Kevin Johnson vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Kevin Johnson, 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 Johnson played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Kevin Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1987-88, 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.

Rookie Season
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1987-88	1981-82
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
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 Johnson	80	24.0	9.2	0.5	1.9	2.4	5.5	1.3	0.3	1.8	1.9	3.4	7.5	.461	0.1	0.3	.208	2.2	2.6	.839
difference:	+8	+9.8	+7.8	+0.3	+0.2	+0.5	+2.3	+0.8	+0.1	-2.4	-1.6	+2.9	+7.3	+.037	+0.1	+0.5	+.080	+2.0	+3.4	+.135
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
* Neiher Kevin Johnson nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1988-89	1982-83
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	Most Improved Player	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West 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		%
Kevin Johnson	81	39.2	20.4	0.6	3.6	4.2	12.2	1.7	0.3	4.0	2.8	7.0	13.9	.505	0.0	0.3	.091	6.3	7.1	.882
difference:		+1.0	+2.5	+0.7	+0.8	+0.2	+4.4	+0.8	+0.1		-1.1	+2.0	+5.1	+.033	+0.4	+1.2	+.197	+1.8	+0.7	+.172
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		%
Kevin Johnson	12	41.2	23.8	1.0	3.3	4.3	12.3	1.6	0.4	4.6	2.3	7.5	15.2	.495	0.3	0.8	.300	8.5	9.2	.927
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1989-90	1983-84
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Kevin Johnson	74	37.6	22.5	0.6	3.1	3.6	11.4	1.3	0.2	3.6	1.9	7.8	15.7	.499	0.1	0.6	.195	6.8	8.1	.838
difference:	+8	+0.9	+1.2	+0.7	+0.4	+0.4	+0.3	+1.2	+0.2	-0.1	-2.1	+0.4	+2.0	+.037	+0.2	+0.2	+.143	+2.1	+1.6	+.105
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		%
Kevin Johnson	16	36.4	21.3	0.6	2.8	3.3	10.6	1.6	0.0	3.9	1.8	7.7	16.1	.479	0.1	0.7	.182	5.8	7.0	.821
difference:	+11	+3.2	+0.1	+0.8	+0.4	+0.5	+0.4	+1.0	+1.2	-0.7	-2.6	+0.1	+0.5	+.009	+0.3	+0.5	+.151	+0.4		+.050
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
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1990-91	1984-85
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kevin Johnson	77	36.0	22.2	0.7	2.8	3.5	10.1	2.1	0.1	3.5	2.3	7.7	14.9	.516	0.1	0.6	.205	6.7	8.0	.843
difference:	+4	+2.1	+1.0	+0.7	+0.2	+1.0	+3.8	+0.2	+0.2	-0.2	-1.3	+0.3	+2.5	+.058	+0.3	+0.8	+.052	+1.8	+1.9	+.034
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		%
Kevin Johnson	4	36.5	12.8	0.5	2.8	3.3	9.8	0.5	0.3	3.0	2.3	4.0	13.3	.302	0.3	1.8	.143	4.5	7.5	.600
difference:	+5	+2.9	+11.5	+0.7	+1.2	+1.9	+1.4	+1.6	+0.1	-0.3	-2.0	+5.2	+5.1	+.198	+0.4	+0.1	+.257	+0.7	+0.6	+.158
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
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1991-92	1985-86
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Kevin Johnson	78	37.2	19.7	0.8	3.0	3.7	10.7	1.5	0.3	3.5	2.3	6.9	14.4	.479	0.1	0.6	.217	5.7	7.1	.807
difference:	+1	+1.0	+1.2	+0.3	+0.5	+0.1	+0.1	+0.7		-0.3	-0.9	+1.0	+1.8	+.009	+0.2	+0.5	+.093	+1.0	+1.1	+.017
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		%
Kevin Johnson	8	41.9	23.6	1.0	3.1	4.1	11.6	1.5	0.3	3.1	3.0	7.8	16.0	.484	0.4	0.8	.500	7.8	9.0	.861
difference:	+4	+1.1	+2.9	+1.0	+0.4	+1.4	+0.4	+0.8	+0.5	-1.2	-1.3	+2.5	+6.8	+.033	+0.4	+0.5	+.500	+1.8		+.194
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
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1992-93	1986-87
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns 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		%
Kevin Johnson	49	33.5	16.1	0.6	1.5	2.1	7.8	1.7	0.4	3.1	2.0	5.8	11.5	.499	0.0	0.2	.125	4.6	5.6	.819
difference:	+32	+3.7	+4.5	+0.4	+1.4	+1.8	+2.2	+0.2	+0.2	-1.1	-1.1	+1.9	+5.2	+.036	+0.2	+1.0	+.069	+0.3	+0.8	+.051
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		%
Kevin Johnson	23	39.7	17.8	0.4	2.3	2.7	7.9	1.5	0.6	3.7	2.5	6.2	13.0	.480	0.0	0.1	.000	5.4	6.8	.795
difference:	+8	+2.2	+6.3	+1.0	+0.8	+1.8	+0.8	+1.1	+0.3	-0.9	-0.9	+2.7	+6.8	+.029	+0.7	+2.1	+.303	+0.1	+0.5	+.040
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
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1993-94	1987-88
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Kevin Johnson	67	36.6	20.0	0.8	1.7	2.5	9.5	1.9	0.1	3.5	1.9	7.1	14.6	.487	0.1	0.4	.222	5.7	6.9	.819
difference:	+14	+0.5	+0.5		+0.9	+0.9	+1.1	+0.2	+0.1	-0.1	-0.8	+0.6	+2.0	+.024	+0.3	+0.8	+.087	+1.9	+2.0	+.045
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		%
Kevin Johnson	10	42.7	26.6	1.0	2.5	3.5	9.6	1.0	0.1	3.4	2.3	9.7	21.2	.458	0.3	1.0	.300	6.9	8.1	.852
difference:	+13	+3.1	+4.7	+0.1	+1.0	+1.2	+0.9	+1.9	+0.2	-0.3	-0.8	+1.7	+3.0	+.021	+0.3	+0.9	+.005	+1.5	+1.5	+.024
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
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1994-95	1988-89
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Kevin Johnson	47	28.8	15.5	0.7	1.8	2.4	7.7	1.0	0.4	2.2	1.9	5.2	11.1	.470	0.1	0.6	.154	5.0	6.1	.810
difference:	+33	+7.8	+2.7	+0.1	+1.0	+1.0	+0.6	+0.7	+0.1	-1.5	-0.7	+1.9	+4.2	+.006	+0.3	+0.9	+.119	+1.4	+1.7	+.008
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		%
Kevin Johnson	10	37.1	24.8	0.7	3.4	4.1	9.3	0.9	0.4	3.4	2.5	8.6	15.0	.573	0.5	1.0	.500	7.1	8.4	.845
difference:	+7	+0.1	+6.6	+0.7	+0.5	+0.2	+1.0	+0.7	+0.2	-0.9	-0.2	+1.8	+1.4	+.161		+0.8	+.233	+2.9	+2.8	+.105
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
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1995-96	1989-90
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kevin Johnson	56	35.8	18.7	0.8	3.2	3.9	9.2	1.5	0.2	3.0	2.6	6.1	12.0	.507	0.4	1.0	.368	6.1	7.1	.859
difference:	+25	+1.2	+0.3	+0.1	+0.3	+0.1	+0.2	+0.2		-1.0	-0.1	+1.0	+4.3	+.069	+0.1	+0.7	+.059	+2.5	+2.4	+.084
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		%
Kevin Johnson	4	37.8	17.3	0.5	3.8	4.3	10.8	0.5	0.5	2.8	2.0	6.8	14.3	.474	0.3	1.0	.250	3.5	4.3	.824
difference:	+16	+0.1	+3.2	+0.6	+0.6	+1.2	+2.6	+1.7	+0.1	-0.8	-1.3	+0.6	+1.7	+.011	+1.3	+2.4	+.221	+0.6	+0.8	+.030
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
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1996-97	1990-91
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kevin Johnson	70	38.0	20.1	0.8	2.8	3.6	9.3	1.5	0.2	3.1	2.0	6.3	12.7	.496	1.3	2.9	.441	6.3	7.4	.852
difference:	+22	+3.5	+3.9	+0.1	+0.2	+0.3		+0.1		-0.8	-0.5	+0.3	+1.2	+.061	+0.9	+1.5	+.149	+2.6	+2.6	+.070
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		%
Kevin Johnson	5	41.6	16.8	1.6	2.8	4.4	6.0	2.6	0.0	3.6	3.0	5.2	17.6	.295	0.6	4.4	.136	5.8	6.6	.879
difference:	+8	+8.1	+3.3	+0.6	+0.4	+0.2	+2.5	+1.6	+0.2	-0.4	-0.2	+0.6	+6.1	+.108	+0.1	+2.7	+.137	+2.0	+1.3	+.154
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
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1997-98	1991-92
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West 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		%
Kevin Johnson	50	25.8	9.5	0.7	2.6	3.3	4.9	0.5	0.2	2.0	1.1	3.1	6.9	.447	0.1	0.5	.154	3.2	3.7	.871
difference:	+28	+11.6	+9.0	+0.2	+0.3	+0.1	+2.3	+1.0		-1.2	-1.4	+4.1	+9.3	+.001	+0.2	+0.6	+.137	+0.5	+1.1	+.099
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		%
Kevin Johnson	4	30.5	13.8	0.5	1.8	2.3	4.8	0.5	0.3	1.5	1.5	5.8	10.5	.548	0.3	1.0	.250	2.0	3.0	.667
difference:	+1	+9.5	+0.2	+0.1	+2.8	+2.9	+2.6	+0.5	+0.3	-1.7	-2.1	+1.4	+2.5	+.210	+0.5	+1.2	+.114	+2.4	+2.6	+.119
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

Note: Kevin Johnson didn't play in 1998-99.

Season 12
	Kevin Johnson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1999-00	1992-93
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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 Johnson	6	18.8	6.7	0.0	2.7	2.7	4.0	0.3	0.0	1.2	1.0	2.7	4.7	.571	0.2	0.2	1.000	1.2	1.2	1.000
difference:	+73	+18.2	+10.9	+0.9	+0.7	+0.2	+4.5	+1.3	+0.2	-2.4	-1.8	+4.0	+11.2	+.153	+0.6	+2.3	+.692	+2.3	+3.6	+.263
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Johnson	9	14.3	3.2	0.0	1.4	1.4	2.6	0.3	0.1	1.4	1.1	1.3	4.1	.324	0.0	0.3	.000	0.6	0.7	.833
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-