Don Buse vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Don Buse, 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 / 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.

Don Buse played 9 years in the NBA, 4 less than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Don Buse had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, 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 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
Don Buse	9	6	1976-77 to 1984-85
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
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	1976-77	1981-82
Team	Indiana Pacers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	Assists Leader	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	81	36.4	8.0	0.8	2.5	3.3	8.5	3.5	0.2	-	1.6	3.3	7.9	.416	-	-	-	1.4	1.8	.786
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		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	1977-78	1982-83
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	82	31.1	8.4	0.7	2.3	3.0	4.8	2.3	0.2	1.5	1.8	3.5	7.6	.458	-	-	-	1.4	1.7	.824
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		%
Don Buse	2	38.0	4.0	0.0	2.5	2.5	2.0	2.0	0.0	0.5	1.5	2.0	5.5	.364	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	1978-79	1983-84
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	82	31.0	7.8	0.5	2.1	2.6	4.3	1.9	0.2	1.2	1.8	3.5	7.0	.495	-	-	-	0.9	1.1	.769
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		%
Don Buse	15	34.1	7.9	1.1	2.5	3.7	3.5	1.5	0.3	1.0	2.1	3.1	7.7	.405	-	-	-	1.6	2.2	.727
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
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	1979-80	1984-85
Team	Phoenix Suns	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Pistons Lost East Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	81	30.9	7.7	0.9	2.0	2.9	4.0	1.6	0.1	1.1	1.4	3.2	7.3	.443	0.2	1.0	.241	1.0	1.6	.664
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		%
Don Buse	8	29.5	8.5	1.0	1.6	2.6	5.5	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.9	3.5	8.0	.438	0.6	1.6	.385	0.9	1.4	.636
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
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	1980-81	1985-86
Team	Indiana Pacers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	58	18.9	5.1	0.3	1.1	1.4	2.4	1.3	0.1	0.7	1.1	2.0	4.9	.397	0.3	1.0	.328	0.9	1.1	.769
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		%
Don Buse	2	17.5	2.5	0.0	2.5	2.5	3.5	1.5	0.0	1.0	2.0	0.5	4.0	.125	0.5	2.0	.250	1.0	1.0	1.000
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
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	1981-82	1986-87
Team	Indiana Pacers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	82	30.8	9.7	0.6	2.2	2.7	5.0	2.0	0.3	1.2	2.1	3.8	8.4	.455	0.9	2.3	.386	1.2	1.5	.813
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		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	1982-83	1987-88
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis	Pistons Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	41	15.7	4.7	0.5	0.9	1.3	2.8	1.1	0.0	0.6	1.5	1.8	4.4	.396	0.2	0.9	.257	1.0	1.1	.891
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		%
Don Buse	5	6.2	1.4	0.0	0.4	0.4	1.4	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.4	1.6	.250	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	0.8	.750
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
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	1983-84	1988-89
Team	Kansas City Kings	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Kings Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	76	17.5	5.0	0.4	1.1	1.5	4.0	1.1	0.0	1.1	0.8	2.0	4.6	.426	0.2	0.8	.305	0.8	1.1	.788
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		%
Don Buse	3	16.7	7.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	3.7	0.3	0.3	1.0	1.7	2.3	5.3	.438	1.0	2.0	.500	1.3	2.0	.667
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
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	1984-85	1989-90
Team	Kansas City Kings	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	65	14.4	3.4	0.3	0.6	0.9	3.1	0.6	0.0	0.7	1.2	1.3	3.1	.404	0.5	1.3	.356	0.4	0.5	.767
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		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	-	1990-91
Team	-	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	-	1991-92
Team	-	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	-	1992-93
Team	-	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Don Buse	Isiah Thomas
Season	-	1993-94
Team	-	Detroit Pistons
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		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Don Buse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Don Buse vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Don Buse, 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

Season 13