Isiah Thomas is widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time. Drafted as a second overall pick in the 1981 NBA draft, Thomas is a 12-time All-Star named to the NBA’s 50th and 75th-anniversary teams and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. Zeke is a two-time NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons, having cemented his name as one of the franchise’s legends, who gave Michael Jordan‘s Chicago Bulls a tough challenge in the Eastern Conference through the late 80s and the early 90s.
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Lately, Isiah Thomas has been again trending on social media after reigniting his feud with Michael Jordan. The new generation of fans has often tried throwing shade over Thomas’ NBA career, not knowing the milestones he had achieved during his playing days. Let’s try to evaluate the Pistons legend’s playing career, highlighting some of the incredible stats Thomas has recorded to acquire this legendary status.
Isiah Thomas’ regular season stats
According to Basketball Reference, Isiah Thomas has played for 13 seasons in the NBA, averaging 19.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game. In his career, Thomas sank 45.2% from the floor, averaging 3.8 turnovers per game. Thomas recorded his best career averages in the 1982-83 season, averaging 22.9 points, 7.8 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. He has also recorded a career-high 47 points, 12 rebounds, and 25 assists in three separate games.
Thomas was an extremely prolific scorer, recording 98 games scoring 30+ points and 10 games scoring 40+ points, according to Stat Muse. Furthermore, he has played in 98 games with 15+ assists and a rare feat of featuring in 9 games with 20+ assists during his playing days. Defensively, Zeke was quite a talented prodigy, having recorded more than five steals in 27 games of his career.
Thomas’ offensive prowess as a point guard is evident in his five triple-doubles and an insane 320 double-double figures on the stats sheet. He had an incredible vision on the court and was known for being a prolific playmaker for the Pistons. This explains Thomas’ top-10 ranking amongst assists leaders in the league, ranking 10th in the list for making 9,061 assists during his playing career.
Isiah Thomas’ playoffs stats
If we compare Isiah Thomas’ playoff stats to his regular season averages, the 12x All-Star might seem like an objectively better player during the postseason. In fact, Thomas’ postseason campaigns have led him to two consecutive NBA championships and a Finals MVP title in 1990.
He has appeared in 111 playoff games with the Detroit Pistons, averaging 20.4 points, 8.9 assists, and 4.7 rebounds, per game. He has scored 41.1% from the floor in the postseason while averaging 3.3 turnovers per game.
Thomas has cemented career-high stats of 43 points and 12 rebounds across two separate playoff games and has recorded a career-high 16 assists, thrice in the postseason. Furthermore, he has played two playoff games, recording a career-high 6 steals and one playoff game rejecting a high of 3 shots during his career.
Scoring has never been an issue for Thomas, as he has played 20 games, dropping 30+ points in the postseason. Furthermore, he wasn’t too bleak with his assists either, scoring 15+ dimes in four playoff games.
The stats and figures testify to the incredible career Isiah Thomas has led as an NBA player. All the arguments favoring Zeke being one of the most significant point guards aren’t in vain. The numbers truly validate IT as a legend from the yester years of the NBA, greatly inspiring several players from the younger generations to this day.
