Isiah Thomas vs. Nick Van Exel Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nick Van Exel and Isiah Thomas, 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.

Isiah Thomas and Nick Van Exel both played 13 years in the NBA. Isiah Thomas had the first of his seasons in 1981-82, while Nick Van Exel had his rookie season in 1993-94. 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
Isiah Thomas	13	9	1981-82 to 1993-94
Nick Van Exel	13	7	1993-94 to 2005-06

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1981-82	1993-94
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie Second Team
	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		%
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
Nick Van Exel	81	33.3	13.6	0.6	2.4	2.9	5.8	1.0	0.1	1.8	1.9	5.1	13.0	.394	1.5	4.5	.338	1.9	2.4	.781

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1982-83	1994-95
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West 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		%
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
Nick Van Exel	80	36.8	16.9	0.3	2.5	2.8	8.3	1.2	0.1	2.8	2.0	5.8	13.8	.420	2.3	6.4	.358	2.9	3.8	.783

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	10	46.4	20.0	0.9	2.9	3.8	7.3	2.1	0.3	2.2	3.3	6.7	16.2	.414	2.1	6.6	.318	4.5	5.9	.763


Season 3
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1983-84	1995-96
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Lakers 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		%
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
Nick Van Exel	74	34.0	14.9	0.4	2.1	2.4	6.9	0.9	0.1	2.1	1.6	5.4	12.8	.417	1.9	5.4	.357	2.2	2.8	.799

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Nick Van Exel	4	34.3	11.8	1.0	3.0	4.0	6.8	0.5	0.0	2.8	2.5	4.0	13.5	.296	1.3	4.0	.313	2.5	3.3	.769


Season 4
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1984-85	1996-97
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West 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		%
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
Nick Van Exel	79	37.2	15.3	0.6	2.3	2.9	8.5	0.9	0.1	2.7	1.4	5.5	13.6	.402	2.2	5.9	.378	2.1	2.5	.825

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Nick Van Exel	9	39.2	14.4	0.7	2.8	3.4	6.4	1.1	0.0	2.0	2.1	5.0	13.2	.378	1.3	4.9	.273	3.1	3.8	.824


Season 5
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1985-86	1997-98
Team	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West 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		%
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
Nick Van Exel	64	32.1	13.8	0.5	2.5	3.0	6.9	1.0	0.1	1.6	1.9	4.9	11.6	.419	1.9	4.9	.389	2.1	2.7	.791

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Nick Van Exel	13	28.3	11.6	0.7	1.8	2.5	4.2	0.6	0.1	1.7	2.3	3.8	11.6	.331	1.7	5.4	.314	2.2	3.1	.725


Season 6
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1986-87	1998-99
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 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		%
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
Nick Van Exel	50	36.0	16.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	7.4	0.8	0.1	2.4	1.8	6.1	15.4	.398	1.4	4.7	.308	2.8	3.5	.811

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1987-88	1999-00
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons 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		%
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
Nick Van Exel	79	37.3	16.1	0.4	3.5	3.9	9.0	0.9	0.1	2.8	1.9	6.0	15.4	.390	1.7	5.1	.332	2.5	3.0	.817

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1988-89	2000-01
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
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
Nick Van Exel	71	37.9	17.7	0.6	2.8	3.4	8.5	0.9	0.3	2.3	1.5	6.5	15.7	.414	1.9	5.0	.377	2.9	3.5	.819

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1989-90	2001-02
Team	Detroit Pistons	Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks Lost West 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		%
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
Nick Van Exel	72	34.7	18.4	0.4	3.1	3.5	6.6	0.6	0.2	2.2	1.4	7.0	17.0	.409	1.7	4.9	.340	2.8	3.5	.801

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Nick Van Exel	8	32.8	11.1	0.9	2.1	3.0	3.9	1.0	0.0	1.5	3.3	4.6	12.6	.366	0.9	4.3	.206	1.0	1.5	.667


Season 10
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1990-91	2002-03
Team	Detroit Pistons	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals	Mavericks Lost West 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		%
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
Nick Van Exel	73	27.8	12.5	0.5	2.4	2.8	4.3	0.6	0.1	1.7	1.2	4.7	11.4	.412	1.6	4.3	.378	1.5	2.0	.764

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Nick Van Exel	20	33.7	19.5	0.9	2.5	3.4	4.1	0.6	0.0	2.0	2.4	7.5	16.3	.460	2.2	5.6	.393	2.3	3.2	.703


Season 11
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1991-92	2003-04
Team	Detroit Pistons	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Nick Van Exel	39	32.2	12.6	0.4	2.3	2.7	5.3	0.5	0.1	2.0	1.5	4.8	12.3	.390	1.2	3.8	.307	1.8	2.5	.707

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1992-93	2004-05
Team	Detroit Pistons	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
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		%
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
Nick Van Exel	53	30.5	11.1	0.4	2.7	3.0	4.3	0.8	0.0	1.7	1.3	4.0	10.6	.381	1.9	4.8	.389	1.1	1.4	.784

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Isiah Thomas	Nick Van Exel
Season	1993-94	2005-06
Team	Detroit Pistons	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Nick Van Exel	65	15.2	5.5	0.1	1.3	1.4	1.9	0.2	0.0	0.9	0.9	2.1	5.3	.397	0.8	2.4	.357	0.4	0.6	.683

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	12	11.1	2.2	0.1	0.9	1.0	1.4	0.3	0.2	0.4	1.2	0.6	2.7	.219	0.3	0.8	.300	0.8	0.8	1.000

Isiah Thomas vs. Nick Van Exel Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nick Van Exel and Isiah Thomas, 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