When I think of 1980s basketball, it’s the decade of Magic
and Bird … and Isiah Thomas.
So I was pretty surprised when Thomas didn’t end up in the
top 50. He has the bio. He was an all-star 12 out of his 13 seasons and won two
all-star game MVPs. He was a two-time NBA champion on one of iconic 80s teams,
Detroit’s Bad Boys. He was an NBA Finals MVP. He led the league in assists.
Why didn’t he end up higher? His best statistical seasons came before the Pistons were title contenders and he faded quickly, unable to play deep into his 30s, which would have driven up his career score.
Why didn’t he end up higher? His best statistical seasons came before the Pistons were title contenders and he faded quickly, unable to play deep into his 30s, which would have driven up his career score.
Before you factor in winning percentage, 1984-1985 was
clearly Zeke’s best season. That’s the year he led the league in assists with
an amazing 13.9 per game. That year, he had his career best PER (22.2), win
shares (11.2), Box +/- (5.2) and VORP (5.6). He was even better in the
playoffs, upping his PER to 22.7 and his box +/- to 6.9. The Pistons though won
just 56 percent of the games he played in and went 5-4 in the playoffs. Considering
his season, Thomas also got a rather miniscule 6 percent of the MVP voting as
well, finishing ninth.
By 1987-1988, the Pistons were title contenders, but now
Thomas was sharing the scoring load with Joe Dumars, Adrian Dantley and later
Mark Aguirre, and Vinnie Johnson. He never topped 19.0 in PER or 9.0 in win
shares after the 1985-1986 season.
Still, Detroit’s three-year run at the top of the NBA helped
offset the fact that Thomas was slipping statistically. What kept him from
cracking the top 50 in my system is that Thomas and the Pistons fell apart
after that second title. The Bulls swept the Pistons out of the 1990-1991
playoffs. By 1993-1994, Detroit was one of the worst teams in the league and
Thomas’ points had dropped to 14.8 per game and assists to 6.9. He decided to
retire at the end of the year even though he was just 33, but an Achilles injury
ended the final year early.
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Isiah
Thomas bio info
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Career
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1981-1994
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Games
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979
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Points
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19.2
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Rebounds
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3.6
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Assists
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9.3
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FG Pct.
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45.2%
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All-Star games
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12
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NBA MVPs
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0
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NBA Titles
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2
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Playoff seasons
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9
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Playoff games
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111
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Points
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20.4
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Rebounds
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4.7
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Assists
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8.9
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FG Pct.
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44.1%
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Hall of Fame
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2000
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Top 100
rankings
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||
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Points
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Top 100 ranking
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1-year
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307.82
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75th
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5-year
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1,435.20
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49th
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10-year
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2,401.39
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61st
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Career
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2,604.89
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78th
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Isiah
Thomas at his peak
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|||
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1989-1990
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Thomas
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Top 5
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Points
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PER
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17.3
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27.70
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Win Shares
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6.7
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16.76
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Box +/-
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2.5
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8.86
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VORP
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3.4
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8.25
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Total Advanced Stats
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29.9
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61.57
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48.56
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Playoff PER
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21.0
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26.30
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Win Shares
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3.1
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2.96
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Box +/-
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8.7
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9.36
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VORP
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2.1
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1.81
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Total Advanced Stats
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34.9
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40.42
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86.34
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Reg. Season Win %
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72.84
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72.84
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Playoff Win %
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75.00
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75.00
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MVP Voting (75 points)
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1/920
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|
.08
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
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25.00
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25.00
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Total Score
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307.82
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Thomas’ 10 greatest seasons
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1989-1990
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307.82
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1984-1985
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297.63
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1988-1989
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284.85
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1986-1987
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282.78
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1987-1988
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262.11
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1983-1984
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262.00
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1985-1986
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233.86
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1990-1991
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193.19
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1991-1992
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166.19
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1982-1983
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110.95
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Career
winning percentage
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|||
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W
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L
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Pct.
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Regular Season
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567
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412
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57.92%
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Playoffs
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70
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41
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63.06%
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