Cross-era · careers 6 years apart

Billy Cunningham vs Isiah Thomas

Billy Cunningham 1965-1975 · Forward Isiah Thomas 1981-1993 · Guard

Billy Cunningham (1965-1975) and Isiah Thomas (1981-1993) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 6 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Billy Cunningham was the higher-volume scorer (20.8 points per game to 19.2); adjusted for era they scored at 1.88× and 1.85× their league average respectively; Isiah Thomas was the more efficient scorer (51.6% true shooting to 50.3%). Isiah Thomas holds the edge on accolades — 2 championships, 1 Finals MVP and the #36 all-time ranking to Billy Cunningham's #64.

Career averages

Billy CunninghamStatIsiah Thomas
20.8 Points / game 19.2
10.2 Rebounds / game 3.6
4.0 Assists / game 9.3
0.2 Steals / game 1.9
0.1 Blocks / game 0.3
44.5% Field goal % 45.2%
0.0% 3-point % 29.0%
71.8% Free throw % 75.9%
50.3% True shooting % 51.6%
654 Games played 979

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

Billy CunninghamStatIsiah Thomas
1.88× Points vs era avg 1.85×
1.88× Rebounds vs era avg 0.86×
1.76× Assists vs era avg 3.80×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Billy Cunningham's era.

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Isiah Thomas's era.

Playoff averages

Billy CunninghamStatIsiah Thomas
19.4 Points / game 20.4
9.1 Rebounds / game 4.7
3.2 Assists / game 8.9
0.0 Steals / game 2.1
0.0 Blocks / game 0.3
40.6% Field goal % 43.8%
0.0% 3-point % 32.3%
69.4% Free throw % 77.0%
39 Playoff games 111

Accolades

Billy CunninghamStatIsiah Thomas
0 MVP awards 0
0 Finals MVP 1
1 Championships 2
4 All-Star selections 11
4 All-NBA 1st Team 3
#64 All-time GOAT rank #36

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