Karl Malone vs. Isaiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isaiah Thomas and Karl Malone, 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 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.

Karl Malone played 19 years in the NBA, 7 more than Isaiah Thomas, who played 12. Karl Malone had the first of his seasons in 1985-86, while Isaiah Thomas had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
Karl Malone	19	19	1985-86 to 2003-04
Isaiah Thomas	12	4	2011-12 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12


Rookie Season
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1985-86	2011-12
Team	Utah Jazz	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Karl Malone	81	30.6	14.9	2.1	6.7	8.9	2.9	1.3	0.5	3.4	3.6	6.2	12.5	.496	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	5.0	.481
difference:	+16	+5.1	+3.4	+1.4	+4.9	+6.3	+1.2	+0.5	+0.4	-1.8	-1.7	+2.3	+3.7	+.048	+1.3	+3.4			+2.2	+.351
Isaiah Thomas	65	25.5	11.5	0.7	1.8	2.6	4.1	0.8	0.1	1.6	1.9	3.9	8.8	.448	1.3	3.4	.379	2.4	2.8	.832

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	4	36.0	21.8	1.5	6.0	7.5	1.0	2.0	0.0	1.5	4.5	9.5	18.0	.528	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	6.5	.423
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1986-87	2012-13
Team	Utah Jazz	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Karl Malone	82	34.8	21.7	3.4	7.0	10.4	1.9	1.3	0.7	2.9	3.9	8.9	17.3	.512	0.0	0.1	.000	3.9	6.6	.598
difference:	+3	+7.9	+7.8	+3.0	+5.3	+8.4	+2.1	+0.5	+0.7	-1.1	-1.8	+4.3	+6.8	+.072	+1.5	+4.0	+.358	+0.7	+3.0	+.284
Isaiah Thomas	79	26.9	13.9	0.4	1.7	2.0	4.0	0.8	0.0	1.8	2.1	4.6	10.5	.440	1.5	4.1	.358	3.2	3.6	.882

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	5	40.0	20.0	3.0	6.6	9.6	1.2	2.2	0.8	3.4	4.0	7.4	17.6	.420	0.0	0.0	-	5.2	7.2	.722
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1987-88	2013-14
Team	Utah Jazz	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Karl Malone	82	39.0	27.7	3.4	8.6	12.0	2.4	1.4	0.6	4.0	3.6	10.5	20.1	.520	0.0	0.1	.000	6.7	9.6	.700
difference:	+10	+4.3	+7.4	+2.7	+6.3	+9.1	+3.9	+0.1	+0.5	-1.0	-1.0	+3.6	+4.9	+.067	+1.8	+5.0	+.349	+1.9	+3.9	+.150
Isaiah Thomas	72	34.7	20.3	0.7	2.3	2.9	6.3	1.3	0.1	3.0	2.6	6.9	15.2	.453	1.8	5.1	.349	4.8	5.7	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	11	44.9	29.7	3.0	8.8	11.8	1.5	1.2	0.6	3.5	3.2	11.2	23.2	.482	0.0	0.1	.000	7.4	10.2	.723
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1988-89	2014-15
Team	Utah Jazz	Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Karl Malone	80	39.1	29.1	3.2	7.4	10.7	2.7	1.8	0.9	3.6	3.6	10.1	19.5	.519	0.1	0.2	.313	8.8	11.5	.766
difference:	+13	+13.3	+12.7	+2.7	+5.6	+8.4	+1.5	+0.9	+0.8	-1.5	-1.4	+5.1	+7.6	+.099	+1.8	+5.0	+.060	+4.3	+6.3	+.102
Isaiah Thomas	67	25.8	16.4	0.5	1.8	2.3	4.2	0.9	0.1	2.1	2.2	5.0	11.9	.420	1.9	5.2	.373	4.5	5.2	.868

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	3	45.3	30.7	7.3	9.0	16.3	1.3	1.0	0.3	4.3	5.3	11.0	22.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	8.7	10.7	.813
difference:	+1	+15.5	+13.2	+7.0	+6.2	+13.3	+5.7	+0.2	+0.3	-0.8	-2.8	+6.5	+8.5	+.167	+0.8	+4.5		+0.9	+2.7	+.156
Isaiah Thomas	4	29.8	17.5	0.3	2.8	3.0	7.0	0.8	0.0	3.5	2.5	4.5	13.5	.333	0.8	4.5	.167	7.8	8.0	.969


Season 5
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1989-90	2015-16
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics 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		%
Karl Malone	82	38.1	31.0	2.8	8.3	11.1	2.8	1.5	0.6	3.7	3.2	11.1	19.8	.562	0.2	0.5	.372	8.5	11.1	.762
difference:		+5.9	+8.8	+2.2	+5.9	+8.1	+3.4	+0.4	+0.5	-1.0	-1.2	+3.9	+2.9	+.134	+1.8	+5.2	+.013	+2.7	+4.5	+.109
Isaiah Thomas	82	32.2	22.2	0.6	2.4	3.0	6.2	1.1	0.1	2.7	2.0	7.2	16.9	.428	2.0	5.7	.359	5.8	6.6	.871

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	5	40.6	25.2	3.2	7.0	10.2	2.2	2.2	1.0	2.4	4.4	9.2	21.0	.438	0.0	0.2	.000	6.8	9.0	.756
difference:	+1	+3.9	+1.0	+2.9	+4.3	+7.2	+2.8	+1.5	+0.2	-0.1	-1.4	+1.4	+1.2	+.043	+2.2	+7.5	+.283	+0.5	+1.2	+.053
Isaiah Thomas	6	36.7	24.2	0.3	2.7	3.0	5.0	0.7	0.8	2.3	3.0	7.8	19.8	.395	2.2	7.7	.283	6.3	7.8	.809


Season 6
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1990-91	2016-17
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics 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		%
Karl Malone	82	40.3	29.0	2.9	8.9	11.8	3.3	1.1	1.0	3.0	3.3	10.3	19.6	.527	0.0	0.2	.286	8.3	10.8	.770
difference:	+6	+6.5	+0.1	+2.3	+6.8	+9.1	+2.6	+0.2	+0.8	-0.2	-1.1	+1.3	+0.2	+.064	+3.2	+8.3	+.093	+0.5	+2.3	+.139
Isaiah Thomas	76	33.8	28.9	0.6	2.1	2.7	5.9	0.9	0.2	2.8	2.2	9.0	19.4	.463	3.2	8.5	.379	7.8	8.5	.909

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	9	42.6	29.7	2.6	10.8	13.3	3.2	1.0	1.2	2.9	3.9	10.6	23.2	.455	0.0	0.9	.000	8.6	10.1	.846
difference:	+6	+7.9	+6.4	+2.3	+8.0	+10.2	+3.5	+0.1	+1.1	-0.4	-1.6	+3.2	+5.8	+.030	+2.4	+6.3	+.333	+2.5	+2.7	+.026
Isaiah Thomas	15	34.7	23.3	0.3	2.8	3.1	6.7	0.9	0.1	3.3	2.3	7.4	17.4	.425	2.4	7.2	.333	6.1	7.4	.820


Season 7
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1991-92	2017-18
Team	Utah Jazz	Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Karl Malone	81	37.7	28.0	2.8	8.4	11.2	3.0	1.3	0.6	3.1	2.8	9.9	18.7	.526	0.0	0.2	.176	8.3	10.7	.778
difference:	+49	+10.8	+12.8	+2.3	+6.8	+9.1	+1.8	+0.8	+0.5	-0.1	-1.0	+5.0	+5.5	+.153	+1.7	+5.7	+.117	+4.6	+6.6	+.115
Isaiah Thomas	32	26.9	15.2	0.5	1.6	2.1	4.8	0.5	0.1	3.0	1.8	4.9	13.2	.373	1.7	5.9	.293	3.7	4.1	.893

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	16	43.0	29.1	2.7	8.6	11.3	2.6	1.4	1.2	2.9	3.6	9.3	17.8	.521	0.0	0.1	.000	10.6	13.1	.805
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1992-93	2018-19
Team	Utah Jazz	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Karl Malone	82	37.8	27.0	2.8	8.4	11.2	3.8	1.5	1.0	2.9	3.2	9.7	17.6	.552	0.0	0.2	.200	7.5	10.2	.740
difference:	+70	+22.7	+18.9	+2.4	+7.7	+10.1	+1.9	+1.1	+0.9	-1.4	-1.8	+6.9	+9.3	+.209	+1.0	+3.4	+.079	+6.1	+7.9	+.110
Isaiah Thomas	12	15.1	8.1	0.4	0.7	1.1	1.9	0.4	0.1	1.5	1.4	2.8	8.3	.343	1.0	3.6	.279	1.4	2.3	.630

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	5	43.2	24.0	2.4	8.0	10.4	2.0	1.2	0.4	4.0	4.2	8.8	19.4	.454	0.2	0.4	.500	6.2	7.6	.816
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1993-94	2019-20
Team	Utah Jazz	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Karl Malone	82	40.6	25.2	2.9	8.6	11.5	4.0	1.5	1.5	2.9	3.3	9.4	18.9	.497	0.1	0.4	.250	6.2	9.0	.694
difference:	+42	+17.5	+13.0	+2.6	+7.2	+9.8	+0.3	+1.2	+1.3	-1.0	-1.4	+5.0	+8.2	+.089	+1.9	+4.3	+.163	+4.6	+7.1	+.122
Isaiah Thomas	40	23.1	12.2	0.3	1.4	1.7	3.7	0.3	0.2	1.9	1.9	4.4	10.7	.408	2.0	4.7	.413	1.6	1.9	.816

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	16	43.9	27.1	3.3	9.1	12.4	3.4	1.4	0.8	2.1	3.7	9.9	21.1	.467	0.0	0.3	.000	7.4	10.0	.738
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1994-95	2020-21
Team	Utah Jazz	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Karl Malone	82	38.1	26.7	1.9	8.7	10.6	3.5	1.6	1.0	2.9	3.3	10.1	18.9	.536	0.1	0.5	.268	6.3	8.5	.742
difference:	+79	+22.1	+19.0	+1.6	+7.7	+9.3	+1.8	+1.3	+1.0	-0.9	-2.3	+7.1	+9.9	+.203	+0.9	+3.5	+.018	+5.6	+7.8	+.258
Isaiah Thomas	3	16.0	7.7	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.7	0.3	0.0	2.0	1.0	3.0	9.0	.333	1.0	4.0	.250	0.7	0.7	1.000

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	5	43.2	30.2	3.0	10.2	13.2	3.8	1.4	0.4	2.8	3.6	9.6	20.6	.466	0.2	0.6	.333	10.8	15.6	.692
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1995-96	2021-22
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Karl Malone	82	38.0	25.7	2.1	7.7	9.8	4.2	1.7	0.7	2.4	3.0	9.6	18.5	.519	0.2	0.5	.400	6.2	8.6	.723
difference:	+60	+22.8	+17.3	+1.9	+6.6	+8.5	+2.7	+1.4	+0.5	-1.7	-1.5	+6.6	+10.9	+.118	+1.1	+3.3	+.063	+5.2	+7.4	+.123
Isaiah Thomas	22	15.2	8.4	0.2	1.1	1.3	1.5	0.3	0.2	0.7	1.5	3.0	7.6	.401	1.3	3.8	.337	1.0	1.2	.846

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	18	40.3	26.5	2.6	7.7	10.3	4.4	1.9	0.6	2.5	3.4	10.4	22.3	.469	0.0	0.2	.000	5.6	9.8	.574
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Isaiah Thomas didn't play in 2022-23.


Season 12
	Karl Malone	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1996-97	2023-24
Team	Utah Jazz	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost NBA Finals	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	82	36.6	27.4	2.4	7.5	9.9	4.5	1.4	0.6	2.8	2.6	10.5	19.2	.550	0.0	0.2	.000	6.4	8.4	.755
difference:	+76	+33.4	+26.1	+2.4	+7.5	+9.9	+4.0	+1.4	+0.6	-2.8	-2.6	+10.0	+17.5	+.250	+0.3	+0.5	+.500	+6.4	+8.4
Isaiah Thomas	6	3.2	1.3	0.0	0.0	0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.7	.300	0.3	0.7	.500	0.0	0.0	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	20	40.8	26.0	3.0	8.4	11.4	2.9	1.4	0.8	2.7	3.0	9.4	21.5	.435	0.1	0.1	.500	7.2	10.0	.720
difference:	+19	+36.8	+26.0	+3.0	+8.4	+11.4	+2.9	+1.4	+0.8	-1.7	-3.0	+9.4	+19.5	+.435	+0.1	+0.9	+.500	+7.2	+10.0
Isaiah Thomas	1	4.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	.000	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-


Additional Years
* Karl Malone played 7 seasons more than Isaiah Thomas in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 19, from 1998 to 2004—Karl Malone played in 7 Playoffs. In those 7 extra years over Isaiah Thomas, Karl Malone got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Season MVP 2 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive First Team 4 All-Star Game

Karl Malone vs. Isaiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isaiah Thomas and Karl Malone, 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

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years