Gary Payton vs. Mike Sanders Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Mike Sanders and Gary Payton, 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.

Gary Payton played 17 years in the NBA, 6 more than Mike Sanders, who played 11. Gary Payton had the first of his seasons in 1990-91, while Mike Sanders had his rookie season in 1982-83. 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
Gary Payton	17	15	1990-91 to 2006-07
Mike Sanders	11	9	1982-83 to 1992-93

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17


Rookie Season
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	1990-91	1982-83
Team	Seattle Supersonics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	27.4	7.2	1.3	1.6	3.0	6.4	2.0	0.2	2.2	3.0	3.2	7.0	.450	0.0	0.2	.077	0.8	1.2	.711
Mike Sanders	26	15.1	7.0	1.2	2.4	3.6	0.7	0.7	0.2	1.1	2.2	2.9	6.0	.484	0.0	0.1	.000	1.2	1.7	.721

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	5	27.0	4.8	1.0	1.6	2.6	6.4	1.6	0.2	1.8	3.2	2.2	5.4	.407	0.0	0.2	.000	0.4	0.4	1.000
Mike Sanders	6	4.2	2.3	0.3	1.2	1.5	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.2	2.2	.538	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 2
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	1991-92	1983-84
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Suns Lost West Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	81	31.5	9.4	1.5	2.1	3.6	6.2	1.8	0.3	2.1	3.1	4.1	9.1	.451	0.0	0.3	.130	1.2	1.8	.669
Mike Sanders	50	11.7	4.5	0.8	1.3	2.1	0.9	0.5	0.2	0.9	2.0	1.9	4.1	.478	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	0.8	.690

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	8	27.6	7.6	0.8	1.9	2.6	4.8	1.0	0.3	1.3	3.3	3.4	7.3	.466	0.0	0.3	.000	0.9	1.5	.583
Mike Sanders	15	10.1	4.0	0.7	0.7	1.3	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.9	2.1	1.5	3.1	.478	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	1.1	.941


Season 3
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	1992-93	1984-85
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	31.1	13.5	1.2	2.3	3.4	4.9	2.2	0.3	1.8	3.0	5.8	11.7	.494	0.1	0.4	.206	1.8	2.4	.770
Mike Sanders	21	19.9	10.2	1.8	2.4	4.2	1.4	1.1	0.2	1.6	2.8	4.0	8.3	.486	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	2.8	.763

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	19	31.8	12.3	1.2	2.2	3.3	3.7	1.8	0.2	1.8	3.4	5.5	12.4	.443	0.1	0.3	.167	1.3	1.9	.676
Mike Sanders	3	30.3	17.3	2.7	2.3	5.0	3.3	1.7	0.0	3.0	2.7	7.3	12.3	.595	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	3.3	.800


Season 4
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	1993-94	1985-86
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	35.1	16.5	1.3	2.0	3.3	6.0	2.3	0.2	2.1	2.8	7.1	14.1	.504	0.2	0.7	.278	2.0	3.4	.595
Mike Sanders	82	20.0	11.0	1.3	2.1	3.3	1.8	0.9	0.4	1.7	2.9	4.2	8.2	.513	0.0	0.2	.200	2.5	3.1	.809

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	5	36.2	15.8	1.2	2.2	3.4	5.6	1.6	0.4	1.6	3.0	6.8	13.8	.493	0.6	1.8	.333	1.6	3.8	.421
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	1994-95	1986-87
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	36.8	20.6	1.3	2.1	3.4	7.1	2.5	0.2	2.5	2.5	8.4	16.4	.509	0.9	2.8	.302	3.0	4.2	.716
Mike Sanders	82	20.2	10.5	1.2	2.1	3.3	1.5	0.7	0.3	1.3	2.6	4.4	8.8	.494	0.0	0.2	.118	1.7	2.2	.781

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	4	43.0	17.8	1.5	1.0	2.5	5.3	1.3	0.0	2.0	3.3	8.0	16.8	.478	0.5	2.5	.200	1.3	3.0	.417
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	1995-96	1987-88
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost NBA Finals	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	81	39.0	19.3	1.3	2.9	4.2	7.5	2.9	0.2	3.2	2.7	7.6	15.8	.484	1.2	3.7	.328	2.8	3.8	.748
Mike Sanders	59	15.0	6.2	0.6	1.2	1.8	0.9	0.5	0.2	0.8	2.2	2.6	5.1	.505	0.0	0.0	.000	1.0	1.3	.776

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	21	43.4	20.7	0.9	4.2	5.1	6.8	1.8	0.3	3.0	3.3	7.7	15.9	.485	2.0	4.8	.410	3.3	5.2	.633
Mike Sanders	5	26.8	12.8	2.2	2.8	5.0	1.4	0.6	0.4	2.2	4.2	5.6	10.4	.538	0.0	0.2	.000	1.6	2.0	.800


Season 7
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	1996-97	1988-89
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	39.2	21.8	1.3	3.3	4.6	7.1	2.4	0.2	2.6	2.5	8.6	18.1	.476	1.5	4.6	.313	3.1	4.3	.715
Mike Sanders	82	25.6	9.3	1.2	2.5	3.7	1.6	1.1	0.4	1.3	2.8	4.0	8.9	.453	0.0	0.1	.300	1.2	1.6	.719

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	12	45.6	23.8	1.7	3.8	5.4	8.7	2.2	0.3	2.9	2.2	8.8	21.3	.412	2.1	6.3	.333	4.2	5.1	.820
Mike Sanders	5	17.4	6.6	1.2	2.0	3.2	0.8	0.4	0.2	2.0	2.2	3.0	6.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.0	.600


Season 8
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	1997-98	1989-90
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	38.4	19.2	0.9	3.6	4.6	8.3	2.3	0.2	2.8	2.4	7.1	15.6	.453	1.6	4.8	.338	3.4	4.6	.744
Mike Sanders	82	18.7	6.2	1.0	1.9	2.8	1.1	0.5	0.3	1.0	2.7	2.7	5.8	.470	0.1	0.2	.357	0.7	0.9	.733

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	10	42.7	24.0	0.9	2.5	3.4	7.0	1.8	0.1	2.6	3.1	8.7	18.3	.475	1.9	5.0	.380	4.7	5.0	.940
Mike Sanders	3	8.0	3.7	1.7	0.3	2.0	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.3	1.7	3.7	.455	0.3	0.3	1.000	0.0	0.0	-


Season 9
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	1998-99	1990-91
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pacers 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		%
Gary Payton	50	40.2	21.7	1.2	3.6	4.9	8.7	2.2	0.2	3.1	2.3	8.0	18.5	.434	1.7	5.6	.295	4.0	5.5	.721
Mike Sanders	80	17.0	5.8	0.9	1.4	2.3	1.3	0.5	0.3	0.8	2.5	2.6	6.2	.417	0.1	0.3	.200	0.6	0.7	.825

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mike Sanders	5	8.2	3.0	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.4	0.2	1.8	1.2	2.0	.600	0.2	0.4	.500	0.4	0.8	.500


Season 10
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	1999-00	1991-92
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	41.8	24.2	1.2	5.2	6.5	8.9	1.9	0.2	2.7	2.2	9.1	20.3	.448	2.2	6.3	.340	3.8	5.2	.735
Mike Sanders	31	20.4	7.1	0.9	2.2	3.1	1.7	0.8	0.3	0.7	2.7	3.0	5.2	.571	0.0	0.1	.333	1.2	1.5	.766

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	5	44.2	25.8	1.6	6.0	7.6	7.4	1.8	0.2	3.6	3.2	10.0	22.6	.442	1.8	4.6	.391	4.0	5.2	.769
Mike Sanders	17	24.6	7.6	1.2	2.1	3.2	2.2	0.9	0.7	1.4	3.6	3.3	6.8	.487	0.1	0.2	.333	1.0	1.2	.810


Season 11
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	2000-01	1992-93
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	79	41.1	23.1	0.9	3.6	4.6	8.1	1.6	0.3	2.6	2.3	9.2	20.1	.456	1.3	3.4	.375	3.4	4.5	.766
Mike Sanders	53	22.4	8.6	1.0	2.2	3.2	1.4	0.7	0.6	1.1	2.8	3.7	7.5	.497	0.0	0.1	.250	1.1	1.5	.756

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mike Sanders	8	18.1	5.8	1.0	1.3	2.3	1.3	1.0	0.1	0.4	2.1	2.5	6.0	.417	0.0	0.3	.000	0.8	1.3	.600


Season 12
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	2001-02	-
Team	Seattle Supersonics	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	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		%
Gary Payton	82	40.3	22.1	1.0	3.9	4.8	9.0	1.6	0.3	2.5	2.2	9.0	19.2	.467	0.9	2.9	.314	3.3	4.1	.797
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	5	41.2	22.2	2.0	6.6	8.6	5.8	0.6	0.4	2.6	2.4	9.0	21.2	.425	0.8	3.0	.267	3.4	5.8	.586
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	2002-03	-
Team	Seattle Supersonics, Milwaukee Bucks	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bucks 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		%
Gary Payton	80	40.1	20.4	1.0	3.2	4.2	8.3	1.7	0.3	2.3	2.3	8.3	18.3	.454	0.7	2.3	.297	3.1	4.4	.710
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	6	41.8	18.5	0.7	2.3	3.0	8.7	1.3	0.2	2.2	3.0	8.0	18.7	.429	0.2	2.5	.067	2.3	3.3	.700
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	2003-04	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	82	34.5	14.6	0.9	3.3	4.2	5.5	1.2	0.2	1.8	2.1	5.9	12.5	.471	0.7	2.0	.333	2.2	3.1	.714
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	22	35.0	7.8	0.9	2.4	3.3	5.3	1.0	0.2	1.3	2.7	3.1	8.5	.366	0.6	2.5	.250	1.0	1.3	.750
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	2004-05	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics 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		%
Gary Payton	77	33.0	11.3	0.6	2.4	3.1	6.1	1.1	0.2	1.9	1.6	4.4	9.4	.468	0.5	1.7	.326	2.0	2.6	.761
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	7	34.1	10.3	1.1	3.0	4.1	4.6	0.9	0.1	1.6	1.4	4.7	10.6	.446	0.1	2.0	.071	0.7	0.9	.833
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	2005-06	-
Team	Miami Heat	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	81	28.5	7.7	0.4	2.5	2.9	3.2	0.9	0.1	1.3	2.1	2.8	6.8	.420	0.8	2.8	.287	1.2	1.6	.794
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	23	24.3	5.8	0.3	1.5	1.7	1.6	1.0	0.1	0.8	2.4	2.1	5.0	.422	0.7	2.5	.293	0.8	1.1	.720
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 17
	Gary Payton	Mike Sanders
Season	2006-07	-
Team	Miami Heat	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	-

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	68	22.1	5.3	0.3	1.7	1.9	3.0	0.6	0.0	1.0	1.7	2.1	5.4	.393	0.5	1.8	.260	0.6	0.8	.667
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	2	16.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	1.5	0.0	0.0	2.0	1.5	0.0	1.5	.000	0.0	0.5	.000	0.0	0.0	-
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Gary Payton vs. Mike Sanders Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Mike Sanders and Gary Payton, 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16

Season 17