Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 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.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 20 years in the NBA, 7 more than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the first of his seasons in 1969-70, 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
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 20 18 1969-70 to 1988-89
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

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1969-701981-82
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Div FinalsDid 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%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 43.1 28.8 - - 14.5 4.1 - - - 3.5 11.4 22.1 .518 - - - 5.9 9.1 .653
difference:+10+9.3+11.8+11.6+3.7+5.1+7.3+.094+1.7+3.1+.051
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 10 43.5 35.2 - - 16.8 4.1 - - - 2.5 13.9 24.5 .567 - - - 7.4 10.1 .733
Isiah Thomas DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1970-711982-83
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid 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%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 40.1 31.7 - - 16.0 3.3 - - - 3.2 13.0 22.5 .577 - - - 5.7 8.3 .690
difference:+1+1.9+8.8+12.0+4.5-0.7+4.0+3.5+.105+1.2+1.9+.020
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14 41.2 26.6 - - 17.0 2.5 - - - 3.2 10.9 21.1 .515 - - - 4.9 7.2 .673
Isiah Thomas DNP------ --- ----------

Season 3

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1971-721983-84
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf FinalsPistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 81 44.2 34.8 - - 16.6 4.6 - - - 2.9 14.3 24.9 .574 - - - 6.2 9.0 .689
difference:+1+7.5+13.5+12.6+6.5-1.1+6.1+7.2+.112+1.5+2.5+.044
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11 46.4 28.7 - - 18.2 5.1 - - - 3.2 12.6 28.9 .437 - - - 3.5 4.9 .704
difference:+6+6.8+7.3+14.4+5.9-1.2+4.8+12.3+.033+1.9+2.1+.067
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

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1972-731984-85
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Assists Leader
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf SemisPistons Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 76 42.8 30.2 - - 16.1 5.0 - - - 2.7 12.9 23.3 .554 - - - 4.3 6.1 .713
difference:+5+4.7+9.0+11.6+8.9-0.9+4.9+5.9+.096+0.6+.096
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 6 46.0 22.8 - - 16.2 2.8 - - - 4.3 9.8 23.0 .428 - - - 3.2 5.8 .543
difference:+3+6.6+1.5+11.0+8.4+0.6+4.6+.072+2.0+1.1+.215
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

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1973-741985-86
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs Bucks Lost NBA FinalsPistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 81 43.8 27.0 3.5 11.0 14.5 4.8 1.4 3.5 - 2.9 11.7 21.7 .539 - - - 3.6 5.2 .702
difference:+4+7.6+6.1+2.4+8.5+10.9+6.0+0.8+3.2-0.3+3.8+5.5+.051+1.1+0.8+.088
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 16 47.4 32.2 4.2 11.6 15.8 4.9 1.3 2.4 - 2.6 14.0 25.1 .557 - - - 4.2 5.7 .736
difference:+12+6.6+5.7+2.2+8.1+10.3+7.1+1.0+1.6-1.7+3.7+2.3+.106+1.8+3.3+.069
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

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1974-751986-87
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayPistons Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 65 42.3 30.0 3.0 11.0 14.0 4.1 1.0 3.3 - 3.2 12.5 24.4 .513 - - - 5.0 6.6 .763
difference:+16+5.1+9.4+2.0+8.1+10.1+5.9+0.9+3.1-0.1+4.8+7.7+.050+0.1+0.2+.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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
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

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1975-761987-88
Team Los Angeles LakersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayPistons Lost NBA Finals
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 41.2 27.7 3.3 13.5 16.9 5.0 1.5 4.1 - 3.6 11.1 21.1 .529 - - - 5.5 7.8 .703
difference:+1+5.1+8.2+2.5+10.9+13.5+3.4+0.2+3.9-0.9+3.4+4.5+.066+1.7+2.9+.071
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
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

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1976-771988-89
Team Los Angeles LakersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 36.8 26.2 3.2 10.0 13.3 3.9 1.2 3.2 - 3.2 10.8 18.7 .579 - - - 4.6 6.5 .701
difference:+2+0.2+8.0+2.6+7.2+9.9+4.4+0.5+2.9-0.6+3.7+3.4+.115+1.0+2.1+.117
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11 42.5 34.6 4.6 13.1 17.7 4.1 1.7 3.5 - 3.8 13.4 22.0 .607 - - - 7.9 10.9 .725
difference:+6+5.3+16.4+3.2+10.2+13.4+4.2+0.1+3.3-1.5+6.6+5.6+.195+3.7+5.3+.015
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

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1977-781989-90
Team Los Angeles LakersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards -Achievement Finals MVP
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf 1st RdNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 62 36.5 25.8 3.0 9.9 12.9 4.3 1.7 3.0 3.4 2.9 10.7 19.4 .550 - - - 4.4 5.6 .783
difference:+19+0.5+7.4+2.1+7.0+9.1+5.1+2.8-0.6-0.4+3.6+3.1+.112+0.8+0.9+.008
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3 44.7 27.0 4.7 9.0 13.7 3.7 0.7 4.0 4.7 4.7 12.7 24.3 .521 - - - 1.7 3.0 .556
difference:+17+6.8+6.5+3.6+4.6+8.2+4.5+1.5+3.6-1.1-1.4+5.3+8.3+.058+2.4+2.1+.238
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

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1978-791990-91
Team Los Angeles LakersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf SemisPistons Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 80 39.5 23.8 2.6 10.2 12.8 5.4 1.0 4.0 3.5 2.9 9.7 16.8 .577 - - - 4.4 5.9 .736
difference:+32+5.0+7.6+1.9+7.6+9.5+3.9+0.6+3.8-0.4-0.4+3.7+2.9+.142+0.7+1.1+.046
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 8 45.9 28.5 2.3 10.4 12.6 4.8 1.0 4.1 3.6 3.3 11.0 19.0 .579 - - - 6.5 7.8 .839
difference:+5+12.4+15.0+1.3+7.2+8.4+3.7+3.9-0.4-0.1+6.4+7.5+.176+2.7+2.5+.114
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

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1979-801991-92
Team Los Angeles LakersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionPistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 38.3 24.8 2.3 8.5 10.8 4.5 1.0 3.4 3.6 2.6 10.2 16.9 .604 0.0 0.0 - 4.4 5.8 .765
difference:+4+0.9+6.3+1.4+6.2+7.6+2.7+0.5+3.2-0.4-0.1+3.0+0.7+.158+0.3+1.1+0.7+1.0+.007
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 41.2 31.9 3.4 8.7 12.1 3.1 1.1 3.9 3.7 3.4 13.2 23.1 .572 0.0 0.0 - 5.5 7.0 .790
difference:+10+1.2+17.9+2.8+4.1+6.9+4.3+0.1+3.9-0.5-0.2+8.8+10.1+.234+0.8+2.2+1.1+1.4+.004
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

Season 12

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1980-811992-93
Team Los Angeles LakersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 80 37.2 26.2 2.5 7.8 10.3 3.4 0.7 2.9 3.1 3.1 10.5 18.2 .574 0.0 0.0 - 5.3 6.9 .766
difference:+1+0.2+8.6+1.6+5.8+7.4+5.1+0.9+2.7-0.5-0.3+3.8+2.3+.156+0.8+2.5+1.8+2.1+.029
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3 44.7 26.7 4.3 12.3 16.7 4.0 1.0 2.7 3.7 4.7 10.0 21.7 .462 0.0 0.0 - 6.7 9.3 .714
Isiah Thomas DNP------ --- ----------

Season 13

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Isiah Thomas
Season 1981-821993-94
Team Los Angeles LakersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 76 35.2 23.9 2.3 6.4 8.7 3.0 0.8 2.7 3.0 2.9 9.9 17.1 .579 0.0 0.0 - 4.1 5.8 .706
difference:+18+5.0+9.1+1.5+4.5+6.0+3.9+0.4+2.6-0.5-0.7+4.4+3.9+.162+0.7+2.2+1.0+1.4+.004
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14 35.2 20.4 2.4 6.1 8.5 3.6 1.0 3.2 2.9 3.2 8.2 15.8 .520 0.0 0.0 - 3.9 6.2 .632
Isiah Thomas DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 7 seasons more than Isiah Thomas in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 14 to 20, from 1983 to 1989—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in 7 Playoffs and won 3 NBA Championships.

In those 7 extra years over Isiah Thomas, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 2 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 2 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 1 All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement 7 All-Star Game