David Thompson vs. Ray Tolbert Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ray Tolbert and David Thompson, 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 / 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.

David Thompson played 8 years in the NBA, 3 more than Ray Tolbert, who played 5. David Thompson had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Ray Tolbert had his rookie season in 1981-82. 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 achivements, 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
David Thompson 8 5 1976-77 to 1983-84
Ray Tolbert 5 2 1981-82 to 1988-89

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Rookie Season

David Thompson Ray Tolbert
Season 1976-771981-82
Team Denver NuggetsNew Jersey Nets, Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisSupersonics Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 82 36.6 25.9 1.7 2.4 4.1 4.1 1.4 0.6 - 2.9 10.0 19.8 .507 - - - 5.8 7.6 .766
Ray Tolbert 64 9.5 3.4 0.8 1.2 2.0 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.7 1.3 1.6 3.2 .495 0.0 0.0 .000 0.3 0.5 .543
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 6 39.5 24.7 2.2 3.0 5.2 4.0 1.5 0.7 - 3.7 9.3 20.2 .463 - - - 6.0 8.8 .679
Ray Tolbert 4 7.8 2.5 0.3 1.0 1.3 0.3 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.8 0.8 1.3 .600 0.0 0.0 - 1.0 2.0 .500

Season 2

David Thompson Ray Tolbert
Season 1977-781982-83
Team Denver NuggetsSeattle Supersonics, Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 80 37.8 27.2 2.0 2.9 4.9 4.5 1.2 1.2 3.1 2.7 10.3 19.8 .521 - - - 6.5 8.4 .778
Ray Tolbert 73 15.2 5.0 1.0 2.3 3.3 0.7 0.4 0.6 1.1 2.1 2.2 4.3 .500 0.0 0.0 .000 0.7 1.4 .505
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 13 37.0 25.2 1.4 2.7 4.1 4.0 0.7 1.6 3.0 2.6 10.1 22.4 .450 - - - 5.1 6.2 .825
Ray Tolbert ------- --- ----------

Season 3

David Thompson Ray Tolbert
Season 1978-791983-84
Team Denver NuggetsDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game NVP-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdPistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 76 35.1 24.0 1.4 2.2 3.6 3.0 0.9 1.1 2.4 2.4 9.1 17.8 .512 - - - 5.8 7.7 .753
Ray Tolbert 49 9.7 3.1 0.9 1.1 2.0 0.5 0.2 0.4 0.5 1.8 1.3 2.5 .529 0.0 0.0 .000 0.5 0.9 .511
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 3 40.7 28.0 2.3 4.7 7.0 4.0 1.3 0.3 4.0 4.0 12.7 23.0 .551 - - - 2.7 3.7 .727
Ray Tolbert 1 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -

Note: Ray Tolbert didn't play in 1984-85, 1985-86 and 1986-87.

Season 4

David Thompson Ray Tolbert
Season 1979-801987-88
Team Denver NuggetsNew York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 39 31.8 21.5 1.4 3.0 4.5 3.2 1.0 1.0 3.0 2.7 7.4 15.8 .468 0.2 0.5 .368 6.5 8.6 .758
Ray Tolbert 25 10.4 3.6 0.9 1.3 2.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.8 1.6 1.4 2.8 .507 0.0 0.0 - 0.8 1.2 .633
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson ------- --- ----------
Ray Tolbert ------- --- ----------

Season 5

David Thompson Ray Tolbert
Season 1980-811988-89
Team Denver NuggetsAtlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 77 34.0 25.5 1.4 2.3 3.7 3.0 0.7 0.8 3.2 3.0 9.5 18.8 .506 0.1 0.5 .256 6.4 8.0 .795
Ray Tolbert 50 6.8 2.1 0.6 1.1 1.8 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.7 1.1 0.8 1.9 .426 0.0 0.0 - 0.5 0.7 .622
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson ------- --- ----------
Ray Tolbert ------- --- ----------

Season 6

David Thompson Ray Tolbert
Season 1981-82-
Team Denver Nuggets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 61 20.4 14.9 0.9 1.5 2.4 1.9 0.6 0.5 2.3 2.4 5.1 10.6 .486 0.1 0.2 .286 4.5 5.6 .814
Ray Tolbert ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 3 22.0 11.7 1.3 2.0 3.3 2.0 0.3 0.0 2.7 2.7 5.0 11.0 .455 0.3 1.0 .333 1.3 2.3 .571
Ray Tolbert ------- --- ----------

Season 7

David Thompson Ray Tolbert
Season 1982-83-
Team Seattle Supersonics-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 75 28.7 15.9 1.3 2.3 3.6 3.0 0.6 0.4 2.2 1.9 5.9 12.3 .481 0.0 0.1 .200 4.0 5.1 .784
Ray Tolbert ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 2 32.5 12.0 0.0 0.0 0 3.5 0.5 0.5 2.0 3.5 4.5 12.5 .360 0.0 0.0 - 3.0 5.0 .600
Ray Tolbert ------- --- ----------

Season 8

David Thompson Ray Tolbert
Season 1983-84-
Team Seattle Supersonics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson 19 18.4 12.6 0.9 1.4 2.3 0.7 0.5 0.7 1.4 1.6 4.7 8.7 .539 0.0 0.1 .000 3.3 3.8 .849
Ray Tolbert ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
David Thompson ------- --- ----------
Ray Tolbert ------- --- ----------