Isiah Thomas vs. Zion Williamson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Zion Williamson 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats / Stats Rankings

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, 7 more than Zion Williamson, who played 6. Isiah Thomas had the first of his seasons in 1981-82, while Zion Williamson had his rookie season in 2019-20. 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
Isiah Thomas 13 9 1981-82 to 1993-94
Zion Williamson 6 0 2019-20 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6

Rookie Season
Isiah Thomas Zion Williamson
Season 1981-822019-20
Team Detroit PistonsNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+48+6.0+5.5+1.9+1.5+3.4+5.7+1.4+0.2-1.7-1.7+2.5+0.2+.159+0.1+0.2+.141+0.6+1.4+.064
Zion Williamson 24 27.8 22.5 2.7 3.6 6.3 2.1 0.7 0.4 2.5 1.8 8.8 15.0 .583 0.3 0.6 .429 4.8 7.4 .640
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Isiah Thomas nor Zion Williamson played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
Isiah Thomas Zion Williamson
Season 1982-832020-21
Team Detroit PistonsNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+20+5.0+4.1+1.4+1.7+3.2+4.1+1.6+0.2-1.3-1.7+1.4+2.0+.139+0.2+0.9+.006+1.5+2.3+.012
Zion Williamson 61 33.2 27.0 2.7 4.5 7.2 3.7 0.9 0.6 2.7 2.2 10.4 17.0 .611 0.2 0.6 .294 6.0 8.7 .698
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Isiah Thomas nor Zion Williamson played in the postseason in their season 2

Note: Zion Williamson didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 3
Isiah Thomas Zion Williamson
Season 1983-842022-23
Team Detroit PistonsNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Pistons Lost East Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+53+3.7+4.7+0.7+2.3+3.0+6.5+1.4+0.2-0.3-1.8+1.6+1.5+.146+0.1+0.1+.030+1.4+2.1+.019
Zion Williamson 29 33.0 26.0 2.0 5.0 7.0 4.6 1.1 0.6 3.4 2.2 9.8 16.2 .608 0.2 0.7 .368 6.1 8.6 .714
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4
Isiah Thomas Zion Williamson
Season 1984-852023-24
Team Detroit PistonsNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Pistons Lost East Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+11+6.6+1.7+0.3+1.1+1.3+8.9+1.2+0.4-0.9-1.3+0.9+1.8+.112+0.3+1.1+.076+0.1+1.0+.107
Zion Williamson 70 31.5 22.9 1.7 4.1 5.8 5.0 1.1 0.7 2.8 2.3 8.9 15.6 .570 0.1 0.3 .333 5.0 7.1 .702
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5
Isiah Thomas Zion Williamson
Season 1985-862024-25
Team Detroit PistonsNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Pistons Lost East Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+47+7.6+3.7+1.4+2.2+3.6+5.5+1.0+0.6-0.8-0.5+1.7+0.7+.079+0.2+0.7+.079+0.6+2.0+.134
Zion Williamson 30 28.6 24.6 2.5 4.7 7.2 5.3 1.2 0.9 3.0 2.7 9.6 16.9 .567 0.1 0.4 .231 5.3 8.0 .656
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 6
Isiah Thomas Zion Williamson
Season 1986-872025-26
Team Detroit PistonsNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Pistons Lost East Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+77+4.9+2.9+2.3+0.1+2.4+5.7+0.4+0.1-0.9-0.8+0.1+0.7+.021+0.2+1.2+3.1+4.9+.057
Zion Williamson 4 32.3 23.5 3.3 3.0 6.3 4.3 2.3 0.3 3.3 2.3 7.8 16.0 .484 0.0 0.0 - 8.0 11.3 .711
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Isiah Thomas played 7 seasons more than Zion Williamson in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 7 to 13, from 1988 to 1994—Isiah Thomas played in 5 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships.

In those 7 extra years over Zion Williamson, Isiah Thomas got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 6 All-Star Game
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