Rodney Buford vs. Isaiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isaiah Thomas and Rodney Buford, 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.

Rodney Buford played 5 years in the NBA, 7 less than Isaiah Thomas, who played 12. Rodney Buford had the first of his seasons in 1999-00, 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 achivements, 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
Rodney Buford	5	4	1999-00 to 2004-05
Isaiah Thomas	12	4	2011-12 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season
Rookie Season
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1999-00	2011-12
Team	Miami Heat	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	34	11.4	4.3	0.3	1.1	1.4	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.3	1.3	1.8	4.4	.411	0.2	0.9	.241	0.5	0.6	.727
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		%
Rodney Buford	1	16.0	11.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	4.0	8.0	.500	1.0	2.0	.500	2.0	2.0	1.000
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2000-01	2012-13
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	47	12.2	5.3	0.3	1.2	1.6	0.4	0.4	0.1	0.6	1.4	2.2	5.1	.432	0.3	0.8	.421	0.5	0.6	.828
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		%
Rodney Buford	15	4.7	1.4	0.3	0.5	0.8	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.3	1.0	0.5	1.6	.333	0.2	0.4	.500	0.1	0.1	1.000
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2001-02	2013-14
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	63	28.1	9.4	0.8	3.5	4.3	1.1	0.7	0.2	1.0	1.7	4.1	9.4	.435	0.3	1.1	.243	0.9	1.3	.725
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		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Rodney Buford didn't play in 2002-03.

Season 4
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2003-04	2014-15
Team	Sacramento Kings	Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Kings Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	22	6.4	1.9	0.3	0.4	0.7	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.2	0.4	0.9	2.5	.339	0.0	0.1	.000	0.1	0.3	.500
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		%
Rodney Buford	5	6.2	2.4	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.6	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.4	1.0	2.4	.417	0.2	0.6	.333	0.2	0.4	.500
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
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2004-05	2015-16
Team	New Jersey Nets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	64	20.5	7.0	0.5	2.4	3.0	1.0	0.6	0.1	0.5	1.6	2.9	7.6	.382	0.5	1.7	.315	0.6	0.7	.822
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		%
Rodney Buford	3	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	-	2016-17
Team	-	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	-	2017-18
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	-	2018-19
Team	-	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	-	2019-20
Team	-	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	-	2020-21
Team	-	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	-	2021-22
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Season 12
	Rodney Buford	Isaiah Thomas
Season	-	2023-24
Team	-	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Rodney Buford	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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	-

Rodney Buford vs. Isaiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isaiah Thomas and Rodney Buford, 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12