Alex English vs. Isaiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isaiah Thomas and Alex English, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

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.

Alex English played 15 years in the NBA, 3 more than Isaiah Thomas, who played 12. Alex English had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Isaiah Thomas 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 achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Alex English	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1976-77	2011-12
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	60	10.8	5.2	1.1	1.7	2.8	0.4	0.3	0.3	-	1.3	2.2	4.6	.477	-	-	-	0.8	1.0	.767
difference:	+5	+14.7	+6.3	+0.4	+0.1	+0.2	+3.7	+0.5	+0.2		-0.6	+1.7	+4.2	+.029				+1.6	+1.8	+.065
Isaiah Thomas	65	25.5	11.5	0.7	1.8	2.6	4.1	0.8	0.1	1.6	1.9	3.9	8.8	.448	1.3	3.4	.379	2.4	2.8	.832
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Alex English nor Isaiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 5
	Alex English	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1980-81	2015-16
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	81	38.2	23.8	3.4	4.6	8.0	3.6	1.3	1.2	3.0	3.1	9.5	19.2	.494	0.0	0.1	.600	4.8	5.7	.850
difference:	+1	+6.0	+1.6	+2.8	+2.2	+5.0	+2.6	+0.2	+1.1	-0.3	-1.1	+2.3	+2.3	+.066	+2.0	+5.6	+.241	+1.0	+0.9	+.021
Isaiah Thomas	82	32.2	22.2	0.6	2.4	3.0	6.2	1.1	0.1	2.7	2.0	7.2	16.9	.428	2.0	5.7	.359	5.8	6.6	.871
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isaiah Thomas	6	36.7	24.2	0.3	2.7	3.0	5.0	0.7	0.8	2.3	3.0	7.8	19.8	.395	2.2	7.7	.283	6.3	7.8	.809

Season 6
	Alex English	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1981-82	2016-17
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	82	36.8	25.4	2.6	4.2	6.8	5.3	1.1	1.5	3.2	3.2	10.4	18.9	.551	0.0	0.1	.000	4.5	5.4	.840
difference:	+6	+3.0	+3.5	+2.0	+2.1	+4.1	+0.6	+0.2	+1.3	-0.4	-1.0	+1.4	+0.5	+.088	+3.2	+8.4	+.379	+3.3	+3.1	+.069
Isaiah Thomas	76	33.8	28.9	0.6	2.1	2.7	5.9	0.9	0.2	2.8	2.2	9.0	19.4	.463	3.2	8.5	.379	7.8	8.5	.909
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	3	39.3	19.3	2.7	5.0	7.7	5.7	1.0	1.0	1.3	2.0	8.7	18.3	.473	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.3	.857
difference:	+12	+4.6	+4.0	+2.4	+2.2	+4.6	+1.0	+0.1	+0.9	-2.0	-0.3	+1.3	+0.9	+.048	+2.4	+7.2		+4.1	+5.1	+.037
Isaiah Thomas	15	34.7	23.3	0.3	2.8	3.1	6.7	0.9	0.1	3.3	2.3	7.4	17.4	.425	2.4	7.2	.333	6.1	7.4	.820

Season 7
	Alex English	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1982-83	2017-18
Team	Denver Nuggets	Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	82	36.4	28.4	3.2	4.1	7.3	4.8	1.4	1.5	3.2	2.9	11.7	22.6	.516	0.0	0.1	.167	5.0	6.0	.829
difference:	+50	+9.5	+13.2	+2.7	+2.5	+5.2		+0.9	+1.4	-0.2	-1.1	+6.8	+9.4	+.143	+1.7	+5.8	+.126	+1.3	+1.9	+.064
Isaiah Thomas	32	26.9	15.2	0.5	1.6	2.1	4.8	0.5	0.1	3.0	1.8	4.9	13.2	.373	1.7	5.9	.293	3.7	4.1	.893
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	7	38.6	25.9	2.9	3.4	6.3	6.0	0.6	1.0	3.0	3.0	9.6	21.4	.447	0.0	0.3	.000	6.7	7.6	.887
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Alex English	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1983-84	2018-19
Team	Denver Nuggets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	82	35.0	26.4	2.6	3.0	5.7	5.0	1.0	1.2	2.7	3.1	11.1	20.9	.529	0.0	0.1	.143	4.3	5.2	.824
difference:	+70	+19.9	+18.3	+2.2	+2.3	+4.6	+3.1	+0.6	+1.1	-1.2	-1.7	+8.3	+12.6	+.186	+1.0	+3.5	+.136	+2.9	+2.9	+.194
Isaiah Thomas	12	15.1	8.1	0.4	0.7	1.1	1.9	0.4	0.1	1.5	1.4	2.8	8.3	.343	1.0	3.6	.279	1.4	2.3	.630
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	5	40.6	29.0	3.2	4.8	8.0	5.6	0.6	0.4	1.4	3.4	12.0	20.4	.588	0.0	0.2	.000	5.0	5.6	.893
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Alex English	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1984-85	2019-20
Team	Denver Nuggets	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	81	36.1	27.9	2.5	3.1	5.7	4.2	1.2	0.6	3.1	3.2	11.6	22.4	.518	0.0	0.1	.200	4.7	5.7	.829
difference:	+41	+13.0	+15.7	+2.2	+1.7	+4.0	+0.5	+0.9	+0.4	-1.2	-1.3	+7.2	+11.7	+.110	+2.0	+4.6	+.213	+3.1	+3.8	+.013
Isaiah Thomas	40	23.1	12.2	0.3	1.4	1.7	3.7	0.3	0.2	1.9	1.9	4.4	10.7	.408	2.0	4.7	.413	1.6	1.9	.816
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	14	38.3	30.2	2.6	4.0	6.6	4.5	1.2	0.4	2.1	2.9	11.6	21.7	.536	0.0	0.1	.000	6.9	7.8	.890
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Alex English	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1985-86	2020-21
Team	Denver Nuggets	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	81	37.3	29.8	2.4	2.6	5.0	4.0	0.9	0.4	3.1	2.9	11.7	23.3	.504	0.0	0.1	.200	6.3	7.3	.862
difference:	+78	+21.3	+22.1	+2.1	+1.6	+3.7	+2.3	+0.6	+0.4	-1.1	-1.9	+8.7	+14.3	+.171	+1.0	+3.9	+.050	+5.6	+6.6	+.138
Isaiah Thomas	3	16.0	7.7	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.7	0.3	0.0	2.0	1.0	3.0	9.0	.333	1.0	4.0	.250	0.7	0.7	1.000
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	10	39.4	27.3	1.8	1.7	3.5	5.2	0.4	0.4	2.8	2.9	10.6	22.9	.463	0.0	0.1	.000	6.1	7.1	.859
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Alex English	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1986-87	2021-22
Team	Denver Nuggets	Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	82	37.6	28.6	1.8	2.4	4.2	5.1	0.9	0.3	2.6	2.6	11.8	23.4	.503	0.0	0.2	.267	5.0	5.9	.844
difference:	+60	+22.4	+20.2	+1.6	+1.3	+2.9	+3.6	+0.6	+0.1	-1.9	-1.1	+8.8	+15.8	+.102	+1.3	+3.6	+.070	+4.0	+4.7	+.002
Isaiah Thomas	22	15.2	8.4	0.2	1.1	1.3	1.5	0.3	0.2	0.7	1.5	3.0	7.6	.401	1.3	3.8	.337	1.0	1.2	.846
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	3	25.3	18.7	3.3	1.3	4.7	3.3	0.0	0.0	2.7	3.0	8.3	16.3	.510	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.3	.857
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Isaiah Thomas didn't play in 2022-23.

Season 12
	Alex English	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1987-88	2023-24
Team	Denver Nuggets	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	80	35.2	25.0	2.1	2.6	4.7	4.7	0.9	0.3	2.3	2.4	10.5	21.3	.495	0.0	0.1	.000	3.9	4.7	.828
difference:	+74	+32.0	+23.7	+2.1	+2.6	+4.7	+4.2	+0.9	+0.3	-2.3	-2.4	+10.0	+19.6	+.195	+0.3	+0.6	+.500	+3.9	+4.7
Isaiah Thomas	6	3.2	1.3	0.0	0.0	0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.7	.300	0.3	0.7	.500	0.0	0.0	-
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex English	11	39.8	24.3	2.8	2.5	5.4	4.4	0.6	0.3	1.5	3.1	10.5	23.2	.455	0.0	0.3	.000	3.2	3.9	.814
difference:	+10	+35.8	+24.3	+2.8	+2.5	+5.4	+4.4	+0.6	+0.3	-0.5	-3.1	+10.5	+21.2	+.455		+0.7		+3.2	+3.9
Isaiah Thomas	1	4.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	.000	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-

Additional Years
* Alex English played 3 seasons more than Isaiah Thomas in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 15, from 1989 to 1991—Alex English played in two Playoffs. In those 3 extra years over Isaiah Thomas, Alex English got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Star Game