One of the most fascinating things about the game of basketball is that its stars come in all shapes and sizes. Unlike some other sports (like soccer), where forwards are disproportionately praised for scoring goals, and good goalkeepers least praised—even after saving the day, basketball is a bit more rounded. Here any player could score, block, assist, rebound, and dribble. And any could be highly praised!
So, relative to other sports, there is considerable ‘democracy’ in an NBA court. No position (center, forward, or guard) is remarkably dominant. Any player with skills, guts, ambition, and desire could literally dominate from any position. Oh yes! I have not forgotten that basketball is supposed to be a game of big boys. But repeatedly, history has shown that sometimes the little men simply come and eclipse the big fat boys.
In this case, my mind journeyed to that early bird named Bob Cousy; and then, it returned to Isiah Thomas. And, I’m even too busy to go all the way to the Millennium shakers like Iverson, Stoudamire, Stockton, and so on. Each of these guys was only an inch above six feet.
Returning to Isiah Thomas, this 6’1”point guard frequently outshined and outperformed many seven-footers in the court. His case was not a question of how big he was. Rather, it was how big he played! He was not just a delight to behold, but an accomplished leader, who knows how to carry his teammates. He was versatile, agile, and has a good sense of court space. If you lend your ears to the astute commentator, Bob Ryan, you would understand what made Isiah Thomas the only Guard, beside Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan, to consistently rekindle explosive moments at NBA Playoffs.
Saying that Isiah (merely) dominated a game is an understatement. He had this habit of subduing the opposition—regardless of how big or ambitious they might be. A testament of this fact could be seen by reliving the videos of the 1984 Eastern Conference playoffs against the battle-hardened New York Knicks team. Isiah dazzled the audience as he tamed even the biggest member of the Knicks. In the process, he scored a mesmerizing 16 points in just one-and-half minutes.
Everything the Knicks threw at him failed to work; and anything he conjured against the Knicks worked seamlessly. It was incredible. I could still hear all those chants and roars, which greeted his endless moves and onslaught. Those drives, threes, and out-of-bounds jumpers that emanated from fanciful dribbles. He wrote poems and redefined poetry.
Meanwhile, let’s fast-forward to the 1988 Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. Indeed, the legendary combination of Kareem and Magic has already made the Lakers the most fearsome team of that decade. But Isiah would neither bolt nor submit. He went toe-to-toe with his colossal adversaries. Not even a badly sprained ankle could dissuade him as he went on a rampage against his more accomplished foes. This move saw him posting 25 points in the third quarter of that match: forcing the almighty Lakers to reassess the efficacy of their arsenal.
As a player, there were many dimensions to Isiah Thomas’ career that detailed and lengthy analyses (which I am not prepared to indulge in here) are what would do it justice. Like Dr. J, he is another player whose NBA’s Career Statistics did very little to match the depth of his games. Some attributes are truly beyond the scope of numerical stats. Nevertheless, the following are part of what he accomplished.
1. NCAA Champion (1981)
2. Second Overall Draft-pick (1981 by Detroit Pistons)
3. Selected to All-NBA Rookie Team (1982)
4. 2-time NBA Champion (1989 and ‘90)
5. NBA Finals MVP (1990)
6. 12-time NBA All-Star Selections (1982-‘93)
7. 2-time NBA All-Star MVP (1984 and ‘86)
8. 3-time All NBA First Team (1984-‘86)
9. 5th All-time NBA Assists Leader
10. All-time Detroit Pistons Leader in Points, Assists, Steals, and number of Games played
Isiah was born as Isiah Lord Thomas III on the 30th day of April 1961. His birthplace was Chicago, Illinois. His High School was at St. Joseph’s, Westchester, Illinois; and he attended college at the Indiana University. The easy-going 6’1” 190lbs Guard starred for the Detroit Pistons from 1981 to 1994. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
VALENTINE ODUENYI.
