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Player profile · DET
Isiah Thomas
Isiah Thomas stats, teams and career impact
#89 all-timeCareer averages · 19.2 PPG · 3.6 RPG · 9.3 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Point guard
- Final NBA team
- Detroit Pistons
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) · 180 lb (82 kg)
- Born
- April 30, 1961 (65 yrs old)
- College
- Indiana
- NBA seasons
- 13 seasons · 1981–82 to 1993–94
Career summaryIsiah Thomas was a point guard who played 13 NBA seasons, from 1981–82 through 1993–94.
- Career PPG
- 19.2
- Career RPG
- 3.6
- Career APG
- 9.3
- #3 in 1984–85
- #89 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why Isiah Thomas ranks #89 all time
Isiah Thomas ranks #89 all time. 3 top-ten finishes give him a sustained run near the top of the league. His full-career value ranks #78, so longevity is a major reason he lands this high.
3 top-ten finishes
979 games · Career Value Rank #78
NBA honors12× All-Star · 5× All-NBAContext only; honors are not model inputs.
Head to head
Compare Isiah Thomas with…
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- Isiah Thomas vs. Baron Davis Similar career path
- Isiah Thomas vs. Doc Rivers Similar career path
- Isiah Thomas vs. Kevin Johnson Similar career path
- Isiah Thomas vs. Allen Iverson Similar career path
- Isiah Thomas vs. Eddie Jones Similar career path
- Isiah Thomas vs. Ron Harper Similar career path
Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Detroit Pistons
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 45.2%FG%
- Three-point
- 29.0%3P%
- Free throw
- 75.9%FT%
979 career games · 35,516 minutes
Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.
Traditional box score
Isiah Thomas stats by season
Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| 1993–94 | 14.8 | 2.7 | 6.9 | -0.73 | DET | 58 | 56 | 30.2 | 41.7% | 31.0% | 70.2% | #145 | 43.7 |
| 1992–93 | 17.6 | 2.9 | 8.5 | +1.00 | DET | 79 | 79 | 37.0 | 41.8% | 30.8% | 73.7% | #75 | 170.1 |
| 1991–92 | 18.5 | 3.2 | 7.2 | +0.83 | DET | 78 | 78 | 37.4 | 44.6% | 29.1% | 77.2% | #83 | 157.8 |
| 1990–91 | 16.2 | 3.3 | 9.3 | +2.18 | DET | 48 | 46 | 34.5 | 43.5% | 29.2% | 78.2% | #41 | 132.6 |
| 1989–90 | 18.4 | 3.8 | 9.4 | +1.78 | DET | 81 | 81 | 37.0 | 43.8% | 30.9% | 77.5% | #45 | 222.5 |
| 1988–89 | 18.2 | 3.4 | 8.3 | +0.87 | DET | 80 | 76 | 36.5 | 46.4% | 27.3% | 81.8% | #68 | 167.0 |
| 1987–88 | 19.5 | 3.4 | 8.4 | +1.62 | DET | 81 | 81 | 36.1 | 46.3% | 30.9% | 77.4% | #38 | 216.8 |
| 1986–87 | 20.6 | 3.9 | 10.0 | +2.18 | DET | 81 | 81 | 37.2 | 46.3% | 19.4% | 76.8% | #29 | 264.7 |
| 1985–86 | 20.9 | 3.6 | 10.8 | +5.04 | DET | 77 | 77 | 36.2 | 48.8% | 31.0% | 79.0% | #6 | 426.2 |
| 1984–85 | 21.2 | 4.5 | 13.9 | +6.44 | DET | 81 | 81 | 38.1 | 45.8% | 25.7% | 80.9% | #3 | 570.2 |
| 1983–84 | 21.3 | 4.0 | 11.1 | +5.03 | DET | 82 | 82 | 36.7 | 46.2% | 33.8% | 73.3% | #4 | 457.3 |
| 1982–83 | 22.9 | 4.0 | 7.8 | +2.42 | DET | 81 | 81 | 38.2 | 47.2% | 28.8% | 71.0% | #28 | 301.3 |
| 1981–82 | 17.0 | 2.9 | 7.8 | -0.49 | DET | 72 | 72 | 33.8 | 42.4% | 28.8% | 70.4% | #121 | 79.6 |
| Career | 19.2 | 3.6 | 9.3 | — | DET | 979 | — | 36.3 | 45.2% | 29.0% | 75.9% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
Film evidence
Isiah Thomas highlights
Watch the selected footage or film analysis, then use the season record and impact data to put what happened on the floor in context.
Peak-season highlights
Isiah Thomas 1989–90 season highlights
Isiah Thomas's peak-season highlights adds visual context to the numbers on this page, especially his speed, ball control and command of Detroit's championship offense. The vetted footage complements the season tables and impact model.
What these measures mean
- Era-centered box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average.
- Impact Rate Rank
- The player's place among qualified players in one season.
- Value contribution / Season Value
- Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
- Career Impact Rank
- An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.
13.1 composite · lower is better
14.0 average league finish
3,210 total value
Career standing
How Isiah Thomas ranks all time
These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.
Best in the league
Elite finishes
Upper-tier finishes
Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons
Career Composite Score13.1
Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.
- Best 3 effective weight
- 74%
- Missing-season finish
- 258.0
- Qualified seasons
- 13
- All-time rank
- #89
Strongest seasons
Every season
Isiah Thomas advanced stats by season
Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.
More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage
Scroll for more columns
| 1993–94Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 32 | 58 | 1,750 | -0.73 | 50.5 | #145 | 43.7 | 51st | Broad |
| 1992–93Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 31 | 79 | 2,922 | +1.00 | 74.9 | #75 | 170.1 | 83rd | Broad |
| 1991–92Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 30 | 78 | 2,918 | +0.83 | 71.6 | #83 | 157.8 | 80th | Broad |
| 1990–91Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 29 | 48 | 1,657 | +2.18 | 86.3 | #41 | 132.6 | 77th | Broad |
| 1989–90Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 28 | 81 | 2,993 | +1.78 | 84.7 | #45 | 222.5 | 88th | Broad |
| 1988–89Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 27 | 80 | 2,924 | +0.87 | 74.5 | #68 | 167.0 | 82nd | Broad |
| 1987–88Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 26 | 81 | 2,927 | +1.62 | 85.2 | #38 | 216.8 | 87th | Broad |
| 1986–87Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 25 | 81 | 3,013 | +2.18 | 89.1 | #29 | 264.7 | 92nd | Broad |
| 1985–86Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 24 | 77 | 2,790 | +5.04 | 98.0 | #6 | 426.2 | 98th | Broad |
| 1984–85Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 23 | 81 | 3,089 | +6.44 | 99.2 | #3 | 570.2 | 99th | Broad |
| 1983–84Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 22 | 82 | 3,007 | +5.03 | 98.8 | #4 | 457.3 | 99th | Broad |
| 1982–83Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 21 | 81 | 3,093 | +2.42 | 89.3 | #28 | 301.3 | 94th | Broad |
| 1981–82Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 20 | 72 | 2,433 | -0.49 | 52.8 | #121 | 79.6 | 62nd | Broad |
Career movement
Isiah Thomas's career impact by season
Peak +6.44 in 1984–85 · 13 seasons · 35,516 minutes
The same historical box-score model is used for every season, making the career shape comparable through time. The vertical scale adapts to this player's range and always includes zero.
Era-centered box impactMinutes
Player-specific impact scaleWorkload
Career comparison
Compare the shape, not the calendar
Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.
Isiah ThomasBaron Davis
| NBA season | Isiah Thomas | Baron Davis |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | -0.5 | -0.0 |
| 2 | 2.4 | 3.3 |
| 3 | 5.0 | 3.9 |
| 4 | 6.4 | 2.9 |
| 5 | 5.0 | 5.9 |
| 6 | 2.2 | 6.3 |
| 7 | 1.6 | 3.3 |
| 8 | 0.9 | 4.3 |
| 9 | 1.8 | 3.6 |
| 10 | 2.2 | 0.9 |
| 11 | 0.8 | 2.6 |
| 12 | 1.0 | 2.4 |
| 13 | -0.7 | -2.7 |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to Isiah Thomas
The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.
PG · All-Time Career #109
Baron Davis
91career similarity score
93/100 closest-season score · 1984–85 ↔ 2003–04PG · All-Time Career #103Doc Rivers
89career similarity score
89/100 closest-season score · 1984–85 ↔ 1986–87PG · All-Time Career #128Kevin Johnson
89career similarity score
93/100 closest-season score · 1984–85 ↔ 1990–91Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →