9	8.5	16.6	.511	0.0	0.2	.000	6.3	8.4	.748
difference:	+6	+11.4	+5.7			+0.7	+1.2				-1.8	+2.3	+1.0	+.160				+1.2	+1.9	+.030
Tom Heinsohn	11	31.7	17.5	-	-	10.8	1.6	-	-	-	4.7	6.2	17.6	.351	-	-	-	5.1	6.5	.778

Season 3
	Tim Duncan	Tom Heinsohn
Season	1999-00	1958-59
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
Tim Duncan	74	38.9	23.2	3.5	8.9	12.4	3.2	0.9	2.2	3.3	2.8	8.5	17.3	.490	0.0	0.1	.091	6.2	8.1	.761
difference:	+8	+7.2	+4.4			+2.7	+0.7				-1.3	+1.5	+0.8	+.100				+1.5	+2.2	+.037
Tom Heinsohn	66	31.7	18.8	-	-	9.7	2.5	-	-	-	4.1	7.0	18.1	.390	-	-	-	4.7	5.9	.798
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tom Heinsohn	11	31.6	19.9	-	-	8.9	2.9	-	-	-	3.7	8.3	20.0	.414	-	-	-	3.4	5.1	.661

Season 4
	Tim Duncan	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2000-01	1959-60
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Tim Duncan	82	38.7	22.2	3.2	9.0	12.2	3.0	0.9	2.3	3.0	3.0	8.6	17.1	.499	0.1	0.3	.259	5.0	8.1	.618
difference:	+7	+6.4	+0.5			+1.6	+0.7				-0.7	+0.4	+4.1	+.076				+1.2	+3.0	+.115
Tom Heinsohn	75	32.3	21.7	-	-	10.6	2.3	-	-	-	3.7	9.0	21.2	.423	-	-	-	3.8	5.1	.733
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	13	40.5	24.4	4.2	10.3	14.5	3.8	1.1	2.7	3.8	3.3	9.2	18.9	.488	0.1	0.1	1.000	5.8	9.2	.639
difference:		+8.0	+2.6			+4.8	+1.7				-0.8	+0.6	+1.6	+.069				+1.2	+3.0	+.111
Tom Heinsohn	13	32.5	21.8	-	-	9.7	2.1	-	-	-	4.1	8.6	20.5	.419	-	-	-	4.6	6.2	.750

Season 5
	Tim Duncan	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2001-02	1960-61
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Tim Duncan	82	40.6	25.5	3.3	9.4	12.7	3.7	0.7	2.5	3.2	2.6	9.3	18.3	.508	0.0	0.1	.100	6.8	8.5	.799
difference:	+8	+10.1	+4.2			+2.8	+1.8				-0.9	+0.8	+2.9	+.108				+2.4	+2.8	+.032
Tom Heinsohn	74	30.5	21.3	-	-	9.9	1.9	-	-	-	3.5	8.5	21.2	.400	-	-	-	4.4	5.7	.767
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	9	42.2	27.6	3.1	11.3	14.4	5.0	0.7	4.3	4.1	2.4	9.1	20.1	.453	0.1	0.3	.333	9.2	11.2	.822
difference:	+1	+13.1	+7.9			+4.5	+3.0				-1.2	+0.9		+.045				+5.9	+6.9	+.055
Tom Heinsohn	10	29.1	19.7	-	-	9.9	2.0	-	-	-	3.6	8.2	20.1	.408	-	-	-	3.3	4.3	.767

Season 6
	Tim Duncan	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2002-03	1961-62
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Tim Duncan	81	39.3	23.3	3.2	9.7	12.9	3.9	0.7	2.9	3.1	2.9	8.8	17.2	.513	0.1	0.3	.273	5.6	7.8	.710
difference:	+2	+9.1	+1.2			+3.4	+1.8				-0.6		+3.2	+.084				+1.1	+2.3	+.109
Tom Heinsohn	79	30.2	22.1	-	-	9.5	2.1	-	-	-	3.5	8.8	20.4	.429	-	-	-	4.5	5.5	.819
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	24	42.5	24.7	4.0	11.4	15.4	5.3	0.6	3.3	3.2	3.3	9.1	17.2	.529	0.0	0.3	.000	6.5	9.7	.677
difference:	+10	+10.7	+4.0			+7.2	+2.9				-0.8	+0.8	+3.6	+.130				+2.4	+4.3	+.086
Tom Heinsohn	14	31.8	20.7	-	-	8.2	2.4	-	-	-	4.1	8.3	20.8	.399	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	.763

Season 7
	Tim Duncan	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2003-04	1962-63
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Tim Duncan	69	36.6	22.3	3.3	9.2	12.4	3.1	0.9	2.7	2.7	2.4	8.6	17.1	.501	0.0	0.2	.167	5.1	8.5	.599
difference:	+7	+10.2	+3.4			+4.9	+1.8				-1.2	+1.4		+.078				+0.6	+3.1	+.236
Tom Heinsohn	76	26.4	18.9	-	-	7.5	1.3	-	-	-	3.6	7.2	17.1	.423	-	-	-	4.5	5.4	.835
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	10	40.4	22.1	3.3	8.0	11.3	3.2	0.8	2.0	4.2	3.4	8.3	15.9	.522	0.0	0.1	.000	5.5	8.7	.632
difference:	+3	+8.6	+2.6			+2.4	+2.0				-0.8	+1.2	+4.9	+.066				+0.3	+1.2	+.133
Tom Heinsohn	13	31.8	24.7	-	-	8.9	1.2	-	-	-	4.2	9.5	20.8	.456	-	-	-	5.8	7.5	.765

Season 8
	Tim Duncan	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2004-05	1963-64
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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		%
Tim Duncan	66	33.4	20.3	3.1	8.0	11.1	2.7	0.7	2.6	1.9	2.2	7.8	15.8	.496	0.0	0.1	.333	4.6	6.9	.670
difference:	+10	+6.6	+3.8			+5.0	+0.3				-1.3	+1.4	+0.3	+.098				+0.9	+2.4	+.157
Tom Heinsohn	76	26.8	16.5	-	-	6.1	2.4	-	-	-	3.5	6.4	16.1	.398	-	-	-	3.7	4.5	.827
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	23	37.7	23.6	3.8	8.7	12.4	2.7	0.3	2.3	2.7	2.9	8.6	18.5	.464	0.0	0.2	.200	6.4	8.9	.717
difference:	+13	+6.9	+6.2			+4.4	+0.1				-0.7	+1.6	+0.5	+.075				+3.0	+4.7	+.093
Tom Heinsohn	10	30.8	17.4	-	-	8.0	2.6	-	-	-	3.6	7.0	18.0	.389	-	-	-	3.4	4.2	.810

Season 9
	Tim Duncan	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2005-06	1964-65
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Tim Duncan	80	34.8	18.6	2.9	8.1	11.0	3.2	0.9	2.0	2.5	2.7	7.2	14.8	.484	0.0	0.1	.400	4.2	6.7	.629
difference:	+13	+9.3	+5.0			+5.0	+0.9				-1.1	+1.8	+0.6	+.101				+1.5	+3.3	+.166
Tom Heinsohn	67	25.5	13.6	-	-	6.0	2.3	-	-	-	3.8	5.4	14.2	.383	-	-	-	2.7	3.4	.795
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tim Duncan	13	37.9	25.8	2.5	8.0	10.5	3.3	0.8	1.9	2.6	3.8	9.3	16.2	.573	0.0	0.2	.000	7.2	10.1	.718
difference:	+1	+14.9	+13.1			+3.5	+1.4					+3.8	+1.1	+.208				+5.5	+7.4	+.093
Tom Heinsohn	12	23.0	12.7	-	-	7.0	1.9	-	-	-	3.8	5.5	15.1	.365	-	-	-	1.7	2.7	.625

Additional Years
* Tim Duncan played 10 seasons more than Tom Heinsohn in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 19, from 2007 to 2016—Tim Duncan played in 10 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 10 extra years over Tom Heinsohn, Tim Duncan got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive First Team 4 All-Defensive Second Team 7 All-Star Game