Steven Adams vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Steven Adams, 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.

Steven Adams played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Steven Adams had the first of his seasons in 2013-14, 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
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2013-14	1981-82
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Rookie Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Steven Adams	81	14.8	3.3	1.8	2.3	4.1	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.9	2.5	1.1	2.3	.503	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.7	.581
difference:	+9	+19.0	+13.7	+1.0	+0.2	+1.2	+7.3	+1.6	+0.5	-3.3	-1.0	+5.2	+12.5	+.079	+0.2	+0.8		+3.2	+4.3	+.123
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		%
Steven Adams	18	18.4	3.9	1.2	2.9	4.1	0.2	0.1	1.3	0.6	2.7	1.7	2.5	.689	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.3	.348
Isiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2014-15	1982-83
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	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		%
Steven Adams	70	25.3	7.7	2.8	4.6	7.5	0.9	0.5	1.2	1.4	3.2	3.1	5.7	.544	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	2.9	.502
difference:	+11	+12.9	+15.2	+1.5	+1.8	+3.5	+6.9	+2.0	+0.8	-2.6	-0.7	+5.9	+13.3	+.072	+0.4	+1.5		+3.0	+3.5	+.208
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 Steven Adams nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2015-16	1983-84
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West 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		%
Steven Adams	80	25.2	8.0	2.7	3.9	6.7	0.8	0.5	1.1	1.1	2.8	3.3	5.3	.613	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.5	.582
difference:	+2	+11.5	+13.3	+1.4	+1.2	+2.7	+10.3	+2.0	+0.7	-2.6	-1.2	+4.9	+12.4	+.151	+0.3	+0.8		+3.3	+4.0	+.151
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		%
Steven Adams	18	30.7	10.1	3.4	6.1	9.5	0.7	0.5	0.8	0.9	3.1	3.8	6.2	.613	0.0	0.1	.000	2.6	4.1	.630
difference:	+13	+8.9	+11.3	+2.0	+3.7	+5.7	+10.3	+2.1	+0.4	-3.7	-1.3	+4.0	+10.4	+.143	+0.4	+1.1	+.333	+2.8	+2.9	+.141
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
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2016-17	1984-85
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder 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		%
Steven Adams	80	29.9	11.3	3.5	4.2	7.7	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.8	2.4	4.7	8.2	.571	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.2	.611
difference:	+1	+8.2	+9.9	+2.1	+1.2	+3.2	+12.8	+1.2	+0.7	-1.9	-1.2	+3.3	+9.2	+.113	+0.4	+1.4		+2.9	+2.9	+.198
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		%
Steven Adams	5	31.4	8.0	3.4	3.4	6.8	1.4	1.2	1.8	0.8	2.8	3.6	5.6	.643	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	2.2	.364
difference:	+4	+8.0	+16.3	+2.2	+0.6	+1.6	+9.8	+0.9	+1.4	-2.5	-1.5	+5.6	+12.8	+.143	+0.7	+1.7		+4.4	+4.7	+.394
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
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2017-18	1985-86
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Thunder 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		%
Steven Adams	76	32.7	13.9	5.1	4.0	9.0	1.2	1.2	1.0	1.7	2.8	5.9	9.4	.629	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	3.8	.559
difference:	+1	+3.5	+7.0	+4.0	+1.5	+5.4	+9.6	+1.0	+0.7	-2.1	-0.4	+2.0	+6.8	+.141	+0.3	+1.1		+2.6	+2.2	+.231
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		%
Steven Adams	6	33.3	10.5	3.2	4.3	7.5	1.5	0.7	0.7	0.7	2.5	4.5	7.7	.587	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	2.2	.692
difference:	+2	+7.5	+16.0	+1.2	+0.8	+2.0	+10.5	+1.6	+0.1	-3.6	-1.8	+5.8	+15.1	+.136		+1.3		+4.5	+6.8	+.025
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
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2018-19	1986-87
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder 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		%
Steven Adams	80	33.4	13.9	4.9	4.6	9.5	1.6	1.5	1.0	1.7	2.6	6.0	10.1	.595	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	3.7	.500
difference:	+1	+3.8	+6.7	+3.9	+1.7	+5.6	+8.4	+0.4	+0.8	-2.5	-0.5	+1.7	+6.6	+.132	+0.2	+1.2		+3.1	+2.7	+.268
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		%
Steven Adams	5	31.8	11.8	2.4	4.8	7.2	1.4	1.0	1.0	1.8	2.6	5.6	8.4	.667	0.0	0.2	.000	0.6	1.6	.375
difference:	+10	+5.7	+12.3	+1.0	+1.7	+2.7	+7.3	+1.6	+0.7	-1.0	-0.8	+3.3	+11.4	+.216	+0.7	+2.0	+.303	+4.9	+5.7	+.380
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
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2019-20	1987-88
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West 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		%
Steven Adams	63	26.7	10.9	3.3	6.0	9.3	2.3	0.8	1.1	1.5	1.9	4.5	7.6	.592	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	3.2	.582
difference:	+18	+9.4	+8.6	+2.5	+3.4	+5.9	+6.1	+0.9	+0.9	-1.9	-0.8	+3.2	+9.0	+.129	+0.4	+1.2		+1.9	+1.7	+.192
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		%
Steven Adams	7	30.0	10.1	4.9	6.7	11.6	1.3	0.6	0.3	2.3	1.4	4.4	7.4	.596	0.0	0.1	.000	1.3	2.9	.450
difference:	+16	+9.6	+11.8	+3.8	+3.2	+6.9	+7.4	+2.3		-1.4	-1.7	+3.6	+10.8	+.159	+0.6	+1.8	+.295	+4.1	+3.7	+.378
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
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2020-21	1988-89
Team	New Orleans Pelicans	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		%
Steven Adams	58	27.7	7.6	3.7	5.2	8.9	1.9	0.9	0.7	1.3	1.9	3.3	5.3	.614	0.0	0.1	.000	1.0	2.3	.444
difference:	+22	+8.9	+10.6	+3.1	+2.4	+5.5	+6.4	+0.8	+0.4	-2.4	-0.7	+3.8	+10.0	+.150	+0.4	+1.4	+.273	+2.6	+2.1	+.374
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		%
Steven Adams	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
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2021-22	1989-90
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Steven Adams	76	26.3	6.9	4.6	5.4	10.0	3.4	0.9	0.8	1.5	2.0	2.8	5.1	.547	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.6	.543
difference:	+5	+10.7	+11.5	+3.7	+2.5	+6.2	+6.0	+0.8	+0.6	-2.5	-0.5	+4.3	+11.2	+.109	+0.5	+1.7		+2.2	+2.1	+.232
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		%
Steven Adams	7	16.3	3.4	2.1	4.3	6.4	2.1	0.1	0.1	0.6	1.7	1.3	3.0	.429	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	1.6	.545
difference:	+13	+21.6	+17.1	+1.0	+0.1	+0.9	+6.1	+2.1	+0.3	-3.0	-1.6	+6.1	+13.0	+.034	+1.6	+3.4		+3.2	+3.5	+.249
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
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2022-23	1990-91
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	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		%
Steven Adams	42	27.0	8.6	5.1	6.5	11.5	2.3	0.9	1.1	1.9	2.3	3.7	6.3	.597	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	3.1	.364
difference:	+6	+7.5	+7.6	+4.4	+3.9	+8.2	+7.0	+0.7	+0.9	-2.0	-0.2	+2.3	+7.6	+.162	+0.4	+1.4		+2.6	+1.7	+.418
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		%
Steven Adams	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

Note: Steven Adams didn't play in 2023-24.

Season 11
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2024-25	1991-92
Team	Houston Rockets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Steven Adams	58	13.7	3.9	2.9	2.8	5.6	1.1	0.4	0.5	0.9	1.0	1.6	2.9	.545	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.6	.462
difference:	+20	+23.7	+14.6	+2.0	+0.5	+2.4	+6.1	+1.1	+0.3	-2.3	-1.5	+5.6	+13.3	+.099	+0.3	+1.1		+3.0	+3.2	+.310
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		%
Steven Adams	7	22.1	5.7	3.3	3.3	6.6	0.6	0.4	1.1	0.7	1.0	1.7	2.9	.600	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	4.3	.533
difference:	+2	+17.9	+8.3	+2.7	+1.3	+1.4	+6.8	+0.6	+1.1	-2.5	-2.6	+2.7	+10.1	+.262	+0.8	+2.2		+2.1	+1.3	+.253
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
	Steven Adams	Isiah Thomas
Season	2025-26	1992-93
Team	Houston Rockets	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		%
Steven Adams	4	24.5	7.8	6.0	4.8	10.8	1.5	1.0	0.5	1.5	2.5	2.5	3.8	.667	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	3.0	.917
difference:	+75	+12.5	+9.8	+5.1	+2.8	+7.9	+7.0	+0.6	+0.3	-2.1	-0.3	+4.2	+12.1	+.249	+0.8	+2.5		+0.7	+1.8	+.180
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 Steven Adams nor Isiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 12