Tom Heinsohn vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nate Thurmond and Tom Heinsohn, 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.

Tom Heinsohn played 9 years in the NBA, 5 less than Nate Thurmond, who played 14. Tom Heinsohn had the first of his seasons in 1956-57, 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
Tom Heinsohn	9	9	1956-57 to 1964-65
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


Rookie Season
	Tom Heinsohn	Nate Thurmond
Season	1956-57	1963-64
Team	Boston Celtics	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Tom Heinsohn	72	29.9	16.2	-	-	9.8	1.6	-	-	-	4.2	6.2	15.6	.397	-	-	-	3.8	4.8	.790
difference:	+4	+4.0	+9.2			+0.6	+0.5				-1.8	+3.3	+8.3	+.002				+2.5	+2.5	+.241
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	10	37.0	22.9	-	-	11.7	2.0	-	-	-	4.0	9.0	23.1	.390	-	-	-	4.9	6.9	.710
difference:	+2	+2.8	+12.9			+0.6	+1.2				-0.2	+5.5	+15.1	+.048				+1.9	+2.5	+.031
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
	Tom Heinsohn	Nate Thurmond
Season	1957-58	1964-65
Team	Boston Celtics	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Tom Heinsohn	69	32.0	17.8	-	-	10.2	1.8	-	-	-	4.0	6.8	17.8	.382	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	.746
difference:	+8	+9.2	+1.3			+7.9	+0.2				-1.0	+0.1	+1.7	+.037				+1.2	+1.1	+.088
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	11	31.7	17.5	-	-	10.8	1.6	-	-	-	4.7	6.2	17.6	.351	-	-	-	5.1	6.5	.778
Nate Thurmond	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Tom Heinsohn	Nate Thurmond
Season	1958-59	1965-66
Team	Boston Celtics	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Tom Heinsohn	66	31.7	18.8	-	-	9.7	2.5	-	-	-	4.1	7.0	18.1	.390	-	-	-	4.7	5.9	.798
difference:	+7	+7.9	+2.5			+8.3	+1.0				-1.0	+0.8	+2.8	+.016				+0.9		+.144
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	11	31.6	19.9	-	-	8.9	2.9	-	-	-	3.7	8.3	20.0	.414	-	-	-	3.4	5.1	.661
Nate Thurmond	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Tom Heinsohn	Nate Thurmond
Season	1959-60	1966-67
Team	Boston Celtics	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors 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		%
Tom Heinsohn	75	32.3	21.7	-	-	10.6	2.3	-	-	-	3.7	9.0	21.2	.423	-	-	-	3.8	5.1	.733
difference:	+10	+10.2	+3.0			+10.7	+0.3				-0.9	+1.8	+4.8	+.014				+0.5	+1.7	+.104
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	13	32.5	21.8	-	-	9.7	2.1	-	-	-	4.1	8.6	20.5	.419	-	-	-	4.6	6.2	.750
difference:	+2	+13.5	+5.9			+13.4	+1.0				-0.6	+2.4	+6.2	+.014				+1.1	+0.1	+.179
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
	Tom Heinsohn	Nate Thurmond
Season	1960-61	1967-68
Team	Boston Celtics	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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		%
Tom Heinsohn	74	30.5	21.3	-	-	9.9	1.9	-	-	-	3.5	8.5	21.2	.400	-	-	-	4.4	5.7	.767
difference:	+23	+13.1	+0.8			+12.1	+2.3				-0.8	+1.0	+3.0	+.011				+1.1	+2.9	+.123
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	10	29.1	19.7	-	-	9.9	2.0	-	-	-	3.6	8.2	20.1	.408	-	-	-	3.3	4.3	.767
Nate Thurmond	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Tom Heinsohn	Nate Thurmond
Season	1961-62	1968-69
Team	Boston Celtics	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors Lost West Div Semis

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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		%
Tom Heinsohn	79	30.2	22.1	-	-	9.5	2.1	-	-	-	3.5	8.8	20.4	.429	-	-	-	4.5	5.5	.819
difference:	+8	+15.0	+0.6			+10.2	+1.5				-1.1	+0.8	+0.8	+.019				+0.9	+3.2	+.204
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	14	31.8	20.7	-	-	8.2	2.4	-	-	-	4.1	8.3	20.8	.399	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	.763
difference:	+8	+12.0	+4.0			+11.3	+2.3				-1.1	+1.6	+3.8	+.007				+0.8	+0.3	+.175
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
	Tom Heinsohn	Nate Thurmond
Season	1962-63	1969-70
Team	Boston Celtics	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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		%
Tom Heinsohn	76	26.4	18.9	-	-	7.5	1.3	-	-	-	3.6	7.2	17.1	.423	-	-	-	4.5	5.4	.835
difference:	+33	+18.2	+3.0			+10.2	+2.2				-1.0	+0.7	+2.1	+.009				+1.6	+2.6	+.081
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	13	31.8	24.7	-	-	8.9	1.2	-	-	-	4.2	9.5	20.8	.456	-	-	-	5.8	7.5	.765
Nate Thurmond	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Tom Heinsohn	Nate Thurmond
Season	1963-64	1970-71
Team	Boston Celtics	San Francisco Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Tom Heinsohn	76	26.8	16.5	-	-	6.1	2.4	-	-	-	3.5	6.4	16.1	.398	-	-	-	3.7	4.5	.827
difference:	+6	+14.1	+3.5			+7.7	+0.7				-1.2	+1.2	+1.0	+.047				+1.1	+2.1	+.097
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	10	30.8	17.4	-	-	8.0	2.6	-	-	-	3.6	7.0	18.0	.389	-	-	-	3.4	4.2	.810
difference:	+5	+7.6	+0.2			+2.2	+0.4				-0.4	+0.2	+1.4	+.018				+0.2	+0.2	+.010
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
	Tom Heinsohn	Nate Thurmond
Season	1964-65	1971-72
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Tom Heinsohn	67	25.5	13.6	-	-	6.0	2.3	-	-	-	3.8	5.4	14.2	.383	-	-	-	2.7	3.4	.795
difference:	+11	+17.6	+7.8			+10.1	+0.6				-1.1	+2.7	+4.4	+.049				+2.6	+3.8	+.052
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Tom Heinsohn	12	23.0	12.7	-	-	7.0	1.9	-	-	-	3.8	5.5	15.1	.365	-	-	-	1.7	2.7	.625
difference:	+7	+23.0	+12.7			+10.8	+3.3				-1.4	+5.1	+9.3	+.069				+2.5	+2.9	+.125
Nate Thurmond	5	46.0	25.4	-	-	17.8	5.2	-	-	-	2.4	10.6	24.4	.434	-	-	-	4.2	5.6	.750


Additional Years
* Nate Thurmond played 5 seasons more than Tom Heinsohn in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 14, from 1973 to 1977—Nate Thurmond played in 4 Playoffs. In those 5 extra years over Tom Heinsohn, Nate Thurmond got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Defensive Second Team 2 All-Star Game

Tom Heinsohn vs. Nate Thurmond Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nate Thurmond and Tom Heinsohn, 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

Additional Years