Lance Stephenson vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Lance Stephenson, 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

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.

Lance Stephenson played 10 years in the NBA, 3 less than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Lance Stephenson had the first of his seasons in 2010-11, 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
Lance Stephenson	10	6	2010-11 to 2021-22
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


Rookie Season
	Lance Stephenson	Isiah Thomas
Season	2010-11	1981-82
Team	Indiana Pacers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Lance Stephenson	12	9.6	3.1	0.1	1.4	1.5	1.8	0.3	0.0	1.3	1.2	1.1	3.3	.333	0.0	0.4	.000	0.9	1.2	.786
difference:	+60	+24.2	+13.9	+0.7	+0.7	+1.4	+6.0	+1.8	+0.2	-2.9	-2.3	+5.2	+11.5	+.091	+0.2	+0.4	+.288	+3.3	+4.8	+.082
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 Lance Stephenson nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Lance Stephenson	Isiah Thomas
Season	2011-12	1982-83
Team	Indiana Pacers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Lance Stephenson	42	10.5	2.5	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.1	0.5	0.1	0.9	0.7	1.1	3.0	.376	0.1	0.7	.133	0.2	0.4	.471
difference:	+39	+27.7	+20.4	+1.0	+1.8	+2.7	+6.7	+2.0	+0.3	-3.1	-3.2	+7.9	+16.0	+.096	+0.3	+0.8	+.155	+4.3	+6.0	+.239
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		%
Lance Stephenson	4	3.0	1.5	0.0	0.0	0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.5	2.3	.222	0.3	0.5	.500	0.3	0.5	.500
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Lance Stephenson	Isiah Thomas
Season	2012-13	1983-84
Team	Indiana Pacers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East 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		%
Lance Stephenson	78	29.2	8.8	0.6	3.3	3.9	2.9	1.0	0.2	1.4	2.1	3.5	7.7	.460	0.8	2.4	.330	1.0	1.5	.652
difference:	+4	+7.5	+12.5	+0.7	+0.6	+0.1	+8.2	+1.5	+0.2	-2.3	-1.9	+4.7	+10.0	+.002	+0.5	+1.6	+.008	+3.7	+5.0	+.081
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		%
Lance Stephenson	19	35.4	9.4	0.7	6.8	7.6	3.3	1.2	0.1	1.9	2.5	3.6	8.9	.408	0.9	3.4	.281	1.2	1.9	.622
difference:	+14	+4.2	+12.0	+0.7	+4.4	+3.8	+7.7	+1.4	+1.1	-2.7	-1.9	+4.2	+7.7	+.062	+0.5	+2.2	+.052	+4.2	+5.1	+.149
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
	Lance Stephenson	Isiah Thomas
Season	2013-14	1984-85
Team	Indiana Pacers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Lance Stephenson	78	35.3	13.8	1.2	5.9	7.2	4.6	0.7	0.1	2.7	2.5	5.5	11.2	.491	1.1	3.1	.352	1.8	2.5	.711
difference:	+3	+2.8	+7.4	+0.2	+2.9	+2.7	+9.3	+1.6	+0.2	-1.0	-1.1	+2.5	+6.2	+.033	+0.7	+1.7	+.095	+3.1	+3.6	+.098
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		%
Lance Stephenson	19	37.1	13.6	1.3	5.6	6.9	4.2	0.8	0.2	2.4	2.9	5.3	11.6	.455	1.3	3.5	.358	1.8	2.6	.714
difference:	+10	+2.3	+10.7	+0.1	+1.6	+1.7	+7.0	+1.3	+0.2	-0.9	-1.4	+3.9	+6.8	+.045	+0.6	+1.8	+.042	+3.4	+4.3	+.044
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
	Lance Stephenson	Isiah Thomas
Season	2014-15	1985-86
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Lance Stephenson	61	25.8	8.2	0.6	3.9	4.5	3.9	0.6	0.1	2.1	2.2	3.4	9.0	.376	0.3	1.7	.171	1.1	1.8	.627
difference:	+16	+10.4	+12.7	+0.5	+1.4	+0.9	+6.9	+1.6	+0.2	-1.7	-1.0	+4.5	+7.2	+.112		+0.6	+.139	+3.6	+4.2	+.163
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		%
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Lance Stephenson	Isiah Thomas
Season	2015-16	1986-87
Team	Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Lance Stephenson	69	19.9	8.3	0.6	2.7	3.2	1.9	0.6	0.1	1.4	2.0	3.3	6.9	.481	0.4	1.1	.385	1.3	1.6	.784
difference:	+12	+17.3	+12.3	+0.4	+0.2	+0.7	+8.1	+1.3	+0.1	-2.8	-1.1	+4.4	+9.8	+.018	+0.2	+0.1	+.191	+3.6	+4.8	+.016
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		%
Lance Stephenson	4	23.8	13.0	0.3	1.3	1.5	1.8	0.3	0.0	0.8	2.5	5.8	11.0	.523	0.5	1.3	.400	1.0	1.3	.800
difference:	+11	+13.7	+11.1	+1.1	+1.8	+3.0	+6.9	+2.3	+0.3	-2.0	-0.9	+3.1	+8.8	+.072	+0.2	+0.9	+.097	+4.5	+6.0	+.045
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
	Lance Stephenson	Isiah Thomas
Season	2016-17	1987-88
Team	New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Lance Stephenson	18	20.1	6.8	0.2	2.7	2.9	3.3	0.3	0.2	1.4	1.8	3.0	6.7	.450	0.3	1.1	.300	0.4	0.7	.615
difference:	+63	+16.0	+12.7	+0.6	+0.1	+0.5	+5.1	+1.4		-2.0	-0.9	+4.7	+9.9	+.013	+0.1	+0.1	+.009	+3.4	+4.2	+.159
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		%
Lance Stephenson	4	26.8	16.0	0.3	5.0	5.3	2.8	0.5	0.0	1.0	2.8	6.8	13.3	.509	1.8	4.5	.389	0.8	1.0	.750
difference:	+19	+12.8	+5.9	+0.8	+1.5	+0.6	+5.9	+2.4	+0.3	-2.7	-0.3	+1.2	+4.9	+.072	+1.2	+2.6	+.094	+4.6	+5.6	+.078
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
	Lance Stephenson	Isiah Thomas
Season	2017-18	1988-89
Team	Indiana Pacers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Lance Stephenson	82	22.6	9.2	0.8	4.4	5.2	2.9	0.6	0.2	1.6	2.2	3.7	8.6	.427	0.8	2.8	.289	1.0	1.5	.661
difference:	+2	+14.0	+9.0	+0.2	+1.6	+1.8	+5.4	+1.1	+0.1	-2.1	-0.4	+3.4	+6.7	+.037	+0.4	+1.3	+.016	+2.6	+2.9	+.157
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		%
Lance Stephenson	7	21.3	10.4	0.4	2.3	2.7	2.9	0.3	0.1	1.3	2.9	4.3	9.3	.462	1.1	3.7	.308	0.7	1.3	.556
difference:	+10	+15.9	+7.8	+1.0	+0.6	+1.6	+5.4	+1.3	+0.1	-1.2	-0.6	+2.5	+7.1	+.050	+0.6	+1.9	+.041	+3.5	+4.3	+.184
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
	Lance Stephenson	Isiah Thomas
Season	2018-19	1989-90
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Lance Stephenson	68	16.5	7.2	0.5	2.7	3.2	2.1	0.6	0.1	1.3	1.6	2.7	6.4	.426	1.1	2.9	.371	0.7	1.1	.685
difference:	+13	+20.5	+11.2	+0.4	+0.2	+0.6	+7.3	+1.1	+0.1	-2.7	-0.9	+4.4	+9.9	+.012	+0.6	+1.2	+.062	+2.9	+3.6	+.090
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		%
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Note: Lance Stephenson didn't play in 2019-20 and 2020-21.


Season 10
	Lance Stephenson	Isiah Thomas
Season	2021-22	1990-91
Team	Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Lance Stephenson	46	17.7	8.3	0.3	2.5	2.8	3.6	0.5	0.1	1.6	2.1	3.2	7.0	.455	0.6	2.0	.300	1.4	1.7	.788
difference:	+2	+16.8	+7.9	+0.4	+0.1	+0.5	+5.7	+1.1	+0.1	-2.3	-0.4	+2.8	+6.9	+.020	+0.2	+0.6	+.008	+2.3	+3.1	+.006
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		%
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Additional Years
* Isiah Thomas played 3 seasons more than Lance Stephenson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 13, from 1992 to 1994—Isiah Thomas played in one postseason. In those 3 extra years over Lance Stephenson, Isiah Thomas got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Star Game

Lance Stephenson vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Lance Stephenson, 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

Additional Years