Mel Hutchins vs. David Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of David Thompson and Mel Hutchins, 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.

Mel Hutchins played 7 years in the NBA, 1 less than David Thompson, who played 8. Mel Hutchins had the first of his seasons in 1951-52, while David Thompson had his rookie season in 1976-77. 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
Mel Hutchins 7 4 1951-52 to 1957-58
David Thompson 8 5 1976-77 to 1983-84

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Mel Hutchins David Thompson
Season 1951-521976-77
Team Milwaukee HawksDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNuggets 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 %
Mel Hutchins 66 39.7 9.2 - - 13.3 2.9 - - - 2.9 3.5 9.6 .365 - - - 2.2 3.4 .644
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Hutchins ------- --- ----------
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

Season 2

Mel Hutchins David Thompson
Season 1952-531977-78
Team Milwaukee HawksDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNuggets Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Hutchins 71 40.7 11.7 - - 11.2 3.2 - - - 3.0 4.5 11.9 .379 - - - 2.7 4.2 .654
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Hutchins ------- --- ----------
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

Season 3

Mel Hutchins David Thompson
Season 1953-541978-79
Team Fort Wayne PistonsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs Pistons Lost W Div Round RobinNuggets 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 %
Mel Hutchins 72 40.8 10.3 - - 9.7 2.9 - - - 3.2 4.1 10.2 .401 - - - 2.1 3.1 .677
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Hutchins 4 40.5 10.5 - - 9.3 1.5 - - - 4.5 3.8 11.5 .326 - - - 3.0 4.3 .706
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

Season 4

Mel Hutchins David Thompson
Season 1954-551979-80
Team Fort Wayne PistonsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Pistons Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Hutchins 72 39.7 12.0 - - 9.2 3.4 - - - 3.2 4.7 12.5 .378 - - - 2.5 3.6 .708
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Hutchins 11 37.9 14.4 - - 8.1 2.8 - - - 4.3 5.5 13.1 .417 - - - 3.5 5.1 .679
David Thompson ------- --- ----------

Season 5

Mel Hutchins David Thompson
Season 1955-561980-81
Team Fort Wayne PistonsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Pistons Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Hutchins 66 33.9 12.0 - - 7.5 2.7 - - - 2.5 4.9 11.6 .425 - - - 2.2 3.3 .643
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Hutchins 10 37.7 9.3 - - 8.8 2.3 - - - 2.7 3.4 11.2 .304 - - - 2.5 4.1 .610
David Thompson ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Mel Hutchins David Thompson
Season 1956-571981-82
Team Fort Wayne PistonsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Pistons Lost West Div SemisNuggets 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 %
Mel Hutchins 72 36.8 12.4 - - 7.9 2.9 - - - 2.5 5.1 13.2 .387 - - - 2.1 2.9 .738
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Hutchins 2 34.0 11.5 - - 11.5 5.0 - - - 4.0 4.5 15.0 .300 - - - 2.5 3.5 .714
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

Season 7

Mel Hutchins David Thompson
Season 1957-581982-83
Team New York KnicksSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlaySupersonics 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 %
Mel Hutchins 18 21.3 7.0 - - 4.8 1.9 - - - 1.7 2.8 7.3 .389 - - - 1.3 2.4 .558
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Hutchins ------- --- ----------
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

Season 8

Mel Hutchins David Thompson
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 %
Mel Hutchins ------- --- ----------
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Hutchins ------- --- ----------
David Thompson ------- --- ----------