Kobe Bryant vs. Isaiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isaiah Thomas and Kobe Bryant, 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.

Kobe Bryant played 20 years in the NBA, 8 more than Isaiah Thomas, who played 12. Kobe Bryant had the first of his seasons in 1996-97, 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
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1996-97	2011-12
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Kobe Bryant	71	15.5	7.6	0.7	1.2	1.9	1.3	0.7	0.3	1.6	1.4	2.5	5.9	.417	0.7	1.9	.375	1.9	2.3	.819
difference:	+6	+10.0	+3.9		+0.6	+0.7	+2.8	+0.1	+0.2		-0.5	+1.4	+2.9	+.031	+0.6	+1.5	+.004	+0.5	+0.5	+.013
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		%
Kobe Bryant	9	14.8	8.2	0.1	1.1	1.2	1.2	0.3	0.2	1.6	2.6	2.3	6.1	.382	0.7	2.6	.261	2.9	3.3	.867
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1997-98	2012-13
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers 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		%
Kobe Bryant	79	26.0	15.4	1.0	2.1	3.1	2.5	0.9	0.5	2.0	2.3	4.9	11.6	.428	0.9	2.8	.341	4.6	5.8	.794
difference:		+0.9	+1.5	+0.6	+0.4	+1.1	+1.5	+0.1	+0.5	-0.2	-0.2	+0.3	+1.1	+.012	+0.6	+1.3	+.017	+1.4	+2.2	+.088
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		%
Kobe Bryant	11	20.2	8.7	0.6	1.3	1.9	1.5	0.3	0.7	1.0	2.5	2.8	6.9	.408	0.3	1.3	.214	2.8	4.1	.689
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1998-99	2013-14
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers 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		%
Kobe Bryant	50	37.9	19.9	1.1	4.2	5.3	3.8	1.4	1.0	3.1	3.1	7.2	15.6	.465	0.5	2.0	.267	4.9	5.8	.839
difference:	+22	+3.2	+0.4	+0.4	+1.9	+2.4	+2.5	+0.1	+0.9	-0.1	-0.5	+0.3	+0.4	+.012	+1.3	+3.1	+.082	+0.1	+0.1	+.011
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		%
Kobe Bryant	8	39.6	19.8	1.6	5.3	6.9	4.6	1.9	1.3	3.9	3.0	7.6	17.8	.430	1.0	2.9	.348	3.5	4.4	.800
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1999-00	2014-15
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Kobe Bryant	66	38.2	22.5	1.6	4.7	6.3	4.9	1.6	0.9	2.8	3.3	8.4	17.9	.468	0.7	2.2	.319	5.0	6.1	.821
difference:	+1	+12.4	+6.1	+1.1	+2.9	+4.0	+0.7	+0.7	+0.8	-0.7	-1.1	+3.4	+6.0	+.048	+1.2	+3.0	+.054	+0.5	+0.9	+.047
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		%
Kobe Bryant	22	39.0	21.1	1.2	3.3	4.5	4.4	1.5	1.5	2.5	4.0	7.9	17.9	.442	1.0	2.9	.344	4.3	5.7	.754
difference:	+18	+9.2	+3.6	+0.9	+0.5	+1.5	+2.6	+0.7	+1.5	-1.0	-1.5	+3.4	+4.4	+.109	+0.2	+1.6	+.177	+3.5	+2.3	+.215
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
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2000-01	2015-16
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Kobe Bryant	68	40.9	28.5	1.5	4.3	5.9	5.0	1.7	0.6	3.2	3.3	10.3	22.2	.464	0.9	2.9	.305	7.0	8.2	.853
difference:	+14	+8.7	+6.3	+0.9	+1.9	+2.9	+1.2	+0.6	+0.5	-0.5	-1.3	+3.1	+5.3	+.036	+1.1	+2.8	+.054	+1.2	+1.6	+.018
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		%
Kobe Bryant	16	43.4	29.4	1.8	5.4	7.3	6.1	1.6	0.8	3.2	3.3	10.5	22.4	.469	0.7	2.1	.324	7.8	9.4	.821
difference:	+10	+6.7	+5.2	+1.5	+2.7	+4.3	+1.1	+0.9		-0.9	-0.3	+2.7	+2.6	+.074	+1.5	+5.6	+.041	+1.5	+1.6	+.012
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
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2001-02	2016-17
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Kobe Bryant	80	38.3	25.2	1.4	4.1	5.5	5.5	1.5	0.4	2.8	2.9	9.4	20.0	.469	0.4	1.7	.250	6.1	7.4	.829
difference:	+4	+4.5	+3.7	+0.8	+2.0	+2.8	+0.4	+0.6	+0.2		-0.7	+0.4	+0.6	+.006	+2.8	+6.8	+.129	+1.7	+1.1	+.080
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		%
Kobe Bryant	19	43.8	26.6	1.5	4.4	5.8	4.6	1.4	0.9	2.8	3.4	9.8	22.7	.434	1.2	3.1	.379	5.8	7.6	.759
difference:	+4	+9.1	+3.3	+1.2	+1.6	+2.7	+2.1	+0.5	+0.8	-0.5	-1.1	+2.4	+5.3	+.009	+1.2	+4.1	+.046	+0.3	+0.2	+.061
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
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2002-03	2017-18
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Kobe Bryant	82	41.5	30.0	1.3	5.6	6.9	5.9	2.2	0.8	3.5	2.7	10.6	23.5	.451	1.5	4.0	.383	7.3	8.7	.843
difference:	+50	+14.6	+14.8	+0.8	+4.0	+4.8	+1.1	+1.7	+0.7	-0.5	-0.9	+5.7	+10.3	+.078	+0.2	+1.9	+.090	+3.6	+4.6	+.050
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		%
Kobe Bryant	12	44.3	32.1	1.3	3.8	5.1	5.2	1.2	0.1	3.5	2.9	11.4	26.4	.432	2.1	5.2	.403	7.2	8.7	.827
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2003-04	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Kobe Bryant	65	37.6	24.0	1.6	3.9	5.5	5.1	1.7	0.4	2.6	2.7	7.9	18.1	.438	1.1	3.3	.327	7.0	8.2	.852
difference:	+53	+22.5	+15.9	+1.2	+3.2	+4.4	+3.2	+1.3	+0.3	-1.1	-1.3	+5.1	+9.8	+.095	+0.1	+0.3	+.048	+5.6	+5.9	+.222
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		%
Kobe Bryant	22	44.2	24.5	0.8	3.9	4.7	5.5	1.9	0.3	2.8	2.7	8.6	20.9	.413	1.1	4.4	.247	6.1	7.5	.813
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2004-05	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kobe Bryant	66	40.7	27.6	1.4	4.5	5.9	6.0	1.3	0.8	4.1	2.6	8.7	20.1	.433	2.0	5.9	.339	8.2	10.1	.816
difference:	+26	+17.6	+15.4	+1.1	+3.1	+4.2	+2.3	+1.0	+0.6	-2.2	-0.7	+4.3	+9.4	+.025		+1.2	+.074	+6.6	+8.2
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
* Neiher Kobe Bryant nor Isaiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 9

Season 10
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2005-06	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers 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		%
Kobe Bryant	80	41.0	35.4	0.9	4.4	5.3	4.5	1.8	0.4	3.1	2.9	12.2	27.2	.450	2.3	6.5	.347	8.7	10.2	.850
difference:	+77	+25.0	+27.7	+0.6	+3.4	+4.0	+2.8	+1.5	+0.4	-1.1	-1.9	+9.2	+18.2	+.117	+1.3	+2.5	+.097	+8.0	+9.5	+.150
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		%
Kobe Bryant	7	44.9	27.9	0.6	5.7	6.3	5.1	1.1	0.4	4.7	3.6	10.3	20.7	.497	2.0	5.0	.400	5.3	6.9	.771
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2006-07	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kobe Bryant	77	40.8	31.6	1.0	4.7	5.7	5.4	1.4	0.5	3.3	2.7	10.6	22.8	.463	1.8	5.2	.344	8.7	10.0	.868
difference:	+55	+25.6	+23.2	+0.8	+3.6	+4.4	+3.9	+1.1	+0.3	-2.6	-1.2	+7.6	+15.2	+.062	+0.5	+1.4	+.007	+7.7	+8.8	+.022
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		%
Kobe Bryant	5	43.0	32.8	0.2	5.0	5.2	4.4	1.0	0.4	4.4	2.0	12.0	26.0	.462	2.0	5.6	.357	6.8	7.4	.919
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Season 12
	Kobe Bryant	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2007-08	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers 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		%
Kobe Bryant	82	38.9	28.3	1.1	5.2	6.3	5.4	1.8	0.5	3.1	2.8	9.5	20.6	.459	1.8	5.1	.361	7.6	9.0	.840
difference:	+76	+35.7	+27.0	+1.1	+5.2	+6.3	+4.9	+1.8	+0.5	-3.1	-2.8	+9.0	+18.9	+.159	+1.5	+4.4	+.139	+7.6	+9.0
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		%
Kobe Bryant	21	41.1	30.1	0.9	4.8	5.7	5.6	1.7	0.4	3.3	2.8	10.6	22.0	.479	1.5	5.0	.302	7.5	9.2	.809
difference:	+20	+37.1	+30.1	+0.9	+4.8	+5.7	+5.6	+1.7	+0.4	-2.3	-2.8	+10.6	+20.0	+.479	+1.5	+4.0	+.302	+7.5	+9.2
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
* Kobe Bryant played 8 seasons more than Isaiah Thomas in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 20, from 2009 to 2016—Kobe Bryant played in 4 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 8 extra years over Isaiah Thomas, Kobe Bryant got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Finals MVP 5 All-NBA First Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 8 All-Star Game 2 All-Star Game MVP