Tom Gola vs. Isiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isiah Thomas and Tom Gola, 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.

Tom Gola played 10 years in the NBA, 3 less than Isiah Thomas, who played 13. Tom Gola had the first of his seasons in 1955-56, 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13
Rookie Season
	Tom Gola	Isiah Thomas
Season	1955-56	1981-82
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	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		%
Tom Gola	68	34.5	10.8	-	-	9.1	5.9	-	-	-	4.0	3.6	8.7	.412	-	-	-	3.6	4.9	.733
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		%
Tom Gola	10	36.0	12.3	-	-	10.1	5.8	-	-	-	4.7	3.8	10.7	.355	-	-	-	4.7	6.0	.783
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Tom Gola didn't play in 1956-57.

Season 2
	Tom Gola	Isiah Thomas
Season	1957-58	1982-83
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East 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		%
Tom Gola	59	36.0	13.8	-	-	10.8	5.5	-	-	-	3.8	5.0	12.1	.415	-	-	-	3.8	5.1	.746
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		%
Tom Gola	8	40.9	13.8	-	-	10.5	4.0	-	-	-	3.0	4.5	13.6	.330	-	-	-	4.8	6.4	.745
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Tom Gola	Isiah Thomas
Season	1958-59	1983-84
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Tom Gola	64	36.5	14.1	-	-	11.1	4.2	-	-	-	3.8	4.8	12.1	.401	-	-	-	4.4	5.6	.787
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		%
Tom Gola	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Tom Gola	Isiah Thomas
Season	1959-60	1984-85
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Tom Gola	75	38.3	15.0	-	-	10.4	5.5	-	-	-	4.1	5.7	13.1	.433	-	-	-	3.6	4.5	.794
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		%
Tom Gola	9	37.8	12.6	-	-	10.6	5.6	-	-	-	4.6	4.7	11.3	.412	-	-	-	3.2	4.0	.806
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
	Tom Gola	Isiah Thomas
Season	1960-61	1985-86
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Tom Gola	74	36.6	14.2	-	-	9.4	3.9	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	12.7	.447	-	-	-	2.8	3.8	.747
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		%
Tom Gola	3	42.3	9.7	-	-	12.3	5.0	-	-	-	4.7	2.3	11.3	.206	-	-	-	5.0	6.7	.750
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
	Tom Gola	Isiah Thomas
Season	1961-62	1986-87
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Tom Gola	60	41.0	13.7	-	-	9.8	4.9	-	-	-	4.5	5.4	12.8	.421	-	-	-	2.9	3.8	.765
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		%
Tom Gola	9	35.1	6.3	-	-	8.2	2.7	-	-	-	4.2	2.1	7.8	.271	-	-	-	2.1	2.8	.760
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
	Tom Gola	Isiah Thomas
Season	1962-63	1987-88
Team	San Francisco Warriors, New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Tom Gola	73	36.6	12.3	-	-	4.3	4.1	-	-	-	4.0	5.0	10.8	.459	-	-	-	2.3	3.0	.776
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		%
Tom Gola	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Tom Gola	Isiah Thomas
Season	1963-64	1988-89
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	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		%
Tom Gola	74	29.1	9.1	-	-	6.3	3.5	-	-	-	3.8	3.5	8.1	.429	-	-	-	2.1	2.9	.726
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		%
Tom Gola	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Tom Gola	Isiah Thomas
Season	1964-65	1989-90
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	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		%
Tom Gola	77	22.4	7.0	-	-	4.1	2.9	-	-	-	3.5	2.6	5.9	.448	-	-	-	1.7	2.3	.739
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		%
Tom Gola	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Tom Gola	Isiah Thomas
Season	1965-66	1990-91
Team	New York Knicks	Detroit Pistons
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		%
Tom Gola	74	15.2	4.4	-	-	3.9	2.6	-	-	-	2.8	1.6	3.7	.450	-	-	-	1.1	1.4	.781
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		%
Tom Gola	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Tom Gola	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		%
Tom Gola	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Tom Gola	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Tom Gola	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		%
Tom Gola	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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		%
Tom Gola	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Isiah Thomas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-