Isiah Thomas vs. Tom Van Arsdale Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tom Van Arsdale and Isiah Thomas, 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.

Isiah Thomas played 13 years in the NBA, 1 more than Tom Van Arsdale, who played 12. Isiah Thomas had the first of his seasons in 1981-82, while Tom Van Arsdale had his rookie season in 1965-66. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13
Rookie Season
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1981-82	1965-66
Team	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	79	25.8	10.5	-	-	3.9	2.6	-	-	-	3.2	3.9	10.6	.374	-	-	-	2.6	3.7	.721
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1982-83	1966-67
Team	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	79	27.0	12.2	-	-	4.3	2.4	-	-	-	3.1	4.4	11.2	.391	-	-	-	3.4	4.4	.784
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1983-84	1967-68
Team	Detroit Pistons	Detroit Pistons, Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	77	19.7	7.9	-	-	2.9	2.0	-	-	-	2.6	2.7	7.1	.387	-	-	-	2.4	3.3	.746
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1984-85	1968-69
Team	Detroit Pistons	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	77	39.7	19.4	-	-	4.6	2.7	-	-	-	3.9	7.1	16.0	.444	-	-	-	5.2	6.9	.747
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1985-86	1969-70
Team	Detroit Pistons	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	71	35.8	22.8	-	-	6.5	2.2	-	-	-	3.5	8.7	19.4	.451	-	-	-	5.4	6.9	.774
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1986-87	1970-71
Team	Detroit Pistons	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons 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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	82	38.4	22.9	-	-	6.1	2.2	-	-	-	3.6	9.1	20.0	.456	-	-	-	4.6	6.4	.721
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1987-88	1971-72
Team	Detroit Pistons	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons 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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	73	35.6	19.2	-	-	4.8	2.7	-	-	-	3.3	7.5	16.5	.456	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	.755
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1988-89	1972-73
Team	Detroit Pistons	Kansas City-Omaha Kings, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	79	29.3	14.4	-	-	4.5	1.9	-	-	-	2.8	5.6	13.2	.427	-	-	-	3.2	3.9	.812
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1989-90	1973-74
Team	Detroit Pistons	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	78	39.0	19.6	1.1	3.9	5.0	2.6	0.8	0.0	-	3.8	7.9	18.4	.428	-	-	-	3.8	4.5	.851
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1990-91	1974-75
Team	Detroit Pistons	Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons 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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	82	34.7	18.4	0.9	2.5	3.4	2.7	1.1	0.0	-	3.1	7.2	16.9	.428	-	-	-	3.9	5.2	.759
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1991-92	1975-76
Team	Detroit Pistons	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	75	27.0	10.9	0.5	2.0	2.5	1.9	0.8	0.1	-	2.7	4.6	10.5	.441	-	-	-	1.7	2.2	.759
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Isiah Thomas	Tom Van Arsdale
Season	1992-93	1976-77
Team	Detroit Pistons	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
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
Tom Van Arsdale	77	18.5	5.8	0.6	1.8	2.4	0.9	0.3	0.0	-	2.1	2.2	5.1	.433	-	-	-	1.3	1.9	.703
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tom Van Arsdale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-