Penny Hardaway vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Penny Hardaway, 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 / Games against each other

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.

Penny Hardaway played 14 years in the NBA, 1 more than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Penny Hardaway had the first of his seasons in 1993-94, 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
Penny Hardaway	14	8	1993-94 to 2007-08
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
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	1993-94	1981-82
Team	Orlando Magic	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Penny Hardaway	82	36.8	16.0	2.3	3.0	5.4	6.6	2.3	0.6	3.6	2.5	6.2	13.3	.466	0.6	2.3	.267	3.0	4.0	.742
difference:	+10	+3.0	+1.0	+1.5	+0.9	+2.5	+1.2	+0.2	+0.4	-0.6	-1.0	+0.1	+1.5	+.042	+0.4	+1.5	+.021	+1.2	+2.0	+.038
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
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Penny Hardaway	3	44.3	18.7	2.7	4.0	6.7	7.0	1.7	2.0	6.7	3.3	7.3	16.7	.440	1.7	3.7	.455	2.3	3.3	.700
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	1994-95	1982-83
Team	Orlando Magic	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Magic Lost NBA 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		%
Penny Hardaway	77	37.7	20.9	1.8	2.6	4.4	7.2	1.7	0.3	3.4	2.1	7.6	14.8	.512	1.1	3.2	.349	4.6	6.0	.769
difference:	+4	+0.5	+2.0	+0.5	+0.2	+0.4	+0.6	+0.8	+0.1	-0.6	-1.8	+1.4	+4.2	+.040	+0.7	+1.7	+.061	+0.1	+0.4	+.059
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		%
Penny Hardaway	21	40.4	19.6	1.4	2.3	3.8	7.7	1.9	0.7	3.5	3.3	6.9	14.5	.472	1.9	4.7	.404	4.0	5.3	.757
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	1995-96	1983-84
Team	Orlando Magic	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Magic 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		%
Penny Hardaway	82	36.8	21.7	1.6	2.7	4.3	7.1	2.0	0.5	2.8	2.0	7.6	14.8	.513	1.1	3.5	.314	5.4	7.1	.767
difference:		+0.1	+0.4	+0.3		+0.3	+4.0	+0.5	+0.1	-0.9	-2.0	+0.6	+2.9	+.051	+0.8	+2.7	+.024	+0.7	+0.6	+.034
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		%
Penny Hardaway	12	39.4	23.3	1.7	3.0	4.7	6.0	1.7	0.3	2.2	2.3	8.4	18.1	.465	1.7	4.6	.364	4.8	6.5	.744
difference:	+7	+0.2	+1.9	+0.3	+0.6	+0.9	+5.0	+0.9	+0.9	-2.4	-2.1	+0.6	+1.5	+.005	+1.3	+3.4	+.031	+0.6	+0.5	+.027
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
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	1996-97	1984-85
Team	Orlando Magic	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Magic Lost East 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		%
Penny Hardaway	59	37.6	20.5	1.4	3.1	4.5	5.6	1.6	0.6	2.5	2.1	7.1	15.9	.447	1.4	4.5	.318	4.8	5.8	.820
difference:	+22	+0.5	+0.7		+0.1		+8.3	+0.7	+0.3	-1.2	-1.5	+0.9	+1.5	+.011	+1.0	+3.1	+.061	+0.1	+0.3	+.011
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		%
Penny Hardaway	5	44.4	31.0	1.4	4.6	6.0	3.4	2.4	1.4	1.8	2.8	10.4	22.2	.468	2.2	6.0	.367	8.0	10.8	.741
difference:	+4	+5.0	+6.7	+0.2	+0.6	+0.8	+7.8	+0.3	+1.0	-1.5	-1.5	+1.2	+3.8	+.032	+1.5	+4.3	+.033	+2.8	+3.9	+.017
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
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	1997-98	1985-86
Team	Orlando Magic	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	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		%
Penny Hardaway	19	32.9	16.4	0.4	3.6	4.0	3.6	1.5	0.8	2.4	2.4	5.4	14.4	.377	0.8	2.6	.300	4.7	6.2	.763
difference:	+58	+3.3	+4.5	+0.7	+1.1	+0.4	+7.2	+0.7	+0.5	-1.4	-0.8	+2.5	+1.8	+.111	+0.5	+1.5	+.010		+0.2	+.027
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		%
Penny Hardaway	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
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	1998-99	1986-87
Team	Orlando Magic	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Magic Lost East 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		%
Penny Hardaway	50	38.9	15.8	1.5	4.2	5.7	5.3	2.2	0.5	3.0	2.2	6.0	14.3	.420	0.8	2.8	.286	3.0	4.2	.706
difference:	+31	+1.7	+4.8	+0.5	+1.3	+1.8	+4.7	+0.3	+0.3	-1.2	-0.9	+1.7	+2.4	+.043	+0.6	+1.6	+.092	+1.9	+2.2	+.062
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		%
Penny Hardaway	4	41.8	19.0	2.3	2.8	5.0	5.5	2.3	0.3	3.0	3.3	5.0	14.3	.351	1.5	3.3	.462	7.5	9.8	.769
difference:	+11	+4.3	+5.1	+0.9	+0.3	+0.5	+3.2	+0.3		-0.2	-0.1	+3.9	+5.5	+.100	+0.8	+1.1	+.159	+2.0	+2.5	+.014
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
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	1999-00	1987-88
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Penny Hardaway	60	37.6	16.9	1.5	4.3	5.8	5.3	1.6	0.6	2.6	2.7	6.3	13.3	.474	0.6	1.7	.324	3.8	4.8	.790
difference:	+21	+1.5	+2.6	+0.7	+1.7	+2.4	+3.1	+0.1	+0.4	-0.8		+1.4	+3.3	+.011	+0.2	+0.5	+.015		+0.1	+.016
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		%
Penny Hardaway	9	42.8	20.3	1.6	3.3	4.9	5.7	1.6	1.0	2.8	3.2	7.4	16.1	.462	0.6	2.1	.263	4.9	6.9	.710
difference:	+14	+3.2	+1.6	+0.5	+0.2	+0.2	+3.0	+1.3	+0.7	-0.9	-0.1	+0.6	+2.1	+.025		+0.2	+.032	+0.5	+0.3	+.118
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
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	2000-01	1988-89
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Penny Hardaway	4	28.0	9.8	1.3	3.3	4.5	3.8	1.5	0.3	0.8	1.5	3.8	9.0	.417	0.5	2.0	.250	1.8	2.8	.636
difference:	+76	+8.6	+8.4	+0.7	+0.5	+1.1	+4.5	+0.2		-2.9	-1.1	+3.3	+6.3	+.047	+0.1	+0.5	+.023	+1.8	+1.6	+.182
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		%
Penny Hardaway	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
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	2001-02	1989-90
Team	Phoenix Suns	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		%
Penny Hardaway	80	30.8	12.0	1.2	3.2	4.4	4.1	1.5	0.4	2.4	2.3	4.9	11.6	.418	0.3	1.0	.277	2.0	2.4	.810
difference:	+1	+6.2	+6.4	+0.3	+0.3	+0.6	+5.3	+0.2	+0.2	-1.6	-0.2	+2.2	+4.7	+.020	+0.2	+0.7	+.032	+1.6	+2.3	+.035
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		%
Penny Hardaway	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
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	2002-03	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		%
Penny Hardaway	58	30.6	10.6	1.1	3.3	4.4	4.1	1.1	0.4	2.5	2.6	4.4	9.9	.447	0.4	1.3	.356	1.3	1.7	.794
difference:	+10	+3.9	+5.6	+0.4	+0.7	+1.1	+5.2	+0.5	+0.2	-1.4	-0.1	+1.6	+4.0	+.012		+0.1	+.064	+2.4	+3.1	+.012
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		%
Penny Hardaway	6	40.7	12.7	1.5	4.5	6.0	4.3	2.2	0.8	2.2	4.3	4.5	11.7	.386	1.5	4.2	.360	2.2	3.0	.722
difference:	+7	+7.2	+0.8	+0.5	+1.3	+1.8	+4.2	+1.2	+0.6	-1.0	-1.1	+0.1	+0.2	+.017	+1.0	+2.5	+.087	+1.6	+2.3	+.003
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
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	2003-04	1991-92
Team	Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East 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		%
Penny Hardaway	76	27.6	9.2	0.9	2.9	3.8	2.3	0.9	0.3	1.4	1.9	3.7	8.9	.411	0.4	1.0	.380	1.5	1.8	.804
difference:	+2	+9.8	+9.3		+0.6	+0.6	+4.9	+0.6	+0.1	-1.8	-0.6	+3.5	+7.3	+.035	+0.1	+0.1	+.089	+2.2	+3.0	+.032
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		%
Penny Hardaway	4	42.0	16.5	1.0	3.5	4.5	5.8	1.5	0.3	2.5	2.0	5.8	15.8	.365	1.3	3.5	.357	3.8	4.5	.833
difference:	+1	+2.0	+2.5	+0.4	+1.1	+0.7	+1.6	+0.5	+0.3	-0.7	-1.6	+1.4	+2.8	+.027	+0.5	+1.3	+.007	+0.6	+1.1	+.047
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
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	2004-05	1992-93
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Penny Hardaway	37	24.2	7.3	0.5	1.9	2.4	2.0	0.8	0.1	1.4	2.1	3.0	7.0	.423	0.4	1.4	.300	0.9	1.2	.739
difference:	+42	+12.8	+10.3	+0.4	+0.1	+0.5	+6.5	+0.8	+0.1	-2.2	-0.7	+3.7	+8.9	+.005	+0.4	+1.1	+.008	+2.6	+3.6	+.002
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
* Neiher Penny Hardaway nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 12


Season 13
	Penny Hardaway	Isiah Thomas
Season	2005-06	1993-94
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Penny Hardaway	4	18.0	2.5	0.0	2.5	2.5	2.0	0.5	0.0	1.5	1.8	1.0	3.5	.286	0.0	0.3	.000	0.5	0.5	1.000
difference:	+54	+12.2	+12.3	+0.8	+0.6	+0.2	+4.9	+0.7	+0.1	-2.0	-0.4	+4.5	+9.7	+.131	+0.7	+1.9	+.310	+2.6	+3.9	+.298
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
* Neiher Penny Hardaway nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 13

Additional Years

* Penny Hardaway played 1 season more than Isiah Thomas in the NBA.

In that period—his season 14 in 2008—Penny Hardaway didn't play in the postseason.

Penny Hardaway vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Penny Hardaway, 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