Kevin Garnett vs. Isaiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isaiah Thomas and Kevin Garnett, 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.

Kevin Garnett played 21 years in the NBA, 9 more than Isaiah Thomas, who played 12. Kevin Garnett had the first of his seasons in 1995-96, 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.

Rookie Season
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1995-96	2011-12
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Did not play	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		%
Kevin Garnett	80	28.7	10.4	2.2	4.1	6.3	1.8	1.1	1.6	1.4	2.4	4.5	9.2	.491	0.1	0.4	.286	1.3	1.9	.705
difference:	+15	+3.2	+1.1	+1.5	+2.3	+3.7	+2.3	+0.3	+1.5	-0.2	-0.5	+0.6	+0.4	+.043	+1.2	+3.0	+.093	+1.1	+0.9	+.127
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
* Neiher Kevin Garnett nor Isaiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1996-97	2012-13
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Timberwolves 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		%
Kevin Garnett	77	38.9	17.0	2.5	5.6	8.0	3.1	1.4	2.1	2.3	2.6	7.1	14.3	.499	0.1	0.3	.286	2.7	3.5	.754
difference:	+2	+12.0	+3.1	+2.1	+3.9	+6.0	+0.9	+0.6	+2.1	-0.5	-0.5	+2.5	+3.8	+.059	+1.4	+3.8	+.072	+0.5	+0.1	+.128
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		%
Kevin Garnett	3	41.7	17.3	4.7	4.7	9.3	3.7	1.3	1.0	1.3	2.0	8.0	17.0	.471	0.3	0.3	1.000	1.0	1.0	1.000
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1997-98	2013-14
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kevin Garnett	82	39.3	18.5	2.7	6.9	9.6	4.2	1.7	1.8	2.3	2.7	7.7	15.8	.491	0.0	0.2	.188	3.0	4.0	.738
difference:	+10	+4.6	+1.8	+2.0	+4.6	+6.7	+2.1	+0.4	+1.7	-0.7	-0.1	+0.8	+0.6	+.038	+1.8	+4.9	+.161	+1.8	+1.7	+.112
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		%
Kevin Garnett	5	38.6	15.8	3.4	6.2	9.6	4.0	0.8	2.4	4.4	3.4	7.2	15.0	.480	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	1.8	.778
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1998-99	2014-15
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Playoffs	Timberwolves 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		%
Kevin Garnett	47	37.9	20.8	3.5	6.9	10.4	4.3	1.7	1.8	2.9	3.2	8.8	19.1	.460	0.1	0.3	.286	3.1	4.4	.704
difference:	+20	+12.1	+4.4	+3.0	+5.1	+8.1	+0.1	+0.8	+1.7	-0.8	-1.0	+3.8	+7.2	+.040	+1.8	+4.9	+.087	+1.4	+0.8	+.164
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		%
Kevin Garnett	4	42.5	21.8	4.0	8.0	12.0	3.8	1.8	2.0	3.3	2.5	8.8	19.8	.443	0.0	0.5	.000	4.3	5.8	.739
difference:		+12.7	+4.3	+3.7	+5.2	+9.0	+3.2	+1.0	+2.0	-0.2		+4.3	+6.3	+.110	+0.8	+4.0	+.167	+3.5	+2.2	+.230
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
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1999-00	2015-16
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves 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		%
Kevin Garnett	81	40.0	22.9	2.8	9.0	11.8	5.0	1.5	1.6	3.3	2.5	9.4	18.8	.497	0.4	1.0	.370	3.8	5.0	.765
difference:	+1	+7.8	+0.7	+2.2	+6.6	+8.8	+1.2	+0.4	+1.5	-0.6	-0.5	+2.2	+1.9	+.069	+1.6	+4.7	+.011	+2.0	+1.6	+.106
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		%
Kevin Garnett	4	42.5	18.8	3.3	7.5	10.8	8.8	1.3	0.8	2.8	3.0	7.5	19.5	.385	0.5	0.8	.667	3.3	4.0	.813
difference:	+2	+5.8	+5.4	+3.0	+4.8	+7.8	+3.8	+0.6		-0.5		+0.3	+0.3	+.010	+1.7	+6.9	+.384	+3.0	+3.8	+.004
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
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2000-01	2016-17
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kevin Garnett	81	39.5	22.0	2.7	8.7	11.4	5.0	1.4	1.8	2.8	2.5	8.7	18.2	.477	0.2	0.8	.288	4.4	5.8	.764
difference:	+5	+5.7	+6.9	+2.1	+6.6	+8.7	+0.9	+0.5	+1.6		-0.3	+0.3	+1.2	+.014	+3.0	+7.7	+.091	+3.4	+2.7	+.145
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		%
Kevin Garnett	4	41.3	21.0	2.5	9.5	12.0	4.3	1.0	1.5	1.5	3.3	6.8	14.5	.466	0.0	0.8	.000	7.5	9.0	.833
difference:	+11	+6.6	+2.3	+2.2	+6.7	+8.9	+2.4	+0.1	+1.4	-1.8	-1.0	+0.6	+2.9	+.041	+2.4	+6.4	+.333	+1.4	+1.6	+.013
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
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2001-02	2017-18
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kevin Garnett	81	39.2	21.2	3.0	9.1	12.1	5.2	1.2	1.6	2.8	2.3	8.1	17.3	.470	0.5	1.4	.319	4.4	5.5	.801
difference:	+49	+12.3	+6.0	+2.5	+7.5	+10.0	+0.4	+0.7	+1.5	-0.2	-0.5	+3.2	+4.1	+.097	+1.2	+4.5	+.026	+0.7	+1.4	+.092
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		%
Kevin Garnett	3	43.3	24.0	5.3	13.3	18.7	5.0	1.7	1.7	4.0	3.7	8.0	18.7	.429	0.3	0.7	.500	7.7	10.7	.719
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2002-03	2018-19
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Timberwolves 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		%
Kevin Garnett	82	40.5	23.0	3.0	10.5	13.4	6.0	1.4	1.6	2.8	2.4	9.1	18.1	.502	0.2	0.9	.282	4.6	6.1	.751
difference:	+70	+25.4	+14.9	+2.6	+9.8	+12.3	+4.1	+1.0	+1.5	-1.3	-1.0	+6.3	+9.8	+.159	+0.8	+2.7	+.003	+3.2	+3.8	+.121
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		%
Kevin Garnett	6	44.0	27.0	1.8	13.8	15.7	5.2	1.7	1.7	3.0	3.8	11.8	23.0	.514	0.5	1.5	.333	2.8	4.7	.607
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2003-04	2019-20
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Timberwolves 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		%
Kevin Garnett	82	39.4	24.2	3.0	10.9	13.9	5.0	1.5	2.2	2.6	2.5	9.8	19.6	.499	0.1	0.5	.256	4.5	5.7	.791
difference:	+42	+16.3	+12.0	+2.7	+9.5	+12.2	+1.3	+1.2	+2.0	-0.7	-0.6	+5.4	+8.9	+.091	+1.9	+4.2	+.157	+2.9	+3.8	+.025
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		%
Kevin Garnett	18	43.5	24.3	2.2	12.4	14.6	5.1	1.3	2.3	4.2	3.2	9.3	20.7	.452	0.3	0.9	.313	5.4	6.9	.776
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2004-05	2020-21
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did not play	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		%
Kevin Garnett	82	38.1	22.2	3.0	10.5	13.5	5.7	1.5	1.4	2.7	2.5	8.3	16.6	.502	0.1	0.3	.240	5.4	6.7	.811
difference:	+79	+22.1	+14.5	+2.7	+9.5	+12.2	+4.0	+1.2	+1.4	-0.7	-1.5	+5.3	+7.6	+.169	+0.9	+3.7	+.010	+4.7	+6.0	+.189
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
* Neiher Kevin Garnett nor Isaiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 10

Season 11
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2005-06	2021-22
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did not play	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		%
Kevin Garnett	76	38.9	21.8	2.8	9.9	12.7	4.1	1.4	1.4	2.4	2.7	8.2	15.7	.526	0.1	0.4	.267	5.2	6.4	.810
difference:	+54	+23.7	+13.4	+2.6	+8.8	+11.4	+2.6	+1.1	+1.2	-1.7	-1.2	+5.2	+8.1	+.125	+1.2	+3.4	+.070	+4.2	+5.2	+.036
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
* Neiher Kevin Garnett nor Isaiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 11

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

Season 12
	Kevin Garnett	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2006-07	2023-24
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did not play	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		%
Kevin Garnett	76	39.4	22.4	2.4	10.4	12.8	4.1	1.2	1.7	2.7	2.4	8.4	17.6	.476	0.2	0.7	.214	5.5	6.6	.835
difference:	+70	+36.2	+21.1	+2.4	+10.4	+12.8	+3.6	+1.2	+1.7	-2.7	-2.4	+7.9	+15.9	+.176	+0.1		+.286	+5.5	+6.6
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		%
Kevin Garnett	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
* Kevin Garnett played 9 seasons more than Isaiah Thomas in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 21, from 2008 to 2016—Kevin Garnett played in 6 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 9 extra years over Isaiah Thomas, Kevin Garnett got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Defensive Player of the Year 5 All-Star Game