Earl Cureton vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Earl Cureton, 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.

Earl Cureton played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Earl Cureton had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, 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 achivements, 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
Earl Cureton	12	7	1980-81 to 1996-97
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
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1980-81	1981-82
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	52	10.2	4.2	1.0	2.0	3.0	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.6	1.3	1.8	3.9	.454	0.0	0.0	.000	0.6	1.2	.516
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		%
Earl Cureton	9	4.0	1.3	0.1	0.9	1.0	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.7	2.0	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.2	.000
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1981-82	1982-83
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	66	14.5	5.3	1.4	2.7	4.1	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.7	2.2	2.3	4.6	.487	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.4	.543
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		%
Earl Cureton	12	6.3	2.7	1.0	1.2	2.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.4	1.0	1.1	3.4	.317	0.0	0.1	.000	0.5	0.8	.667
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1982-83	1983-84
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	73	13.5	3.4	1.2	2.5	3.7	0.6	0.5	0.3	1.0	2.0	1.5	3.5	.419	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.9	.493
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		%
Earl Cureton	5	5.0	0.4	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.6	1.0	0.2	0.8	.250	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1983-84	1984-85
Team	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Pistons Lost East Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	73	12.4	2.6	1.2	2.8	3.9	0.5	0.3	0.4	0.8	2.0	1.1	2.4	.458	0.0	0.0	.000	0.4	0.8	.525
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		%
Earl Cureton	5	18.6	6.4	2.8	3.8	6.6	0.4	0.4	0.2	1.0	1.8	3.0	6.2	.484	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.2	.333
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
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1984-85	1985-86
Team	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Semis	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	81	20.3	6.1	2.1	3.1	5.2	1.0	0.7	0.5	1.4	2.7	2.6	5.3	.484	0.0	0.0	.000	1.0	1.8	.569
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		%
Earl Cureton	9	14.8	4.1	1.1	3.4	4.6	0.4	1.0	0.2	0.4	2.2	1.8	3.8	.471	0.0	0.1	.000	0.6	1.0	.556
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
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1985-86	1986-87
Team	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	80	25.2	8.6	2.5	3.8	6.3	1.7	0.7	0.7	1.9	3.0	3.6	7.1	.505	0.0	0.0	.000	1.5	2.6	.555
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		%
Earl Cureton	4	31.5	9.0	3.0	4.5	7.5	2.3	0.8	0.0	1.3	3.5	4.3	7.8	.548	0.0	0.3	.000	0.5	2.0	.250
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
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1986-87	1987-88
Team	Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pistons Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	78	25.3	7.3	2.7	3.1	5.8	1.6	0.4	0.7	1.0	2.4	3.1	6.5	.476	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.9	.539
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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1987-88	1988-89
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	69	16.3	4.3	1.4	2.5	3.9	0.9	0.5	0.5	0.8	2.0	1.9	4.5	.429	0.0	0.0	.000	0.5	0.9	.524
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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1988-89	1989-90
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	82	25.0	6.5	2.3	3.7	6.0	1.6	0.6	0.7	1.4	2.8	2.8	5.7	.501	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.5	.537
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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Note: Earl Cureton didn't play in 1989-90.


Season 10
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1990-91	1990-91
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	9	17.7	1.9	0.7	3.3	4.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.7	1.8	0.9	2.7	.333	0.0	0.1	.000	0.1	0.3	.333
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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Note: Earl Cureton didn't play in 1991-92 and 1992-93.


Season 11
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1993-94	1991-92
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	2	15.0	2.0	2.0	4.0	6.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	2.0	1.0	4.0	.250	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	1.0	.000
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		%
Earl Cureton	10	10.0	1.8	0.6	2.3	2.9	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.3	2.0	0.8	1.0	.800	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.2	1.000
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

Note: Earl Cureton didn't play in 1994-95 and 1995-96.


Season 12
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	1996-97	1992-93
Team	Toronto Raptors	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	9	5.1	0.8	0.4	0.6	1.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.1	1.1	0.3	0.9	.375	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.3	.333
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		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Earl Cureton	Isiah Thomas
Season	-	1993-94
Team	-	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Earl Cureton vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Earl Cureton, 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13