Mike Sanders vs. Tristan Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tristan Thompson and Mike Sanders, 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.

Mike Sanders played 11 years in the NBA, 2 less than Tristan Thompson, who played 13. Mike Sanders had the first of his seasons in 1982-83, while Tristan Thompson had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
Mike Sanders	11	9	1982-83 to 1992-93
Tristan Thompson	13	8	2011-12 to 2023-24

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


Rookie Season
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	1982-83	2011-12
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
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
Tristan Thompson	60	23.7	8.2	3.1	3.4	6.5	0.5	0.5	1.0	1.4	2.2	3.2	7.4	.439	0.0	0.0	.000	1.8	3.2	.552

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


Season 2
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	1983-84	2012-13
Team	Phoenix Suns	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
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
Tristan Thompson	82	31.3	11.7	3.7	5.7	9.4	1.3	0.7	0.9	1.5	2.9	4.8	9.7	.488	0.0	0.0	.000	2.2	3.5	.608

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


Season 3
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	1984-85	2013-14
Team	Phoenix Suns	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Suns 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		%
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
Tristan Thompson	82	31.6	11.7	3.3	5.9	9.2	0.9	0.5	0.4	1.3	2.3	4.4	9.3	.477	0.0	0.0	.000	2.9	4.1	.693

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


Season 4
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	1985-86	2014-15
Team	Phoenix Suns	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost NBA 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		%
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
Tristan Thompson	82	26.8	8.5	3.3	4.7	8.0	0.5	0.4	0.7	1.0	2.3	3.3	6.0	.547	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	3.0	.641

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	20	36.4	9.6	4.4	6.4	10.8	0.5	0.3	1.2	0.8	2.5	3.6	6.5	.558	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	4.1	.585


Season 5
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	1986-87	2015-16
Team	Phoenix Suns	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tristan Thompson	82	27.7	7.8	3.3	5.7	9.0	0.8	0.5	0.6	0.7	2.5	3.0	5.1	.588	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	3.0	.616

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	21	29.6	6.7	4.1	4.9	9.0	0.7	0.4	0.9	0.8	2.6	2.3	4.4	.527	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.5	.575


Season 6
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	1987-88	2016-17
Team	Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers Lost NBA 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		%
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
Tristan Thompson	78	29.9	8.1	3.7	5.5	9.2	1.0	0.5	1.1	0.8	2.3	3.4	5.6	.600	0.0	0.0	.000	1.4	2.7	.498

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tristan Thompson	18	31.2	8.2	3.8	4.5	8.3	1.4	0.5	0.7	1.2	2.0	3.0	5.1	.587	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	3.3	.667


Season 7
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	1988-89	2017-18
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers Lost NBA 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		%
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
Tristan Thompson	53	20.2	5.8	2.4	4.3	6.6	0.6	0.3	0.3	0.7	1.9	2.5	4.4	.562	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.5	.544

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tristan Thompson	19	21.9	6.2	2.3	3.6	5.9	0.6	0.1	0.4	0.6	1.4	2.6	4.4	.590	0.0	0.1	.000	1.1	1.4	.741


Season 8
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	1989-90	2018-19
Team	Indiana Pacers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East 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		%
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
Tristan Thompson	43	27.9	10.9	4.0	6.2	10.2	2.0	0.7	0.4	1.4	2.1	4.7	8.8	.529	0.0	0.0	-	1.6	2.5	.642

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


Season 9
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	1990-91	2019-20
Team	Indiana Pacers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East 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		%
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
Tristan Thompson	57	30.2	12.0	4.0	6.2	10.1	2.1	0.6	0.9	1.8	2.2	5.1	9.9	.512	0.2	0.4	.391	1.7	2.8	.615

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


Season 10
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	1991-92	2020-21
Team	Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals	Celtics 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		%
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
Tristan Thompson	54	23.8	7.6	3.1	5.0	8.1	1.2	0.4	0.6	1.1	2.2	3.1	6.0	.518	0.0	0.1	.000	1.3	2.2	.592

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tristan Thompson	5	26.4	10.4	5.8	4.0	9.8	1.0	0.8	1.2	1.0	2.4	4.0	6.8	.588	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	3.4	.706


Season 11
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	1992-93	2021-22
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Bulls 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		%
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
Tristan Thompson	57	15.7	6.0	2.1	2.9	5.1	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.8	1.7	2.5	4.7	.528	0.0	0.1	.333	1.1	2.0	.526

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tristan Thompson	5	7.6	0.8	0.4	1.2	1.6	0.4	0.2	0.0	1.0	0.8	0.4	1.0	.400	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 12
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	-	2022-23
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Lakers 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		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	6	5.3	1.8	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.8	1.8	.455	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.8	.200


Season 13
	Mike Sanders	Tristan Thompson
Season	-	2023-24
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	49	11.2	3.3	1.5	2.1	3.6	1.0	0.2	0.3	0.6	1.2	1.5	2.4	.608	0.0	0.0	.000	0.3	1.1	.288

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Mike Sanders	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tristan Thompson	10	8.7	1.5	1.0	1.0	2.0	1.0	0.1	0.5	0.2	0.9	0.7	1.6	.438	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.2	.500

Mike Sanders vs. Tristan Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tristan Thompson and Mike Sanders, 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