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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 5:36 pm EDTNBA legend. Named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Isiah Thomas
Career at a glance
Isiah Thomas played 13 NBA regular seasons between 1981 and 1994, appearing in 979 games and averaging 19.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game. He spent his whole career with Detroit (1981–94, 979 games). His best scoring season was 1982–83 with Detroit: 22.9 points per game over 81 games.
The season table marks him as the league leader in assists once. Championship seasons: 1988–89 (Detroit), 1989–90 (Detroit). In the playoffs he appeared in 9 postseason runs (111 games, 20.4 points per game).
Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 18,800 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total). Among the 404 players with at least 200 NBA games profiled on whynba, Thomas ranks No. 5 in assists per game.
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Isiah Thomas
Isiah Lord Thomas III (/aɪˈzeɪ.ə/eye-ZAY-ə; born April 30, 1961), also known as "Zeke", is an American former professional basketball player who is a current analyst for NBA TV and Fox Sports. He played his entire professional career for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time, Thomas was a two-time NBA champion, an NBA Finals MVP recipient, a five-time All-NBA Team member, a 12-time NBA All-Star with two All-Star Game MVP awards and the 1985 NBA assist leader. He was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. From 2000 to 2012 he coached the Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, and FIU.
Thomas played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, leading them to the 1981 NCAA championship as a sophomore and declaring for the NBA draft. He was taken as the second overall pick by the Pistons in the 1981 NBA draft, and played for them his entire career, while leading the "Bad Boys" to the 1988–89 and 1989–90NBA championships.
Following his playing career, Thomas was an executive with the Toronto Raptors, a television commentator, the owner of the Continental Basketball Association, the head coach of the Indiana Pacers, and an executive and head coach for the New York Knicks. He later served as men's basketball coach for the Florida International University (FIU) Golden Panthers for three seasons from 2009 to 2012. Thomas was a president and part owner of the Knicks' WNBA sister team, the New York Liberty, from 2015 to 2019.
- Born
- April 30, 1961 (age 65) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
- Listed weight
- 180 lb (82 kg)
- Position
- Point guard
- High school
- St. Joseph (Westchester, Illinois)
- College
- 26–65 (.286)
- NBA draft
- 1981: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
- Playing career
- 1981–1994
Career highlights and awards
- 2× NBA champion (1989, 1990)
- NBA Finals MVP (1990)
- 12× NBA All-Star (1982–1993)
- 2× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1984, 1986)
- 3× All-NBA First Team (1984–1986)
- 2× All-NBA Second Team (1983, 1987)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1982)
- NBA assists leader (1985)
- NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th)
- No. 11 retired by Detroit Pistons
- NCAA champion (1981)
- NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1981)
- Consensus first-team All-American (1981)
- USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1980)
- First-team Parade All-American (1979)
- McDonald's All-American (1979)
- NBA All-Star Game head coach (2003)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–82 | Detroit | 72 | 72 | 33.8 | .424 | .288 | .704 | 2.9 | 7.8 | 2.1 | .2 | 17.0 |
| 1982–83 | Detroit | 81 | 81 | 38.2 | .472 | .288 | .710 | 4.0 | 7.8 | 2.5 | .4 | 22.9 |
| 1983–84 | Detroit | 82* | 82* | 36.7 | .462 | .338 | .733 | 4.0 | 11.1 | 2.5 | .4 | 21.3 |
| 1984–85 | Detroit | 81 | 81 | 38.1 | .458 | .257 | .809 | 4.5 | 13.9* | 2.3 | .3 | 21.2 |
| 1985–86 | Detroit | 77 | 77 | 36.2 | .488 | .310 | .790 | 3.6 | 10.8 | 2.2 | .3 | 20.9 |
| 1986–87 | Detroit | 81 | 81 | 37.2 | .463 | .194 | .768 | 3.9 | 10.0 | 1.9 | .2 | 20.6 |
| 1987–88 | Detroit | 81 | 81 | 36.1 | .463 | .309 | .774 | 3.4 | 8.4 | 1.7 | .2 | 19.5 |
| 1988–89† | Detroit | 80 | 76 | 36.6 | .464 | .273 | .818 | 3.4 | 8.3 | 1.7 | .3 | 18.2 |
| 1989–90† | Detroit | 81 | 81 | 37.0 | .438 | .309 | .775 | 3.8 | 9.4 | 1.7 | .2 | 18.4 |
| 1990–91 | Detroit | 48 | 46 | 34.5 | .435 | .292 | .782 | 3.3 | 9.3 | 1.6 | .2 | 16.2 |
| 1991–92 | Detroit | 78 | 78 | 37.4 | .446 | .291 | .772 | 3.2 | 7.2 | 1.5 | .2 | 18.5 |
| 1992–93 | Detroit | 79 | 79 | 37.0 | .418 | .308 | .737 | 2.9 | 8.5 | 1.6 | .2 | 17.6 |
| 1993–94 | Detroit | 58 | 56 | 30.2 | .417 | .310 | .702 | 2.7 | 6.9 | 1.2 | .1 | 14.8 |
| Career | 979 | 971 | 36.3 | .452 | .290 | .759 | 3.6 | 9.3 | 1.9 | .3 | 19.2 | |
| All-Star | 11 | 10 | 28.9 | .571 | .400 | .771 | 2.5 | 8.8 | 2.8 | .0 | 16.8 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Detroit | 5 | 5 | 39.6 | .470 | .333 | .771 | 3.8 | 11.0 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 21.4 |
| 1985 | Detroit | 9 | 9 | 39.4 | .500 | .400 | .758 | 5.2 | 11.2 | 2.1 | .4 | 24.3 |
| 1986 | Detroit | 4 | 4 | 40.8 | .451 | .000 | .667 | 5.5 | 12.0 | 2.3 | .8 | 26.5 |
| 1987 | Detroit | 15 | 15 | 37.5 | .451 | .303 | .755 | 4.5 | 8.7 | 2.6 | .3 | 24.1 |
| 1988 | Detroit | 23 | 23 | 39.6 | .437 | .295 | .828 | 4.7 | 8.7 | 2.9 | .3 | 21.9 |
| 1989† | Detroit | 17 | 17 | 37.2 | .412 | .267 | .740 | 4.3 | 8.3 | 1.6 | .2 | 18.2 |
| 1990† | Detroit | 20 | 20 | 37.9 | .463 | .471 | .794 | 5.5 | 8.2 | 2.2 | .4 | 20.5 |
| 1991 | Detroit | 13 | 11 | 33.5 | .403 | .273 | .725 | 4.2 | 8.5 | 1.0 | .2 | 13.5 |
| 1992 | Detroit | 5 | 5 | 40.0 | .338 | .364 | .786 | 5.2 | 7.4 | 1.0 | .0 | 14.0 |
| Career | 111 | 109 | 38.0 | .441 | .346 | .769 | 4.7 | 8.9 | 2.1 | .3 | 20.4 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–80 | Indiana | 29 | 29 | 34.0 | .510 | – | .722 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 2.1 | .2 | 14.6 |
| 1980–81 | Indiana | 34 | 34 | 35.0 | .554 | – | .742 | 3.1 | 5.8 | 2.2 | .1 | 16.0 |
| Career | 63 | 63 | 34.5 | .534 | – | .756 | 3.5 | 5.7 | 2.2 | .2 | 15.4 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 1″
- Weight
- 180 lb
- Position
- Point guard
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1981
- Draft pick
- Round 1 · Pick 2
Height, Weight, Position, Country, Draft year, Draft pick: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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