Bernard King vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Bernard King, 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 / Stats / Stats Rankings / 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.

Bernard King played 14 years in the NBA, 1 more than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Bernard King had the first of his seasons in 1977-78, 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
Bernard King	14	5	1977-78 to 1992-93
Isiah Thomas	13	9	1981-82 to 1993-94

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


Rookie Season
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1977-78	1981-82
Team	New Jersey Nets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Bernard King	79	39.1	24.2	3.4	6.2	9.5	2.4	1.5	0.5	3.9	3.8	10.1	21.1	.479	-	-	-	4.0	5.8	.677
difference:	+7	+5.3	+7.2	+2.6	+4.1	+6.6	+5.4	+0.6	+0.3	-0.3	-0.3	+3.8	+6.3	+.055				+0.2	+0.2	+.027
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
* Neiher Bernard King nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1978-79	1982-83
Team	New Jersey Nets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Bernard King	82	34.9	21.6	3.1	5.1	8.2	3.6	1.4	0.5	3.9	4.0	8.7	16.6	.522	-	-	-	4.3	7.5	.564
difference:	+1	+3.3	+1.3	+1.8	+2.3	+4.2	+4.2	+1.1	+0.1	-0.1	-0.1	+0.3	+2.4	+.050				+0.2	+1.1	+.146
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
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	2	40.5	26.0	2.5	3.0	5.5	3.5	2.0	0.0	3.0	5.0	10.5	21.0	.500	-	-	-	5.0	12.0	.417
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1979-80	1983-84
Team	Utah Jazz	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	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		%
Bernard King	19	22.1	9.3	1.3	3.4	4.6	2.7	0.4	0.2	2.6	3.5	3.7	7.2	.518	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	3.3	.540
difference:	+63	+14.6	+12.0		+0.7	+0.6	+8.4	+2.1	+0.2	-1.1	-0.5	+4.5	+10.5	+.056	+0.3	+0.8		+2.9	+3.2	+.193
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		%
Bernard King	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
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1980-81	1984-85
Team	Golden State Warriors	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		%
Bernard King	81	36.0	21.9	2.2	4.6	6.8	3.5	0.9	0.4	3.3	3.8	9.0	15.4	.588	0.0	0.1	.333	3.8	5.4	.703
difference:		+2.1	+0.7	+0.8	+1.6	+2.3	+10.4	+1.4	+0.1	-0.4	-0.2	+1.0	+2.0	+.130	+0.4	+1.3	+.076	+1.1	+0.7	+.106
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		%
Bernard King	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
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1981-82	1985-86
Team	Golden State Warriors	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second 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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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	79	36.2	23.2	1.8	4.2	5.9	3.6	1.0	0.3	3.4	3.6	9.4	16.5	.566	0.0	0.1	.200	4.5	6.3	.705
difference:	+2		+2.3	+0.7	+1.7	+2.3	+7.2	+1.2		-0.4	-0.4	+1.5	+0.3	+.078	+0.3	+1.0	+.110	+0.2	+0.3	+.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		%
Bernard King	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1982-83	1986-87
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Bernard King	68	32.5	21.9	1.5	3.3	4.8	2.9	1.3	0.2	2.9	3.4	8.9	16.8	.528	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.7	.722
difference:	+13	+4.7	+1.3	+0.5	+0.4	+0.9	+7.1	+0.6		-1.3	-0.3	+1.2	+0.1	+.065	+0.2	+1.1	+.194	+0.8	+0.7	+.046
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		%
Bernard King	6	30.7	23.5	1.3	2.7	4.0	2.2	0.3	0.0	1.7	2.7	9.3	16.2	.577	0.2	0.5	.333	4.7	5.8	.800
difference:	+9	+6.8	+0.6	+0.1	+0.4	+0.5	+6.5	+2.3	+0.3	-1.1	-0.7	+0.4	+3.6	+.126	+0.5	+1.7	+.030	+0.8	+1.5	+.045
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
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1983-84	1987-88
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Bernard King	77	34.6	26.3	1.6	3.5	5.1	2.1	1.0	0.2	2.6	3.5	10.3	18.1	.572	0.0	0.1	.000	5.7	7.3	.779
difference:	+4	+1.5	+6.8	+0.8	+0.9	+1.7	+6.3	+0.7		-0.8	-0.8	+2.6	+1.5	+.109	+0.4	+1.1	+.309	+1.9	+2.4	+.005
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		%
Bernard King	12	39.8	34.8	2.3	3.8	6.2	3.0	1.2	0.5	2.6	4.0	13.5	23.5	.574	0.0	0.1	.000	7.8	10.3	.756
difference:	+11	+0.2	+12.9	+1.2	+0.3	+1.5	+5.7	+1.7	+0.2	-1.1	-0.9	+5.5	+5.3	+.137	+0.6	+1.8	+.295	+2.4	+3.7	+.072
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
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1984-85	1988-89
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	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		%
Bernard King	55	37.5	32.9	2.1	3.7	5.8	3.7	1.3	0.3	3.7	3.5	12.6	23.7	.530	0.0	0.2	.100	7.7	10.0	.772
difference:	+25	+0.9	+14.7	+1.5	+0.9	+2.4	+4.6	+0.4			-0.9	+5.5	+8.4	+.066	+0.4	+1.3	+.173	+4.1	+5.6	+.046
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		%
Bernard King	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

Note: Bernard King didn't play in 1985-86.


Season 9
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1986-87	1989-90
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Bernard King	6	35.7	22.7	2.2	3.2	5.3	3.2	0.3	0.0	2.5	2.3	8.7	17.5	.495	0.0	0.0	-	5.3	7.2	.744
difference:	+75	+1.3	+4.3	+1.3	+0.3	+1.5	+6.2	+1.4	+0.2	-1.5	-0.2	+1.6	+1.2	+.057	+0.5	+1.7		+1.7	+2.5	+.031
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		%
Bernard King	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1987-88	1990-91
Team	Washington Bullets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East 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		%
Bernard King	69	29.6	17.2	1.2	2.8	4.1	2.8	0.7	0.1	3.1	2.9	6.8	13.6	.501	0.0	0.1	.167	3.6	4.7	.762
difference:	+21	+4.9	+1.0	+0.5	+0.2	+0.8	+6.5	+0.9	+0.1	-0.8	-0.4	+0.8	+0.3	+.066	+0.4	+1.3	+.125	+0.1	+0.1	+.020
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		%
Bernard King	5	33.6	13.8	0.6	1.6	2.2	1.8	0.6	0.0	2.8	3.4	5.2	10.6	.491	0.0	0.0	-	3.4	4.2	.810
difference:	+8	+0.1	+0.3	+0.4	+1.6	+2.0	+6.7	+0.4	+0.2	-0.4	-0.2	+0.6	+0.9	+.088	+0.5	+1.7		+0.4	+1.1	+.085
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
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1988-89	1991-92
Team	Washington Bullets	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		%
Bernard King	81	31.6	20.7	1.6	3.1	4.7	3.6	0.8	0.2	2.8	2.7	8.1	16.9	.477	0.1	0.4	.167	4.5	5.4	.819
difference:	+3	+5.8	+2.2	+0.7	+0.8	+1.5	+3.6	+0.7		-0.4	-0.2	+0.9	+0.7	+.031	+0.2	+0.7	+.124	+0.8	+0.6	+.047
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		%
Bernard King	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
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1989-90	1992-93
Team	Washington Bullets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Bernard King	82	32.8	22.4	1.6	3.4	4.9	4.6	0.6	0.1	3.0	2.8	8.7	17.8	.487	0.0	0.3	.130	5.0	6.3	.803
difference:	+3	+4.2	+4.8	+0.7	+1.4	+2.0	+3.9	+1.0	+0.1	-0.6		+2.0	+1.9	+.069	+0.8	+2.2	+.178	+1.5	+1.5	+.066
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
* Neiher Bernard King nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 12


Season 13
	Bernard King	Isiah Thomas
Season	1990-91	1993-94
Team	Washington Bullets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bernard King	64	37.5	28.4	1.8	3.2	5.0	4.6	0.9	0.3	4.0	2.9	11.1	23.6	.472	0.1	0.6	.216	6.0	7.6	.790
difference:	+6	+7.3	+13.6	+1.0	+1.3	+2.3	+2.3	+0.3	+0.2	-0.5	-0.7	+5.6	+10.4	+.055	+0.6	+1.6	+.094	+2.9	+3.2	+.088
Isiah Thomas	58	30.2	14.8	0.8	1.9	2.7	6.9	1.2	0.1	3.5	2.2	5.5	13.2	.417	0.7	2.2	.310	3.1	4.4	.702

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Bernard King nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 13

Additional Years

* Bernard King played 1 season more than Isiah Thomas in the NBA.

In that period—his season 14 in 1993—Bernard King played in the Playoffs.

Bernard King vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Bernard King, 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

Season 13

13th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years