Lance Stephenson vs. Mel Thurston Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Mel Thurston and Lance Stephenson, 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.

Lance Stephenson played 10 years in the NBA, 9 more than Mel Thurston, who played 1. Lance Stephenson had the first of his seasons in 2010-11, while Mel Thurston had his rookie season in 1947-48. 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
Lance Stephenson 10 6 2010-11 to 2021-22
Mel Thurston 1 0 1947-48

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Rookie Season
Lance Stephenson Mel Thurston
Season 2010-111947-48
Team Indiana PacersProvidence Steamrollers
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 %
Lance Stephenson 12 9.6 3.1 0.1 1.4 1.5 1.8 0.3 0.0 1.3 1.2 1.1 3.3 .333 0.0 0.4 .000 0.9 1.2 .786
Mel Thurston 14 - 5.6 - - - 0.3 - - - 3.0 2.3 8.1 .283 - - - 1.0 2.0 .500
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Lance Stephenson ------- --- ----------
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------

Season 2
Lance Stephenson Mel Thurston
Season 2011-12-
Team Indiana Pacers-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Pacers 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 %
Lance Stephenson 42 10.5 2.5 0.3 1.0 1.3 1.1 0.5 0.1 0.9 0.7 1.1 3.0 .376 0.1 0.7 .133 0.2 0.4 .471
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Lance Stephenson 4 3.0 1.5 0.0 0.0 0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 2.3 .222 0.3 0.5 .500 0.3 0.5 .500
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------

Season 3
Lance Stephenson Mel Thurston
Season 2012-13-
Team Indiana Pacers-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Pacers 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 %
Lance Stephenson 78 29.2 8.8 0.6 3.3 3.9 2.9 1.0 0.2 1.4 2.1 3.5 7.7 .460 0.8 2.4 .330 1.0 1.5 .652
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Lance Stephenson 19 35.4 9.4 0.7 6.8 7.6 3.3 1.2 0.1 1.9 2.5 3.6 8.9 .408 0.9 3.4 .281 1.2 1.9 .622
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------

Season 4
Lance Stephenson Mel Thurston
Season 2013-14-
Team Indiana Pacers-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Pacers 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 %
Lance Stephenson 78 35.3 13.8 1.2 5.9 7.2 4.6 0.7 0.1 2.7 2.5 5.5 11.2 .491 1.1 3.1 .352 1.8 2.5 .711
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Lance Stephenson 19 37.1 13.6 1.3 5.6 6.9 4.2 0.8 0.2 2.4 2.9 5.3 11.6 .455 1.3 3.5 .358 1.8 2.6 .714
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------

Season 5
Lance Stephenson Mel Thurston
Season 2014-15-
Team Charlotte Hornets-
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 %
Lance Stephenson 61 25.8 8.2 0.6 3.9 4.5 3.9 0.6 0.1 2.1 2.2 3.4 9.0 .376 0.3 1.7 .171 1.1 1.8 .627
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Lance Stephenson ------- --- ----------
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------

Season 6
Lance Stephenson Mel Thurston
Season 2015-16-
Team Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Grizzlies 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 %
Lance Stephenson 69 19.9 8.3 0.6 2.7 3.2 1.9 0.6 0.1 1.4 2.0 3.3 6.9 .481 0.4 1.1 .385 1.3 1.6 .784
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Lance Stephenson 4 23.8 13.0 0.3 1.3 1.5 1.8 0.3 0.0 0.8 2.5 5.8 11.0 .523 0.5 1.3 .400 1.0 1.3 .800
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------

Season 7
Lance Stephenson Mel Thurston
Season 2016-17-
Team New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs 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 %
Lance Stephenson 18 20.1 6.8 0.2 2.7 2.9 3.3 0.3 0.2 1.4 1.8 3.0 6.7 .450 0.3 1.1 .300 0.4 0.7 .615
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Lance Stephenson 4 26.8 16.0 0.3 5.0 5.3 2.8 0.5 0.0 1.0 2.8 6.8 13.3 .509 1.8 4.5 .389 0.8 1.0 .750
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------

Season 8
Lance Stephenson Mel Thurston
Season 2017-18-
Team Indiana Pacers-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs 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 %
Lance Stephenson 82 22.6 9.2 0.8 4.4 5.2 2.9 0.6 0.2 1.6 2.2 3.7 8.6 .427 0.8 2.8 .289 1.0 1.5 .661
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Lance Stephenson 7 21.3 10.4 0.4 2.3 2.7 2.9 0.3 0.1 1.3 2.9 4.3 9.3 .462 1.1 3.7 .308 0.7 1.3 .556
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------

Season 9
Lance Stephenson Mel Thurston
Season 2018-19-
Team Los Angeles Lakers-
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 %
Lance Stephenson 68 16.5 7.2 0.5 2.7 3.2 2.1 0.6 0.1 1.3 1.6 2.7 6.4 .426 1.1 2.9 .371 0.7 1.1 .685
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Lance Stephenson ------- --- ----------
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------

Note: Lance Stephenson didn't play in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Season 10
Lance Stephenson Mel Thurston
Season 2021-22-
Team Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers-
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 %
Lance Stephenson 46 17.7 8.3 0.3 2.5 2.8 3.6 0.5 0.1 1.6 2.1 3.2 7.0 .455 0.6 2.0 .300 1.4 1.7 .788
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Lance Stephenson ------- --- ----------
Mel Thurston ------- --- ----------
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