Elgin Baylor vs. Isaiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isaiah Thomas and Elgin Baylor, 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.

Elgin Baylor played 14 years in the NBA, 2 more than Isaiah Thomas, who played 12. Elgin Baylor had the first of his seasons in 1958-59, 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14
Rookie Season
	Elgin Baylor	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1958-59	2011-12
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	-	All-Rookie Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Elgin Baylor	70	40.8	24.9	-	-	15.0	4.1	-	-	-	3.9	8.6	21.2	.408	-	-	-	7.6	9.8	.777
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		%
Elgin Baylor	13	42.8	25.5	-	-	12.0	3.3	-	-	-	4.0	9.4	23.3	.403	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.770
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Elgin Baylor	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1959-60	2012-13
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	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		%
Elgin Baylor	70	41.0	29.6	-	-	16.4	3.5	-	-	-	3.3	10.8	25.4	.424	-	-	-	8.1	11.0	.732
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		%
Elgin Baylor	9	45.3	33.4	-	-	14.1	3.4	-	-	-	4.2	12.3	26.0	.474	-	-	-	8.8	10.4	.840
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Elgin Baylor	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1960-61	2013-14
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	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		%
Elgin Baylor	73	42.9	34.8	-	-	19.8	5.1	-	-	-	3.8	12.8	29.7	.430	-	-	-	9.3	11.8	.783
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		%
Elgin Baylor	12	45.0	38.1	-	-	15.3	4.6	-	-	-	3.7	14.2	30.2	.470	-	-	-	9.8	11.8	.824
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Elgin Baylor	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1961-62	2014-15
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics 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		%
Elgin Baylor	48	44.4	38.3	-	-	18.6	4.6	-	-	-	3.2	14.2	33.1	.428	-	-	-	9.9	13.1	.754
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		%
Elgin Baylor	13	43.9	38.6	-	-	17.7	3.6	-	-	-	3.5	14.3	32.7	.438	-	-	-	10.0	12.9	.774
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
	Elgin Baylor	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1962-63	2015-16
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Celtics 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		%
Elgin Baylor	80	42.1	34.0	-	-	14.3	4.8	-	-	-	2.8	12.9	28.4	.453	-	-	-	8.3	9.9	.837
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		%
Elgin Baylor	13	43.2	32.6	-	-	13.6	4.5	-	-	-	3.7	12.3	27.8	.442	-	-	-	8.0	9.7	.825
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
	Elgin Baylor	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1963-64	2016-17
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Celtics 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		%
Elgin Baylor	78	40.6	25.4	-	-	12.0	4.4	-	-	-	3.0	9.7	22.8	.425	-	-	-	6.0	7.5	.804
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		%
Elgin Baylor	5	44.2	24.2	-	-	11.6	5.6	-	-	-	3.4	9.0	23.8	.378	-	-	-	6.2	8.0	.775
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
	Elgin Baylor	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1964-65	2017-18
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Elgin Baylor	74	41.3	27.1	-	-	12.8	3.8	-	-	-	3.2	10.3	25.7	.401	-	-	-	6.5	8.2	.792
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		%
Elgin Baylor	1	5.0	0.0	-	-	0	1.0	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	2.0	.000	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Elgin Baylor	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1966-67	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	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		%
Elgin Baylor	70	38.7	26.6	-	-	12.8	3.1	-	-	-	3.0	10.2	23.7	.429	-	-	-	6.3	7.7	.813
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		%
Elgin Baylor	3	40.3	23.7	-	-	13.0	3.0	-	-	-	2.0	9.3	25.3	.368	-	-	-	5.0	6.7	.750
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Elgin Baylor	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1967-68	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Elgin Baylor	77	39.3	26.0	-	-	12.2	4.6	-	-	-	3.0	9.8	22.2	.443	-	-	-	6.3	8.1	.786
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		%
Elgin Baylor	15	42.2	28.5	-	-	14.5	4.0	-	-	-	2.7	11.7	25.1	.468	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.679
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Elgin Baylor	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1968-69	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Elgin Baylor	76	40.3	24.8	-	-	10.6	5.4	-	-	-	2.7	9.6	21.5	.447	-	-	-	5.5	7.5	.743
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		%
Elgin Baylor	18	35.6	15.4	-	-	9.2	4.1	-	-	-	3.1	5.9	15.4	.385	-	-	-	3.5	5.6	.630
Isaiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Season 12
	Elgin Baylor	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1969-70	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Suns Lost West 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		%
Elgin Baylor	54	41.0	24.0	-	-	10.4	5.4	-	-	-	2.4	9.5	19.5	.486	-	-	-	5.1	6.6	.773
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		%
Elgin Baylor	18	37.1	18.7	-	-	9.6	4.6	-	-	-	2.8	7.7	16.4	.466	-	-	-	3.3	4.5	.741
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	-