Pau Gasol vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Pau Gasol, 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.

Pau Gasol played 18 years in the NBA, 5 more than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Pau Gasol had the first of his seasons in 2001-02, 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
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2001-02	1981-82
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	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		%
Pau Gasol	82	36.7	17.6	2.9	6.0	8.9	2.7	0.5	2.1	2.7	2.4	6.7	13.0	.518	0.0	0.1	.200	4.1	5.8	.709
difference:	+10	+2.9	+0.6	+2.1	+3.9	+6.0	+5.1	+1.6	+1.9	-1.5	-1.1	+0.4	+1.8	+.094	+0.2	+0.7	+.088	+0.1	+0.2	+.005
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 Pau Gasol nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2002-03	1982-83
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Pau Gasol	82	36.0	19.0	2.3	6.4	8.8	2.8	0.4	1.8	2.6	2.7	6.9	13.6	.510	0.0	0.1	.100	5.1	6.9	.736
difference:	+1	+2.2	+3.9	+1.0	+3.6	+4.8	+5.0	+2.1	+1.4	-1.4	-1.2	+2.1	+5.4	+.038	+0.4	+1.4	+.188	+0.6	+0.5	+.026
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
* Neiher Pau Gasol nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2003-04	1983-84
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Pau Gasol	78	31.5	17.7	2.6	5.1	7.7	2.5	0.6	1.7	2.4	2.4	6.5	13.4	.482	0.1	0.2	.267	4.7	6.6	.714
difference:	+4	+5.2	+3.6	+1.3	+2.4	+3.7	+8.6	+1.9	+1.3	-1.3	-1.6	+1.7	+4.3	+.020	+0.2	+0.6	+.071		+0.1	+.019
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		%
Pau Gasol	4	33.5	18.5	1.0	4.0	5.0	2.5	1.0	1.5	1.3	2.5	7.0	12.3	.571	0.0	0.0	-	4.5	5.0	.900
difference:	+1	+6.1	+2.9	+0.4	+1.6	+1.2	+8.5	+1.6	+0.3	-3.3	-1.9	+0.8	+4.3	+.101	+0.4	+1.2		+0.9	+2.0	+.129
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
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2004-05	1984-85
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Grizzlies 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		%
Pau Gasol	56	32.0	17.8	2.3	5.0	7.3	2.4	0.7	1.7	2.4	2.6	6.4	12.4	.514	0.0	0.1	.167	5.0	6.6	.768
difference:	+25	+6.1	+3.4	+0.9	+2.0	+2.8	+11.5	+1.6	+1.4	-1.3	-1.0	+1.6	+5.0	+.056	+0.4	+1.3	+.090	+0.1	+0.5	+.041
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		%
Pau Gasol	4	33.0	21.3	3.8	3.8	7.5	2.5	0.5	1.8	1.8	3.0	9.8	20.0	.488	0.3	0.3	1.000	1.5	3.0	.500
difference:	+5	+6.4	+3.0	+2.6	+0.2	+2.3	+8.7	+1.6	+1.4	-1.5	-1.3	+0.6	+1.6	+.012	+0.4	+1.4	+.600	+3.7	+3.9	+.258
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
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2005-06	1985-86
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Pau Gasol	80	39.2	20.4	2.4	6.5	8.9	4.6	0.6	1.9	2.9	2.3	7.5	14.9	.503	0.0	0.2	.250	5.3	7.7	.689
difference:	+3	+3.0	+0.5	+1.3	+4.0	+5.3	+6.2	+1.6	+1.6	-0.9	-0.9	+0.4	+1.3	+.015	+0.3	+0.9	+.060	+0.6	+1.7	+.101
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		%
Pau Gasol	4	39.5	20.3	1.0	5.8	6.8	3.0	0.5	1.3	2.8	2.8	7.3	16.8	.433	0.0	0.3	.000	5.8	7.5	.767
difference:		+1.3	+6.2	+1.0	+2.3	+1.3	+9.0	+1.8	+0.5	-1.5	-1.5	+3.0	+6.0	+.018		+1.0		+0.2	+1.5	+.100
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
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2006-07	1986-87
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Pau Gasol	59	36.2	20.8	2.5	7.3	9.8	3.4	0.5	2.1	2.7	2.3	7.8	14.5	.538	0.1	0.2	.273	5.1	6.8	.748
difference:	+22	+1.0	+0.2	+1.5	+4.4	+5.9	+6.6	+1.4	+1.9	-1.5	-0.8	+0.1	+2.2	+.075	+0.1	+1.0	+.079	+0.2	+0.4	+.020
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		%
Pau Gasol	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2007-08	1987-88
Team	Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Pau Gasol	66	35.6	18.9	2.3	6.0	8.4	3.2	0.5	1.5	1.9	2.1	7.2	13.5	.534	0.1	0.2	.250	4.4	5.5	.807
difference:	+15	+0.5	+0.6	+1.5	+3.4	+5.0	+5.2	+1.2	+1.3	-1.5	-0.6	+0.5	+3.1	+.071	+0.3	+1.0	+.059	+0.6	+0.6	+.033
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		%
Pau Gasol	21	39.8	16.9	2.6	6.7	9.3	4.0	0.5	1.9	2.1	2.9	6.7	12.7	.530	0.0	0.0	-	3.4	5.0	.692
difference:	+2	+0.2	+5.0	+1.5	+3.2	+4.6	+4.7	+2.4	+1.6	-1.6	-0.2	+1.3	+5.5	+.093	+0.6	+1.9		+2.0	+1.6	+.136
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
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2008-09	1988-89
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Pau Gasol	81	37.0	18.9	3.2	6.4	9.6	3.5	0.6	1.0	1.9	2.1	7.3	12.9	.567	0.0	0.0	-	4.2	5.4	.781
difference:	+1	+0.4	+0.7	+2.6	+3.6	+6.2	+4.8	+1.1	+0.7	-1.8	-0.5	+0.2	+2.4	+.103	+0.4	+1.5		+0.6	+1.0	+.037
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		%
Pau Gasol	23	40.5	18.3	3.0	7.9	10.8	2.5	0.8	2.0	1.9	3.0	7.0	12.0	.580	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.1	.714
difference:	+6	+3.3	+0.1	+1.6	+5.0	+6.5	+5.8	+0.8	+1.8	-0.6	-0.7	+0.2	+4.4	+.168	+0.5	+1.8		+0.1	+0.5	+.026
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
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2009-10	1989-90
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Pau Gasol	65	37.0	18.3	3.7	7.6	11.3	3.4	0.6	1.7	2.2	2.3	7.0	13.0	.536	0.0	0.1	.000	4.4	5.6	.790
difference:	+16		+0.1	+2.8	+4.7	+7.5	+6.0	+1.1	+1.5	-1.8	-0.2	+0.1	+3.3	+.098	+0.5	+1.6	+.309	+0.8	+0.9	+.015
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		%
Pau Gasol	23	39.7	19.6	4.0	7.1	11.1	3.5	0.4	2.1	1.9	2.7	7.2	13.3	.539	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	6.9	.759
difference:	+3	+1.8	+0.9	+2.9	+2.7	+5.6	+4.7	+1.8	+1.7	-1.7	-0.6	+0.2	+2.7	+.076	+1.6	+3.3	+.471	+1.1	+1.8	+.035
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
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2010-11	1990-91
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Pau Gasol	82	37.0	18.8	3.3	6.9	10.2	3.3	0.6	1.6	1.7	2.5	7.2	13.7	.529	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	5.2	.823
difference:	+34	+2.5	+2.6	+2.6	+4.3	+6.9	+6.0	+1.0	+1.4	-2.2		+1.2	+0.2	+.094	+0.4	+1.4		+0.6	+0.4	+.041
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		%
Pau Gasol	10	35.8	13.1	3.2	4.6	7.8	3.8	0.4	1.7	1.7	3.3	4.7	11.2	.420	0.1	0.2	.500	3.6	4.5	.800
difference:	+3	+2.3	+0.4	+2.2	+1.4	+3.6	+4.7	+0.6	+1.5	-1.5	-0.1	+0.1	+0.3	+.017	+0.4	+1.5	+.227	+0.2	+0.8	+.075
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
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2011-12	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Pau Gasol	65	37.4	17.4	2.8	7.6	10.4	3.6	0.6	1.4	2.2	2.0	7.1	14.1	.501	0.1	0.4	.259	3.1	4.0	.782
difference:	+13		+1.1	+1.9	+5.3	+7.2	+3.6	+0.9	+1.2	-1.0	-0.5	+0.1	+2.1	+.055	+0.2	+0.7	+.032	+0.6	+0.8	+.010
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		%
Pau Gasol	12	37.0	12.5	3.2	6.3	9.5	3.7	0.5	2.1	1.7	3.0	5.2	11.9	.434	0.2	0.4	.400	2.0	2.4	.828
difference:	+7	+3.0	+1.5	+2.6	+1.7	+4.3	+3.7	+0.5	+2.1	-1.5	-0.6	+0.8	+1.1	+.096	+0.6	+1.8	+.036	+2.4	+3.2	+.042
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
	Pau Gasol	Isiah Thomas
Season	2012-13	1992-93
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Pau Gasol	49	33.8	13.7	2.3	6.3	8.6	4.1	0.5	1.2	2.1	1.9	5.5	11.8	.466	0.2	0.6	.286	2.6	3.6	.702
difference:	+30	+3.2	+3.9	+1.4	+4.3	+5.7	+4.4	+1.1	+1.0	-1.5	-0.9	+1.2	+4.1	+.048	+0.6	+1.9	+.022	+0.9	+1.2	+.035
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		%
Pau Gasol	4	36.5	14.0	1.8	9.8	11.5	6.5	0.5	0.8	3.3	1.0	6.3	13.0	.481	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	2.8	.545
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Pau Gasol played 5 seasons more than Isiah Thomas in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 14 to 18, from 2015 to 2019—Pau Gasol played in 3 Playoffs. In those 5 extra years over Isiah Thomas, Pau Gasol got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-Star Game