Julius Erving vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving, 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 / 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.

Julius Erving played 11 years in the NBA, 2 less than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Julius Erving had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, 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
Julius Erving	11	11	1976-77 to 1986-87
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
	Julius Erving	Isiah Thomas
Season	1976-77	1981-82
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Julius Erving	82	35.9	21.6	2.3	6.1	8.5	3.7	1.9	1.4	-	3.1	8.4	16.7	.499	-	-	-	4.9	6.3	.777
difference:	+10	+2.1	+4.6	+1.5	+4.0	+5.6	+4.1	+0.2	+1.2		-0.4	+2.1	+1.9	+.075				+0.7	+0.3	+.073
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		%
Julius Erving	19	39.9	27.3	2.2	4.3	6.4	4.5	2.2	1.2	-	2.4	10.7	20.5	.523	-	-	-	5.8	7.1	.821
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Julius Erving	Isiah Thomas
Season	1977-78	1982-83
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Julius Erving	74	32.8	20.6	2.4	4.1	6.5	3.8	1.8	1.3	3.2	2.8	8.3	16.4	.502	-	-	-	4.1	4.9	.845
difference:	+7	+5.4	+2.3	+1.1	+1.3	+2.5	+4.0	+0.7	+0.9	-0.8	-1.1	+0.7	+2.6	+.030				+0.4	+1.5	+.135
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		%
Julius Erving	10	35.8	21.8	4.0	5.7	9.7	4.0	1.5	1.8	3.5	3.0	8.8	18.0	.489	-	-	-	4.2	5.6	.750
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Julius Erving	Isiah Thomas
Season	1978-79	1983-84
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Julius Erving	78	35.9	23.1	2.5	4.7	7.2	4.6	1.7	1.3	4.0	2.7	9.2	18.7	.491	-	-	-	4.8	6.4	.745
difference:	+4	+0.8	+1.8	+1.2	+2.0	+3.2	+6.5	+0.8	+0.9	-0.3	-1.3	+1.0	+1.0	+.029				+0.1	+0.1	+.012
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		%
Julius Erving	9	41.3	25.4	3.2	4.6	7.8	5.9	2.0	1.9	4.2	2.4	9.9	19.1	.517	-	-	-	5.7	7.4	.761
difference:	+4	+1.7	+4.0	+1.8	+2.2	+4.0	+5.1	+0.6	+0.7	-0.4	-2.0	+2.1	+2.5	+.047				+0.3	+0.4	+.010
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
	Julius Erving	Isiah Thomas
Season	1979-80	1984-85
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA 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		%
Julius Erving	78	36.1	26.9	2.8	4.6	7.4	4.6	2.2	1.8	3.6	2.7	10.7	20.7	.519	0.1	0.3	.200	5.4	6.8	.787
difference:	+3	+2.0	+5.7	+1.4	+1.6	+2.9	+9.3	+0.1	+1.5	-0.1	-0.9	+2.7	+3.3	+.061	+0.3	+1.1	+.057	+0.5	+0.7	+.022
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		%
Julius Erving	18	38.6	24.4	1.7	5.8	7.6	4.4	2.0	2.1	3.1	3.1	9.2	18.8	.488	0.1	0.5	.222	6.0	7.6	.794
difference:	+9	+0.8	+0.1	+0.5	+1.8	+2.4	+6.8	+0.1	+1.7	-0.2	-1.2		+0.4	+.012	+0.6	+1.2	+.178	+0.8	+0.7	+.036
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
	Julius Erving	Isiah Thomas
Season	1980-81	1985-86
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 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		%
Julius Erving	82	35.0	24.6	3.0	5.0	8.0	4.4	2.1	1.8	3.2	2.8	9.7	18.6	.521	0.0	0.2	.222	5.1	6.5	.787
difference:	+5	+1.2	+3.7	+1.9	+2.5	+4.4	+6.4	+0.1	+1.5	-0.6	-0.4	+1.8	+2.4	+.033	+0.3	+0.9	+.088	+0.4	+0.5	+.003
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		%
Julius Erving	16	37.0	22.9	3.3	3.9	7.1	3.4	1.4	2.6	3.4	3.4	8.9	18.8	.475	0.0	0.1	.000	5.1	6.7	.757
difference:	+12	+3.8	+3.6	+1.3	+0.4	+1.6	+8.6	+0.9	+1.8	-0.9	-0.9	+1.4	+4.0	+.024		+1.2		+0.9	+2.3	+.090
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
	Julius Erving	Isiah Thomas
Season	1981-82	1986-87
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Julius Erving	81	34.4	24.4	2.7	4.2	6.9	3.9	2.0	1.7	2.6	2.8	9.6	17.6	.546	0.0	0.1	.273	5.1	6.7	.763
difference:		+2.8	+3.8	+1.7	+1.3	+3.0	+6.1	+0.1	+1.5	-1.6	-0.3	+1.9	+0.9	+.083	+0.2	+1.1	+.079	+0.2	+0.3	+.005
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		%
Julius Erving	21	37.1	22.0	2.7	4.7	7.4	4.7	1.8	1.8	3.2	2.6	8.0	15.4	.519	0.0	0.3	.167	5.9	7.9	.752
difference:	+6	+0.4	+2.1	+1.3	+1.6	+2.9	+4.0	+0.8	+1.5	-0.4	-0.8	+0.9	+4.4	+.068	+0.7	+1.9	+.136	+0.4	+0.6	+.003
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
	Julius Erving	Isiah Thomas
Season	1982-83	1987-88
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
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		%
Julius Erving	72	33.6	21.4	2.4	4.4	6.8	3.7	1.6	1.8	2.7	2.8	8.4	16.3	.517	0.0	0.1	.286	4.6	6.0	.759
difference:	+9	+2.5	+1.9	+1.6	+1.8	+3.4	+4.7	+0.1	+1.6	-0.7	-0.1	+0.7	+0.3	+.054	+0.4	+1.1	+.023	+0.8	+1.1	+.015
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		%
Julius Erving	13	37.9	18.4	2.5	5.2	7.6	3.4	1.2	2.1	3.0	3.2	7.3	16.2	.450	0.0	0.1	.000	3.8	5.2	.721
difference:	+10	+1.7	+3.5	+1.4	+1.7	+2.9	+5.3	+1.7	+1.8	-0.7	-0.1	+0.7	+2.0	+.013	+0.6	+1.8	+.295	+1.6	+1.4	+.107
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
	Julius Erving	Isiah Thomas
Season	1983-84	1988-89
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Julius Erving	77	34.8	22.4	2.5	4.4	6.9	4.0	1.8	1.8	3.0	2.8	8.8	17.2	.512	0.1	0.3	.333	4.7	6.3	.754
difference:	+3	+1.8	+4.2	+1.9	+1.6	+3.5	+4.3	+0.1	+1.5	-0.7	-0.2	+1.7	+1.9	+.048	+0.3	+1.2	+.060	+1.1	+1.9	+.064
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		%
Julius Erving	5	38.8	18.2	1.8	4.6	6.4	5.0	1.6	1.2	4.2	2.8	7.2	15.2	.474	0.0	0.2	.000	3.8	4.4	.864
difference:	+12	+1.6		+0.4	+1.7	+2.1	+3.3		+1.0	-1.7	-0.5	+0.4	+1.2	+.062	+0.5	+1.6	+.267	+0.4	+1.2	+.124
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
	Julius Erving	Isiah Thomas
Season	1984-85	1989-90
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Julius Erving	78	32.5	20.0	2.2	3.1	5.3	3.0	1.7	1.4	2.7	2.6	7.8	15.8	.494	0.0	0.2	.214	4.3	5.7	.765
difference:	+3	+4.5	+1.6	+1.3	+0.2	+1.5	+6.4		+1.2	-1.3	-0.1	+0.7	+0.5	+.056	+0.5	+1.5	+.095	+0.7	+1.0	+.010
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		%
Julius Erving	13	33.4	17.1	2.2	3.4	5.6	3.7	1.9	0.8	2.8	2.6	6.5	14.4	.449	0.0	0.1	.000	4.2	4.8	.857
difference:	+7	+4.5	+3.4	+1.1	+1.0	+0.1	+4.5	+0.3	+0.4	-0.8	-0.7	+0.9	+1.6	+.014	+1.6	+3.3	+.471	+0.1	+0.3	+.063
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
	Julius Erving	Isiah Thomas
Season	1985-86	1990-91
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Julius Erving	74	33.4	18.1	2.3	2.7	5.0	3.4	1.5	1.1	2.9	2.6	7.0	14.7	.480	0.1	0.4	.281	3.9	5.0	.785
difference:	+26	+1.1	+1.9	+1.6	+0.1	+1.7	+5.9	+0.1	+0.9	-1.0	-0.1	+1.0	+0.8	+.045	+0.3	+1.0	+.011	+0.2	+0.2	+.003
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		%
Julius Erving	12	36.1	17.7	2.2	3.7	5.8	4.2	0.9	1.3	3.3	2.7	6.8	15.0	.450	0.2	0.9	.182	4.0	5.4	.738
difference:	+1	+2.6	+4.2	+1.2	+0.5	+1.6	+4.3	+0.1	+1.1	-0.1	-0.5	+2.2	+3.5	+.047	+0.3	+0.8	+.091	+0.2	+0.1	+.013
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
	Julius Erving	Isiah Thomas
Season	1986-87	1991-92
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Julius Erving	60	32.0	16.8	1.9	2.5	4.4	3.2	1.3	1.6	2.6	2.3	6.7	14.2	.471	0.2	0.9	.264	3.2	3.9	.813
difference:	+18	+5.4	+1.7	+1.0	+0.2	+1.2	+4.0	+0.2	+1.4	-0.6	-0.2	+0.5	+2.0	+.025	+0.1	+0.2	+.027	+0.5	+0.9	+.041
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		%
Julius Erving	5	36.0	18.2	2.8	2.2	5.0	3.4	1.4	1.2	1.8	3.8	6.8	16.4	.415	0.4	1.2	.333	4.2	5.0	.840
difference:		+4.0	+4.2	+2.2	+2.4	+0.2	+4.0	+0.4	+1.2	-1.4	-0.2	+2.4	+3.4	+.077	+0.4	+1.0	+.031	+0.2	+0.6	+.054
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 Julius Erving 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 Julius Erving, Isiah Thomas got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Star Game

Julius Erving vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving, 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