Bill Sharman vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Bill Sharman, 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.

Bill Sharman played 11 years in the NBA, 2 less than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Bill Sharman had the first of his seasons in 1950-51, 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
Bill Sharman	11	10	1950-51 to 1960-61
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


Rookie Season
	Bill Sharman	Isiah Thomas
Season	1950-51	1981-82
Team	Washington Capitols	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Bill Sharman	31	-	12.2	-	-	3.5	1.3	-	-	-	2.8	4.5	12.3	.370	-	-	-	3.1	3.5	.889
difference:	+41		+4.8			+0.6	+6.5				-0.7	+1.8	+2.5	+.054				+1.1	+2.5	+.185
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 Bill Sharman nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Bill Sharman	Isiah Thomas
Season	1951-52	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Bill Sharman	63	22.0	10.7	-	-	3.5	2.4	-	-	-	2.9	3.9	10.0	.389	-	-	-	2.9	3.4	.859
difference:	+18	+16.2	+12.2			+0.5	+5.4				-1.0	+5.1	+9.0	+.083				+1.6	+3.0	+.149
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		%
Bill Sharman	1	27.0	15.0	-	-	3.0	7.0	-	-	-	4.0	7.0	12.0	.583	-	-	-	1.0	1.0	1.000
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Bill Sharman	Isiah Thomas
Season	1952-53	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	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		%
Bill Sharman	71	32.9	16.2	-	-	4.1	2.7	-	-	-	3.4	5.7	13.0	.436	-	-	-	4.8	5.6	.850
difference:	+11	+3.8	+5.1			+0.1	+8.4				-0.6	+2.5	+4.7	+.026				+0.1	+0.9	+.117
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		%
Bill Sharman	6	33.5	11.7	-	-	2.5	2.5	-	-	-	4.3	3.3	10.0	.333	-	-	-	5.0	5.3	.938
difference:	+1	+6.1	+9.7			+1.3	+8.5				-0.1	+4.5	+6.6	+.137				+0.4	+1.7	+.167
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
	Bill Sharman	Isiah Thomas
Season	1953-54	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	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		%
Bill Sharman	72	34.3	16.0	-	-	3.5	3.2	-	-	-	2.9	5.7	12.7	.450	-	-	-	4.6	5.4	.844
difference:	+9	+3.8	+5.2			+1.0	+10.7				-0.7	+2.3	+4.7	+.008				+0.3	+0.7	+.035
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		%
Bill Sharman	6	34.3	18.8	-	-	4.2	1.7	-	-	-	4.8	5.8	13.5	.432	-	-	-	7.2	8.3	.860
difference:	+3	+5.1	+5.5			+1.0	+9.5				-0.5	+3.4	+4.9	+.068				+2.0	+1.4	+.102
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
	Bill Sharman	Isiah Thomas
Season	1954-55	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div Finals	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		%
Bill Sharman	68	36.1	18.4	-	-	4.4	4.1	-	-	-	3.1	6.7	15.6	.427	-	-	-	5.1	5.7	.897
difference:	+9	+0.1	+2.5			+0.8	+6.7				-0.1	+1.2	+0.6	+.061				+0.4	+0.3	+.107
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		%
Bill Sharman	7	41.4	20.7	-	-	5.4	5.4	-	-	-	3.4	7.9	15.7	.500	-	-	-	5.0	5.4	.921
difference:	+3	+0.6	+5.8			+0.1	+6.6				-0.9	+2.4	+7.1	+.049				+1.0	+3.6	+.254
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
	Bill Sharman	Isiah Thomas
Season	1955-56	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Div 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		%
Bill Sharman	72	37.5	19.9	-	-	3.6	4.7	-	-	-	2.7	7.5	17.1	.438	-	-	-	5.0	5.7	.867
difference:	+9	+0.3	+0.7			+0.3	+5.3				-0.4	+0.2	+0.4	+.025				+0.1	+0.7	+.099
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		%
Bill Sharman	3	39.7	17.3	-	-	2.3	4.0	-	-	-	2.3	6.0	15.3	.391	-	-	-	5.3	5.7	.941
difference:	+12	+2.2	+6.8			+2.2	+4.7				-1.1	+2.9	+4.5	+.060				+0.2	+1.6	+.186
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
	Bill Sharman	Isiah Thomas
Season	1956-57	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Bill Sharman	67	35.9	21.1	-	-	4.3	3.5	-	-	-	2.8	7.7	18.5	.416	-	-	-	5.7	6.3	.905
difference:	+14	+0.2	+1.6			+0.9	+4.9				-0.1		+1.9	+.047				+1.9	+1.4	+.131
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		%
Bill Sharman	10	37.7	21.1	-	-	3.5	2.9	-	-	-	2.3	7.5	19.7	.381	-	-	-	6.1	6.4	.953
difference:	+13	+1.9	+0.8			+1.2	+5.8				-0.8	+0.5	+1.5	+.056				+0.7	+0.2	+.125
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
	Bill Sharman	Isiah Thomas
Season	1957-58	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Bill Sharman	63	35.1	22.3	-	-	4.7	2.7	-	-	-	2.5	8.7	20.6	.424	-	-	-	4.8	5.4	.893
difference:	+17	+1.5	+4.1			+1.3	+5.6				-0.1	+1.6	+5.3	+.040				+1.2	+1.0	+.075
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		%
Bill Sharman	11	36.9	21.1	-	-	4.9	2.3	-	-	-	2.5	8.2	20.1	.407	-	-	-	4.7	5.1	.929
difference:	+6	+0.3	+2.9			+0.6	+6.0				-0.2	+1.4	+3.7	+.005				+0.5	+0.5	+.189
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
	Bill Sharman	Isiah Thomas
Season	1958-59	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Bill Sharman	72	33.1	20.4	-	-	4.1	2.5	-	-	-	2.4	7.8	19.1	.408	-	-	-	4.8	5.1	.932
difference:	+9	+3.9	+2.0			+0.3	+6.9				-0.1	+0.7	+2.8	+.030				+1.2	+0.4	+.157
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		%
Bill Sharman	11	29.3	20.1	-	-	3.3	2.5	-	-	-	3.2	7.5	17.5	.425	-	-	-	5.2	5.4	.966
difference:	+9	+8.6	+0.4			+2.2	+5.7				-0.1	+0.1	+1.5	+.038				+1.1	+0.3	+.172
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
	Bill Sharman	Isiah Thomas
Season	1959-60	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Bill Sharman	71	27.0	19.3	-	-	3.7	2.0	-	-	-	2.2	7.9	17.3	.456	-	-	-	3.5	4.1	.866
difference:	+23	+7.5	+3.1			+0.4	+7.3				-0.3	+1.9	+3.4	+.021				+0.2	+0.7	+.084
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		%
Bill Sharman	13	28.0	16.8	-	-	3.5	1.5	-	-	-	1.7	6.8	16.1	.421	-	-	-	3.3	4.1	.811
difference:		+5.5	+3.3			+0.7	+7.0				-1.5	+2.2	+4.6	+.018				+0.5	+1.2	+.086
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
	Bill Sharman	Isiah Thomas
Season	1960-61	1991-92
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Bill Sharman	61	25.2	16.0	-	-	3.7	2.4	-	-	-	2.1	6.3	14.9	.422	-	-	-	3.4	3.7	.921
difference:	+17	+12.2	+2.5			+0.5	+4.8				-0.4	+0.9	+1.3	+.024				+0.3	+1.1	+.149
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		%
Bill Sharman	10	26.1	16.8	-	-	2.7	1.7	-	-	-	2.2	6.8	13.3	.511	-	-	-	3.2	3.6	.889
difference:	+5	+13.9	+2.8			+2.5	+5.7				-1.4	+2.4	+0.3	+.173				+1.2	+2.0	+.103
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


Additional Years
* Isiah Thomas played 2 seasons more than Bill Sharman in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 13, from 1993 to 1994—Isiah Thomas didn't play in the postseason. In those 2 extra years over Bill Sharman, Isiah Thomas got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Star Game

Bill Sharman vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Bill Sharman, 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

Additional Years