Phil Jackson vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Phil Jackson, 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.

Phil Jackson played 12 years in the NBA, 1 less than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Phil Jackson had the first of his seasons in 1967-68, 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
Phil Jackson	12	8	1967-68 to 1979-80
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
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1967-68	1981-82
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East 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		%
Phil Jackson	75	14.6	6.2	-	-	4.5	0.7	-	-	-	2.8	2.4	6.1	.400	-	-	-	1.3	2.2	.589
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		%
Phil Jackson	6	15.0	4.0	-	-	4.2	0.3	-	-	-	3.8	1.7	5.8	.286	-	-	-	0.7	0.8	.800
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1968-69	1982-83
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Phil Jackson	47	19.7	7.1	-	-	5.2	0.9	-	-	-	3.6	2.7	6.3	.429	-	-	-	1.7	2.5	.672
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		%
Phil Jackson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Phil Jackson didn't play in 1969-70 (NBA Champion).


Season 3
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1970-71	1983-84
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East 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		%
Phil Jackson	71	10.9	4.7	-	-	3.4	0.4	-	-	-	2.4	1.7	3.7	.449	-	-	-	1.3	1.9	.714
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		%
Phil Jackson	5	6.0	1.8	-	-	2.0	0.4	-	-	-	1.6	0.8	2.8	.286	-	-	-	0.2	0.2	1.000
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
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1971-72	1984-85
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Phil Jackson	80	15.9	7.2	-	-	4.1	0.9	-	-	-	2.8	2.6	5.8	.440	-	-	-	2.1	2.9	.732
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		%
Phil Jackson	16	20.0	9.8	-	-	5.1	0.9	-	-	-	3.2	3.6	7.5	.475	-	-	-	2.6	3.6	.737
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
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1972-73	1985-86
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Phil Jackson	80	17.4	8.1	-	-	4.3	1.2	-	-	-	2.7	3.1	6.9	.443	-	-	-	1.9	2.4	.790
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		%
Phil Jackson	17	19.9	8.7	-	-	4.2	1.4	-	-	-	3.5	3.5	7.1	.500	-	-	-	1.6	2.2	.737
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
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1973-74	1986-87
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Phil Jackson	82	25.0	11.1	1.5	4.3	5.8	1.6	0.5	0.8	-	3.4	4.4	9.2	.477	-	-	-	2.3	3.0	.776
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		%
Phil Jackson	12	24.8	11.3	1.3	3.5	4.8	1.3	0.8	0.4	-	3.3	4.5	9.7	.466	-	-	-	2.3	2.5	.900
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
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1974-75	1987-88
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Phil Jackson	78	29.3	10.8	1.8	5.9	7.7	1.7	1.1	0.7	-	4.2	4.2	9.1	.455	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.763
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		%
Phil Jackson	3	26.0	9.0	1.7	6.7	8.3	0.7	1.3	1.0	-	5.0	3.3	7.0	.476	-	-	-	2.3	2.7	.875
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
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1975-76	1988-89
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
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		%
Phil Jackson	80	18.3	6.0	1.0	3.3	4.3	1.3	0.5	0.3	-	3.4	2.3	4.8	.478	-	-	-	1.4	1.9	.733
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		%
Phil Jackson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1976-77	1989-90
Team	New York Knicks	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		%
Phil Jackson	76	13.6	3.4	1.0	2.0	3.0	1.1	0.4	0.2	-	2.4	1.3	3.1	.440	-	-	-	0.7	0.9	.718
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		%
Phil Jackson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1977-78	1990-91
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Phil Jackson	63	10.4	2.4	0.5	1.3	1.7	0.7	0.5	0.2	0.7	1.7	0.9	1.8	.478	-	-	-	0.7	0.9	.768
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		%
Phil Jackson	6	8.3	2.0	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.7	1.8	0.7	1.3	.500	-	-	-	0.7	1.0	.667
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
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1978-79	1991-92
Team	New Jersey Nets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets 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		%
Phil Jackson	59	18.1	6.3	1.0	2.0	3.0	1.4	0.8	0.4	1.3	2.8	2.4	5.1	.475	-	-	-	1.5	1.8	.819
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		%
Phil Jackson	2	10.0	2.0	1.0	0.5	1.5	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	1.5	.333	-	-	-	1.0	1.0	1.000
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
	Phil Jackson	Isiah Thomas
Season	1979-80	1992-93
Team	New Jersey Nets	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Phil Jackson	16	12.1	4.1	0.8	0.8	1.5	0.8	0.3	0.3	0.6	2.2	1.8	2.9	.630	0.0	0.1	.000	0.4	0.6	.700
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		%
Phil Jackson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Phil Jackson	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		%
Phil Jackson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Phil Jackson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Phil Jackson vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Phil Jackson, 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