Artis Gilmore vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Artis Gilmore, 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.

Artis Gilmore played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Artis Gilmore had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Isiah Thomas had his rookie season in 1981-82. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Artis Gilmore	12	6	1976-77 to 1987-88
Isiah Thomas	13	9	1981-82 to 1993-94

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


Rookie Season
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1976-77	1981-82
Team	Chicago Bulls	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	82	35.1	18.6	3.8	9.2	13.0	2.4	0.5	2.5	-	3.2	7.0	13.3	.522	-	-	-	4.7	7.1	.660
difference:	+10	+1.3	+1.6	+3.0	+7.1	+10.1	+5.4	+1.6	+2.3		-0.3	+0.7	+1.5	+.098				+0.5	+1.1	+.044
Isiah Thomas	72	33.8	17.0	0.8	2.1	2.9	7.8	2.1	0.2	4.2	3.5	6.3	14.8	.424	0.2	0.8	.288	4.2	6.0	.704

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	3	42.0	18.7	5.0	8.0	13.0	2.0	1.0	2.7	-	3.0	6.3	13.3	.475	-	-	-	6.0	7.7	.783
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1977-78	1982-83
Team	Chicago Bulls	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	82	37.4	22.9	3.9	9.2	13.1	3.2	0.5	2.2	4.5	3.2	8.6	15.4	.559	-	-	-	5.7	8.2	.704
difference:	+1	+0.8		+2.6	+6.4	+9.1	+4.6	+2.0	+1.8	-0.5	-0.7	+0.4	+3.6	+.087				+1.2	+1.8	+.006
Isiah Thomas	81	38.2	22.9	1.3	2.8	4.0	7.8	2.5	0.4	4.0	3.9	9.0	19.0	.472	0.4	1.5	.288	4.5	6.4	.710

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Artis Gilmore nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1978-79	1983-84
Team	Chicago Bulls	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	82	39.8	23.7	3.6	9.1	12.7	3.3	0.6	1.9	3.8	3.4	9.2	16.0	.575	-	-	-	5.3	7.2	.739
difference:		+3.1	+2.4	+2.3	+6.4	+8.7	+7.8	+1.9	+1.5	-0.1	-0.6	+1.0	+1.7	+.113				+0.6	+0.7	+.006
Isiah Thomas	82	36.7	21.3	1.3	2.7	4.0	11.1	2.5	0.4	3.7	4.0	8.2	17.7	.462	0.3	0.8	.338	4.7	6.5	.733

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	5	39.6	21.4	1.4	2.4	3.8	11.0	2.6	1.2	4.6	4.4	7.8	16.6	.470	0.4	1.2	.333	5.4	7.0	.771


Season 4
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1979-80	1984-85
Team	Chicago Bulls	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pistons Lost East Conf Semis

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	48	32.7	17.8	2.3	6.8	9.0	2.8	0.6	1.2	2.8	3.5	6.4	10.7	.595	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	7.2	.712
difference:	+33	+5.4	+3.4	+0.9	+3.8	+4.5	+11.1	+1.7	+0.9	-0.9	-0.1	+1.6	+6.7	+.137	+0.4	+1.4		+0.2	+1.1	+.097
Isiah Thomas	81	38.1	21.2	1.4	3.0	4.5	13.9	2.3	0.3	3.7	3.6	8.0	17.4	.458	0.4	1.4	.257	4.9	6.1	.809

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	9	39.4	24.3	1.2	4.0	5.2	11.2	2.1	0.4	3.3	4.3	9.2	18.4	.500	0.7	1.7	.400	5.2	6.9	.758


Season 5
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1980-81	1985-86
Team	Chicago Bulls	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	82	34.5	17.9	2.7	7.4	10.1	2.1	0.6	2.4	2.9	3.6	6.7	10.0	.670	0.0	0.0	-	4.6	6.5	.705
difference:	+5	+1.7	+3.0	+1.6	+4.9	+6.5	+8.7	+1.6	+2.1	-0.9	-0.4	+1.2	+6.2	+.182	+0.3	+1.1		+0.1	+0.5	+.085
Isiah Thomas	77	36.2	20.9	1.1	2.5	3.6	10.8	2.2	0.3	3.8	3.2	7.9	16.2	.488	0.3	1.1	.310	4.7	6.0	.790

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	6	41.2	18.0	4.0	7.2	11.2	2.0	1.0	2.8	2.8	2.5	5.8	10.0	.583	0.0	0.0	-	6.3	9.2	.691
difference:	+2	+0.4	+8.5	+2.0	+3.7	+5.7	+10.0	+1.3	+2.0	-1.5	-1.8	+4.5	+12.8	+.132		+1.3		+0.3	+0.2	+.024
Isiah Thomas	4	40.8	26.5	2.0	3.5	5.5	12.0	2.3	0.8	4.3	4.3	10.3	22.8	.451	0.0	1.3	.000	6.0	9.0	.667


Season 6
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1981-82	1986-87
Team	Chicago Bulls	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	82	34.1	18.5	2.7	7.5	10.2	1.7	0.6	2.7	2.8	3.5	6.7	10.2	.652	0.0	0.0	-	5.2	6.7	.768
difference:	+1	+3.1	+2.1	+1.7	+4.6	+6.3	+8.3	+1.3	+2.5	-1.4	-0.4	+1.0	+6.5	+.189	+0.2	+1.2		+0.3	+0.3
Isiah Thomas	81	37.2	20.6	1.0	2.9	3.9	10.0	1.9	0.2	4.2	3.1	7.7	16.7	.463	0.2	1.2	.194	4.9	6.4	.768

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	15	37.5	24.1	1.4	3.1	4.5	8.7	2.6	0.3	2.8	3.4	8.9	19.8	.451	0.7	2.2	.303	5.5	7.3	.755


Season 7
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1982-83	1987-88
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	Pistons Lost NBA Finals

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	82	34.1	18.0	3.6	8.4	12.0	1.5	0.5	2.3	3.1	3.3	6.8	10.8	.626	0.0	0.1	.000	4.5	6.0	.740
difference:	+1	+2.0	+1.5	+2.8	+5.8	+8.6	+6.9	+1.2	+2.1	-0.3	-0.6	+0.9	+5.8	+.163	+0.4	+1.1	+.309	+0.7	+1.1	+.034
Isiah Thomas	81	36.1	19.5	0.8	2.6	3.4	8.4	1.7	0.2	3.4	2.7	7.7	16.6	.463	0.4	1.2	.309	3.8	4.9	.774

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	11	36.5	16.7	3.4	9.5	12.9	1.6	0.8	3.1	2.5	4.2	6.9	12.0	.576	0.0	0.0	-	2.9	4.2	.696
difference:	+12	+3.1	+5.2	+2.3	+6.0	+8.2	+7.1	+2.1	+2.8	-1.2	-1.1	+1.1	+6.2	+.139	+0.6	+1.9		+2.5	+2.4	+.132
Isiah Thomas	23	39.6	21.9	1.1	3.5	4.7	8.7	2.9	0.3	3.7	3.1	8.0	18.2	.437	0.6	1.9	.295	5.4	6.6	.828


Season 8
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1983-84	1988-89
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	64	31.8	15.3	3.3	7.0	10.3	1.1	0.6	2.1	2.3	3.6	5.5	8.7	.631	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	6.1	.718
difference:	+16	+4.8	+2.9	+2.7	+4.2	+6.9	+7.2	+1.1	+1.8	-1.4	-1.0	+1.6	+6.6	+.167	+0.4	+1.5		+0.8	+1.7	+.100
Isiah Thomas	80	36.6	18.2	0.6	2.8	3.4	8.3	1.7	0.3	3.7	2.6	7.1	15.3	.464	0.4	1.5	.273	3.6	4.4	.818

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	17	37.2	18.2	1.4	2.9	4.3	8.3	1.6	0.2	2.5	2.3	6.8	16.4	.412	0.5	1.8	.267	4.2	5.6	.740


Season 9
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1984-85	1989-90
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	81	34.0	19.1	2.9	7.6	10.4	1.6	0.5	2.1	3.0	3.8	6.6	10.5	.623	0.0	0.0	-	6.0	8.0	.749
difference:		+3.0	+0.7	+2.0	+4.7	+6.6	+7.8	+1.2	+1.9	-1.0	-1.3	+0.5	+5.8	+.185	+0.5	+1.7		+2.4	+3.3	+.026
Isiah Thomas	81	37.0	18.4	0.9	2.9	3.8	9.4	1.7	0.2	4.0	2.5	7.1	16.3	.438	0.5	1.7	.309	3.6	4.7	.775

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	5	37.0	17.8	2.0	8.0	10.0	1.4	0.4	1.4	4.6	3.6	5.8	10.4	.558	0.0	0.0	-	6.2	9.0	.689
difference:	+15	+0.9	+2.7	+0.9	+3.6	+4.5	+6.8	+1.8	+1.0	-1.0	-0.3	+1.6	+5.6	+.095	+1.6	+3.4		+2.1	+3.9	+.105
Isiah Thomas	20	37.9	20.5	1.1	4.4	5.5	8.2	2.2	0.4	3.6	3.3	7.4	16.0	.463	1.6	3.4	.471	4.1	5.1	.794


Season 10
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1985-86	1990-91
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	71	33.7	16.7	2.3	6.1	8.5	1.4	0.5	1.5	2.6	3.4	6.0	9.6	.618	0.0	0.0	-	4.8	6.8	.701
difference:	+23	+0.8	+0.5	+1.6	+3.5	+5.2	+7.9	+1.1	+1.3	-1.3	-0.9		+4.3	+.183	+0.4	+1.4		+1.1	+2.0	+.081
Isiah Thomas	48	34.5	16.2	0.7	2.6	3.3	9.3	1.6	0.2	3.9	2.5	6.0	13.9	.435	0.4	1.4	.292	3.7	4.8	.782

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	3	35.7	13.3	2.3	3.7	6.0	1.0	2.3	0.3	3.3	3.7	5.3	8.0	.667	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	4.7	.571
difference:	+10	+2.2	+0.2	+1.3	+0.5	+1.8	+7.5	+1.3	+0.1	-0.1	-0.5	+0.7	+3.5	+.264	+0.5	+1.7		+1.1	+0.6	+.154
Isiah Thomas	13	33.5	13.5	1.0	3.2	4.2	8.5	1.0	0.2	3.2	3.2	4.6	11.5	.403	0.5	1.7	.273	3.8	5.3	.725


Season 11
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1986-87	1991-92
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	82	29.3	11.4	2.3	4.8	7.1	1.8	0.5	1.2	2.2	2.9	4.2	7.1	.597	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.3	.680
difference:	+4	+8.1	+7.1	+1.4	+2.5	+3.9	+5.4	+1.0	+1.0	-1.0	-0.4	+3.0	+9.1	+.151	+0.3	+1.1		+0.7	+0.5	+.092
Isiah Thomas	78	37.4	18.5	0.9	2.3	3.2	7.2	1.5	0.2	3.2	2.5	7.2	16.2	.446	0.3	1.1	.291	3.7	4.8	.772

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	5	40.0	14.0	0.6	4.6	5.2	7.4	1.0	0.0	3.2	3.6	4.4	13.0	.338	0.8	2.2	.364	4.4	5.6	.786


Season 12
	Artis Gilmore	Isiah Thomas
Season	1987-88	1992-93
Team	Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	71	12.6	3.7	1.0	2.0	3.0	0.3	0.2	0.4	0.9	2.1	1.4	2.5	.547	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	1.8	.523
difference:	+8	+24.4	+13.9	+0.1		+0.1	+8.2	+1.4	+0.2	-2.7	-0.7	+5.3	+13.4	+.129	+0.8	+2.5		+2.6	+3.0	+.214
Isiah Thomas	79	37.0	17.6	0.9	2.0	2.9	8.5	1.6	0.2	3.6	2.8	6.7	15.9	.418	0.8	2.5	.308	3.5	4.8	.737

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	14	6.1	1.1	0.3	1.1	1.4	0.1	0.0	0.3	0.3	1.0	0.3	0.6	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	1.0	.500
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years

* Isiah Thomas played 1 season more than Artis Gilmore in the NBA.

In that period—his season 13 in 1994—Isiah Thomas didn't play in the postseason.

Artis Gilmore vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Artis Gilmore, 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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years