Oscar Robertson vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Oscar Robertson, 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 / 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.

Oscar Robertson played 14 years in the NBA, 1 more than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Oscar Robertson had the first of his seasons in 1960-61, 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
Oscar Robertson	14	10	1960-61 to 1973-74
Isiah Thomas	13	9	1981-82 to 1993-94

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1960-61	1981-82
Team	Cincinnati Royals	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
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		%
Oscar Robertson	71	42.7	30.5	-	-	10.1	9.7	-	-	-	3.1	10.6	22.5	.473	-	-	-	9.2	11.2	.822
difference:	+1	+8.9	+13.5			+7.2	+1.9				-0.4	+4.3	+7.7	+.049				+5.0	+5.2	+.118
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 Oscar Robertson nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1961-62	1982-83
Team	Cincinnati Royals	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Royals Lost West Div 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		%
Oscar Robertson	79	44.3	30.8	-	-	12.5	11.4	-	-	-	3.3	11.0	22.9	.478	-	-	-	8.9	11.0	.803
difference:	+2	+6.1	+7.9			+8.5	+3.6				-0.6	+2.0	+3.9	+.006				+4.4	+4.6	+.093
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		%
Oscar Robertson	4	46.3	28.8	-	-	11.0	11.0	-	-	-	4.5	10.5	20.3	.519	-	-	-	7.8	9.8	.795
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1962-63	1983-84
Team	Cincinnati Royals	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Royals Lost East Div 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		%
Oscar Robertson	80	44.0	28.3	-	-	10.4	9.5	-	-	-	3.7	10.3	19.9	.518	-	-	-	7.7	9.5	.810
difference:	+2	+7.3	+7.0			+6.4	+1.6				-0.3	+2.1	+2.2	+.056				+3.0	+3.0	+.077
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		%
Oscar Robertson	12	47.5	31.8	-	-	13.0	9.0	-	-	-	3.4	10.3	22.0	.470	-	-	-	11.1	12.8	.864
difference:	+7	+7.9	+10.4			+9.2	+2.0				-1.0	+2.5	+5.4					+5.7	+5.8	+.093
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
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1963-64	1984-85
Team	Cincinnati Royals	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Assists Leader	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Royals Lost East Div 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		%
Oscar Robertson	79	45.1	31.4	-	-	9.9	11.0	-	-	-	3.5	10.6	22.0	.483	-	-	-	10.1	11.9	.853
difference:	+2	+7.0	+10.2			+5.4	+2.9				-0.1	+2.6	+4.6	+.025				+5.2	+5.8	+.044
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		%
Oscar Robertson	10	47.1	29.3	-	-	8.9	8.4	-	-	-	3.0	9.2	20.2	.455	-	-	-	10.9	12.7	.858
difference:	+1	+7.7	+5.0			+3.7	+2.8				-1.3		+1.8	+.045				+5.7	+5.8	+.100
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
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1964-65	1985-86
Team	Cincinnati Royals	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Royals Lost East Div 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		%
Oscar Robertson	75	45.6	30.4	-	-	9.0	11.5	-	-	-	2.7	10.8	22.4	.480	-	-	-	8.9	10.6	.839
difference:	+2	+9.4	+9.5			+5.4	+0.7				-0.5	+2.9	+6.2	+.008				+4.2	+4.6	+.049
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		%
Oscar Robertson	4	48.8	28.0	-	-	4.8	12.0	-	-	-	3.5	9.5	22.3	.427	-	-	-	9.0	9.8	.923
difference:		+8.0	+1.5			+0.7					-0.8	+0.8	+0.5	+.024				+3.0	+0.8	+.256
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
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1965-66	1986-87
Team	Cincinnati Royals	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Royals Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Oscar Robertson	76	46.0	31.3	-	-	7.7	11.1	-	-	-	3.0	10.8	22.7	.475	-	-	-	9.8	11.6	.842
difference:	+5	+8.8	+10.7			+3.8	+1.1				-0.1	+3.1	+6.0	+.012				+4.9	+5.2	+.074
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		%
Oscar Robertson	5	44.8	31.8	-	-	7.6	7.8	-	-	-	4.0	9.8	24.0	.408	-	-	-	12.2	13.6	.897
difference:	+10	+7.3	+7.7			+3.1	+0.9				-0.6	+0.9	+4.2	+.043				+6.7	+6.3	+.142
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
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1966-67	1987-88
Team	Cincinnati Royals	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Royals Lost East Div 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		%
Oscar Robertson	79	43.9	30.5	-	-	6.2	10.7	-	-	-	2.9	10.6	21.5	.493	-	-	-	9.3	10.7	.873
difference:	+2	+7.8	+11.0			+2.8	+2.3				-0.2	+2.9	+4.9	+.030				+5.5	+5.8	+.099
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		%
Oscar Robertson	4	45.8	24.8	-	-	4.0	11.3	-	-	-	2.3	8.3	16.0	.516	-	-	-	8.3	9.3	.892
difference:	+19	+6.2	+2.9			+0.7	+2.6				-0.8	+0.3	+2.2	+.079				+2.9	+2.7	+.064
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
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1967-68	1988-89
Team	Cincinnati Royals	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Oscar Robertson	65	42.5	29.2	-	-	6.0	9.7	-	-	-	3.1	10.2	20.3	.500	-	-	-	8.9	10.2	.873
difference:	+15	+5.9	+11.0			+2.6	+1.4				-0.5	+3.1	+5.0	+.036				+5.3	+5.8	+.055
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		%
Oscar Robertson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1968-69	1989-90
Team	Cincinnati Royals	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
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		%
Oscar Robertson	79	43.8	24.7	-	-	6.4	9.8	-	-	-	2.9	8.3	17.1	.486	-	-	-	8.1	9.7	.838
difference:	+2	+6.8	+6.3			+2.6	+0.4				-0.4	+1.2	+0.8	+.048				+4.5	+5.0	+.063
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		%
Oscar Robertson	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


Season 10
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1969-70	1990-91
Team	Cincinnati Royals	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	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		%
Oscar Robertson	69	41.5	25.3	-	-	6.1	8.1	-	-	-	2.5	9.4	18.4	.511	-	-	-	6.6	8.1	.809
difference:	+21	+7.0	+9.1			+2.8	+1.2					+3.4	+4.5	+.076				+2.9	+3.3	+.027
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		%
Oscar Robertson	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


Season 11
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1970-71	1991-92
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Oscar Robertson	81	39.4	19.4	-	-	5.7	8.2	-	-	-	2.5	7.3	14.7	.496	-	-	-	4.8	5.6	.850
difference:	+3	+2.0	+0.9			+2.5	+1.0					+0.1	+1.5	+.050				+1.1	+0.8	+.078
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		%
Oscar Robertson	14	37.1	18.3	-	-	5.0	8.9	-	-	-	2.8	7.3	15.0	.486	-	-	-	3.7	4.9	.754
difference:	+9	+2.9	+4.3			+0.2	+1.5				-0.8	+2.9	+2.0	+.148				+0.7	+0.7	+.032
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


Season 12
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1971-72	1992-93
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Oscar Robertson	64	37.3	17.4	-	-	5.0	7.7	-	-	-	1.8	6.5	13.9	.472	-	-	-	4.3	5.2	.836
difference:	+15	+0.3	+0.2			+2.1	+0.8				-1.0	+0.2	+2.0	+.054				+0.8	+0.4	+.099
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		%
Oscar Robertson	11	34.5	13.1	-	-	5.8	7.5	-	-	-	2.6	5.2	12.7	.407	-	-	-	2.7	3.3	.833
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Oscar Robertson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1972-73	1993-94
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bucks Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Oscar Robertson	73	37.5	15.5	-	-	4.9	7.5	-	-	-	2.3	6.1	13.5	.454	-	-	-	3.3	3.8	.847
difference:	+15	+7.3	+0.7			+2.2	+0.6				-0.1	+0.6	+0.3	+.037				+0.2	+0.6	+.145
Isiah Thomas	58	30.2	14.8	0.8	1.9	2.7	6.9	1.2	0.1	3.5	2.2	5.5	13.2	.417	0.7	2.2	.310	3.1	4.4	.702

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Oscar Robertson	6	42.7	21.2	-	-	4.7	7.5	-	-	-	3.5	8.0	16.0	.500	-	-	-	5.2	5.7	.912
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years

* Oscar Robertson played 1 season more than Isiah Thomas in the NBA.

In that period—his season 14 in 1974—Oscar Robertson played in the Playoffs.

Oscar Robertson vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Oscar Robertson, 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

Season 13

13th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years