Dennis Johnson vs. Isaiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isaiah Thomas and Dennis Johnson, 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.

Dennis Johnson played 14 years in the NBA, 2 more than Isaiah Thomas, who played 12. Dennis Johnson 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
	Dennis Johnson	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1976-77	2011-12
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
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		%
Dennis Johnson	81	20.6	9.2	2.0	1.7	3.7	1.5	1.5	0.7	-	2.7	3.5	7.0	.504	-	-	-	2.2	3.5	.624
difference:	+16	+4.9	+2.3	+1.3	+0.1	+1.1	+2.6	+0.7	+0.6		-0.8	+0.4	+1.8	+.056				+0.2	+0.7	+.208
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 Dennis Johnson nor Isaiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 3
	Dennis Johnson	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1978-79	2013-14
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	80	34.0	15.9	1.8	2.9	4.7	3.5	1.3	1.2	2.4	2.6	6.0	13.9	.434	-	-	-	3.8	4.9	.781
difference:	+8	+0.7	+4.4	+1.1	+0.6	+1.8	+2.8		+1.1	-0.6		+0.9	+1.3	+.019				+1.0	+0.8	+.069
Isaiah Thomas	72	34.7	20.3	0.7	2.3	2.9	6.3	1.3	0.1	3.0	2.6	6.9	15.2	.453	1.8	5.1	.349	4.8	5.7	.850
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	17	40.1	20.9	2.6	3.5	6.1	4.1	1.6	1.5	3.0	3.7	8.0	17.8	.450	-	-	-	4.9	6.4	.771
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Dennis Johnson	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1979-80	2014-15
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	81	36.3	19.0	2.1	3.0	5.1	4.1	1.8	1.0	2.8	3.3	7.1	16.8	.422	0.1	0.7	.207	4.7	6.0	.780
difference:	+14	+10.5	+2.6	+1.6	+1.2	+2.8	+0.1	+0.9	+0.9	-0.7	-1.1	+2.1	+4.9	+.002	+1.8	+4.5	+.166	+0.2	+0.8	+.088
Isaiah Thomas	67	25.8	16.4	0.5	1.8	2.3	4.2	0.9	0.1	2.1	2.2	5.0	11.9	.420	1.9	5.2	.373	4.5	5.2	.868
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	15	38.8	17.1	1.7	2.6	4.3	3.8	1.8	0.7	2.9	3.2	6.7	16.3	.410	0.3	1.0	.333	3.5	4.1	.839
difference:	+11	+9.0	+0.4	+1.4	+0.2	+1.3	+3.2	+1.0	+0.7	-0.6	-0.7	+2.2	+2.8	+.077	+0.5	+3.5	+.166	+4.3	+3.9	+.130
Isaiah Thomas	4	29.8	17.5	0.3	2.8	3.0	7.0	0.8	0.0	3.5	2.5	4.5	13.5	.333	0.8	4.5	.167	7.8	8.0	.969

Season 5
	Dennis Johnson	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1980-81	2015-16
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics 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		%
Dennis Johnson	79	33.1	18.8	2.0	2.6	4.6	3.7	1.7	0.8	2.6	3.1	6.7	15.4	.436	0.1	0.6	.216	5.2	6.3	.820
difference:	+3	+0.9	+3.4	+1.4	+0.2	+1.6	+2.5	+0.6	+0.7	-0.1	-1.1	+0.5	+1.5	+.008	+1.9	+5.1	+.143	+0.6	+0.3	+.051
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		%
Dennis Johnson	7	38.1	19.6	1.0	3.7	4.7	2.9	1.3	1.3	2.7	2.6	7.4	15.7	.473	0.1	0.7	.200	4.6	6.0	.762
difference:	+1	+1.4	+4.6	+0.7	+1.0	+1.7	+2.1	+0.6	+0.5	-0.4	-0.4	+0.4	+4.1	+.078	+2.1	+7.0	+.083	+1.7	+1.8	+.047
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
	Dennis Johnson	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1981-82	2016-17
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics 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		%
Dennis Johnson	80	36.7	19.5	1.8	3.4	5.1	4.6	1.3	0.7	2.9	3.2	7.2	15.4	.470	0.1	0.5	.190	5.0	6.2	.806
difference:	+4	+2.9	+9.4	+1.2	+1.3	+2.4	+1.3	+0.4	+0.5	-0.1	-1.0	+1.8	+4.0	+.007	+3.1	+8.0	+.189	+2.8	+2.3	+.103
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		%
Dennis Johnson	7	38.7	22.3	1.9	2.6	4.4	4.6	2.1	0.6	3.6	4.0	9.0	18.9	.477	0.0	0.4	.000	4.3	5.6	.769
difference:	+8	+4.0	+1.0	+1.6	+0.2	+1.3	+2.1	+1.2	+0.5	-0.3	-1.7	+1.6	+1.5	+.052	+2.4	+6.8	+.333	+1.8	+1.8	+.051
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
	Dennis Johnson	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1982-83	2017-18
Team	Phoenix Suns	Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	77	33.1	14.2	1.2	3.2	4.4	5.0	1.3	0.5	2.6	2.6	5.2	11.2	.462	0.1	0.4	.161	3.8	4.8	.791
difference:	+45	+6.2	+1.0	+0.7	+1.6	+2.3	+0.2	+0.8	+0.4	-0.4	-0.8	+0.3	+2.0	+.089	+1.6	+5.5	+.132	+0.1	+0.7	+.102
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		%
Dennis Johnson	3	36.0	18.0	2.0	5.7	7.7	5.7	1.7	0.7	2.7	3.0	7.3	16.0	.458	0.0	0.3	.000	3.3	4.0	.833
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Dennis Johnson	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1983-84	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	80	33.3	13.2	1.1	2.4	3.5	4.2	1.2	0.7	2.2	3.1	4.8	11.0	.437	0.1	0.4	.125	3.5	4.1	.852
difference:	+68	+18.2	+5.1	+0.7	+1.7	+2.4	+2.3	+0.8	+0.6	-0.7	-1.7	+2.0	+2.7	+.094	+0.9	+3.2	+.154	+2.1	+1.8	+.222
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		%
Dennis Johnson	22	36.7	16.6	1.4	2.2	3.6	4.4	1.1	0.3	2.4	3.4	5.9	14.5	.404	0.1	0.3	.429	4.7	5.5	.867
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Dennis Johnson	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1984-85	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	80	37.2	15.7	1.1	2.8	4.0	6.8	1.2	0.5	2.7	2.8	6.2	13.3	.462	0.1	0.3	.269	3.3	3.8	.853
difference:	+40	+14.1	+3.5	+0.8	+1.4	+2.3	+3.1	+0.9	+0.3	-0.8	-0.9	+1.8	+2.6	+.054	+1.9	+4.4	+.144	+1.7	+1.9	+.037
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		%
Dennis Johnson	21	40.4	17.3	1.1	2.9	4.0	7.3	1.5	0.4	3.4	3.1	6.8	15.2	.445	0.0	0.7	.000	3.8	4.4	.860
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Dennis Johnson	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1985-86	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	78	35.0	15.6	0.9	2.6	3.4	5.8	1.4	0.4	2.2	2.6	6.2	13.6	.455	0.1	0.5	.143	3.1	3.8	.818
difference:	+75	+19.0	+7.9	+0.6	+1.6	+2.1	+4.1	+1.1	+0.4	-0.2	-1.6	+3.2	+4.6	+.122	+0.9	+3.5	+.107	+2.4	+3.1	+.182
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		%
Dennis Johnson	18	39.7	16.2	1.3	2.9	4.2	5.9	2.2	0.3	2.8	3.2	6.1	13.6	.445	0.3	0.9	.375	3.7	4.7	.798
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Dennis Johnson	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1986-87	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	79	37.1	13.4	0.6	2.7	3.3	7.5	1.1	0.5	2.2	2.5	5.4	12.1	.444	0.1	0.8	.113	2.6	3.2	.833
difference:	+57	+21.9	+5.0	+0.4	+1.6	+2.0	+6.0	+0.8	+0.3	-1.5	-1.0	+2.4	+4.5	+.043	+1.2	+3.0	+.224	+1.6	+2.0	+.013
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		%
Dennis Johnson	23	41.9	18.9	1.0	2.9	4.0	8.9	0.7	0.3	1.9	3.1	7.3	15.7	.465	0.1	1.1	.115	4.2	4.9	.850
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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