Isiah Thomas - Biography
Isiah Thomas
Thomas grew up in the gritty ghetto of Chicago's West Side, where his mother ran the youth center at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church. Because he was the youngest, Thomas's six brothers and two sisters called him "Junior."
Thomas's father worked at International Harvester, where he became the company's first African-American supervisor. Later, when the plant closed and he could only find work as a janitor, he became depressed and left the family.
Mary Thomas struggled to provide for her large family. The fridge was often bare, leaving the Thomas children to scrounge for food. In his book The Fundamentals: Eight Plays for Winning the Games of Business and Life, Thomas recalled that he spent his childhood trolling the streets with an empty belly, looking for loose change or fast-food wrappers with scraps of cheese still stuck inside. He shined shoes to earn money for food, then hoped he could make it home without being robbed.
As Thomas wrote in the book, "My earliest dreams were not-as you might imagine-fantasies of playing professional basketball…. My boyhood dreams were mostly about well-stocked refrigerators: huge refrigerators that were bursting at the hinges with mouth-watering roast chickens, heaping plates of spaghetti, and thick juicy steaks."
While Thomas's stomach may have been empty, his basketball skills were abundant and sprouted early on. When his older brother Larry played in a Catholic youth league, three-year-old Thomas provided the half-time entertainment. He'd slip on a jersey, which fit like a tent, then dribble around the court imitating the moves he'd seen. Just three, Thomas could already please a crowd.
Growing up, Thomas spent his days at a West Side pocket park playing basketball on the pockmarked courts. Thomas's brother, Lord Henry, was one of the neighborhood stars, and Thomas learned a lot of plays from him. For Thomas, going to the court became a way to block out the hunger, violence, and dangers that gnawed at him off the court.
In time, Thomas realized that his basketball skills might be his family's salvation-a way to drag his mother and siblings out of grinding poverty and into a safer neighborhood. The Thomas clan had been waiting for one of the boys to get a break, perhaps join the NBA. Thomas's brother Larry had been invited to try out for the Chicago Bulls but missed the chance by spraining his ankle. He then turned to the streets. Another brother, Lord Henry, lost his athletic potential to drugs. Now, it was up to Thomas to succeed. Thomas' brother, Larry, wanted to ensure Thomas' success, so he took him to the court day after day and drilled him on the fundamentals, all the while encouraging Thomas to stay out of trouble and shoot for his dreams.
1961 Born April 30 in Chicago to Isiah Lord Thomas II and Mary Thomas
1979 Graduates from St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois
1979 Represents United States in Pan American Games in Puerto Rico
1979 Joins Indiana Hoosiers basketball team coached by Bobby Knight
1981 Leads Hoosiers to the NCAA title
1981 Is the No. 2 pick in the June NBA draft, taken by the Detroit Pistons
1985 Marries Lynn Kendall
1987 Graduates from Indiana University on Mother's Day with a degree in criminal justice
1989-90 Leads Pistons to back-to-back NBA championships
1993 Purchases printing franchise American Speedy
1994 Tears Achilles' tendon, decides to retire
1994 Becomes part-owner and general manager of the Toronto Raptors
1997 Begins work as NBA analyst and broadcaster for NBC
1999 Buys controlling ownership of the nine-team Continental Basketball Association for $10 million
2000 Becomes head coach of the Indiana Pacers
As an eighth-grader, Thomas tore up the basketball courts. He impressed area coach Gene Pingatore so much that Pingatore secured financial aid for Thomas to attend St. Joseph High School, where Pingatore coached.
For Thomas, the move to the suburban, all-boy, nearly all white school was tough. Just getting there was an ordeal. To get to the Westchester, Illinois, school, Thomas rose at 5:30 a.m. for a one-and-a-half hour bus ride, which concluded with a long walk to the school's front door. Thomas knew the sacrifice was worth it if it would get his basketball skills noticed.
On the court, he regularly scored forty points a game. During his junior and senior seasons, Thomas led the St. Joseph Chargers to a 57-5 record, along with a disheartening second-place finish in the 1977-1978 Illinois state high school championship tournament.
Delivered Hoosiers A National Championship
Colleges across the United States courted Thomas, and he chose to play at Indiana University under coach Bobby Knight. At 6-foot-1, Thomas was small for a college player, and Knight nicknamed him "Pee Wee."
What Thomas lacked in stature, he made up for with his skills, particularly his supernatural ability to make shots against defenders who towered over him. During the 1979-1980 season, Thomas' freshman year, he escorted the Hoosiers to a 21-8 record and the Big Ten Championship. Leading his team in scoring (423 points), assists (159), and steals (62), Thomas was named to the Associated Press All-Big Ten team, the first freshman to receive the honor. Thomas was so popular at Indiana that classmates greeted him with standing ovations when he entered lecture halls following a game day.
His sophomore year, Thomas delivered the Hoosiers to the 1981 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament title game, where they beat the North Carolina State Tar Heels 63-50, with Thomas accounting for twenty-three of his team's points. Over the course of the tournament, Thomas scored ninety-one points and had forty-three assists in five games. He was named the tournament's outstanding player.
Thomas's terrific tournament play generated a lot of attention, and he landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He wondered if it was time to join the NBA. Thomas wanted to finish school, but he also wanted to get his mother out of the ghetto.
Thomas decided to turn pro. During the June 1981 NBA draft, the Detroit Pistons had the second pick, and they selected Thomas. Thomas signed a contract for $400,000 a year, which, coupled with his bonus, brought the total to more than $1 million. He immediately bought his mother a house in the suburbs. When Thomas quit college, his mother made him promise to finish his degree. Thomas took classes the next several off-seasons, graduating from Indiana with a degree in criminal justice in 1987.
When Thomas joined the Pistons, they were at the bottom of the league, lurching their way to a 21-61 record during the 1980-81 season. But with Thomas in the lineup playing guard during the start of the 1981-1982 season, the Pistons got off to an 8-5 record. During his first month in the big leagues, the twenty-year-old Thomas averaged twenty-one points per game. He added pizzazz to the Pistons' game, and attendance rose. The Detroit News proclaimed Thomas "Isiah the Savior."
- 1980 Named to the Associated Press All-Big Ten team, the first college freshman to receive the honor
- 1981 Led Indiana Hoosiers to the NCAA basketball championship; named tournament MVP
- 1982 NBA All-Rookie team
- 1982-93 Played in All-Star Game every season but his last
- 1984 All-Star game MVP
- 1984-85 Became first player in NBA history to average more than 20 points per game and make more than 1,000 assists in the same season
- 1984-85 Set NBA record with 1,123 assists
- 1985 Named Michiganian of the Year
- 1986 All-Star game MVP
- 1988 Set NBA Finals record for most points in a quarter (25), and most field goals in one quarter (11)
- 1989 Led Pistons to the NBA championship
- 1990 Led Pistons to the NBA Championship
- 1990 Named NBA Finals MVP
- 1996 Named to the NBA Greatest 50 Players of All Time Team
- 2000 Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; uniform No. 11 retired by Pistons
Isiah Thomas's mother's life story was dramatized in a 1989 NBC-TV movie starring Alfre Woodard in the title role. The movie showed how the single mother worked to free her children from poverty as they came of age on the crime-riddled streets of Chicago's West Side. For the most part, Mary Thomas kept her children on the straight and narrow, making up with love what she lacked in money.
The movie depicts many telling events from Isiah Thomas' life, including the time Mary Thomas went to Mayor Richard Daley to complain that case workers wanted to move her family into a violence-plagued housing project-and she wasn't going to go. The movie also told about the time a gang showed up on the family's doorstep eager to recruit the Thomas boys. Mary Thomas, however, pointed her shotgun at them and threatened to blow them across the expressway. She explained that there was only one gang in that house, the Thomas gang.
The movie, and Mary Thomas' life, served as an inspiration to other mothers facing the same prospects she did. Originally broadcast as a "Magical World of Disney" Sunday night feature, the movie won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Prime Time Program.
Throughout his life, Isiah Thomas always gave his mother credit for his success, and the movie shows why.
Thomas finished the season averaging seventeen points per game for a total of 1,225 points. He handily made the All-Rookie and All-Star teams. The Pistons won thirty-nine games, their best finish in five years.
During the 1983-1984 season, Thomas led the Pistons to a 49-33 record. They faced the New York Knicks in the playoffs. The teams split the first four games of the series. During the fifth and deciding game, the Pistons were down 106-98 with just under two minutes to play. This is where Thomas showed his stuff. In ninety-four seconds, Thomas dropped in a lay-up, a three-pointer, five free throws, and three jump shots for sixteen points, tying the game at 114. The Pistons lost in overtime, but fans reveled in Thomas's play.
As Thomas gained star status on the court, he began using his name to help improve his community. Thomas wrote a weekly kids column for the Detroit Free Press, starred in an anti-drug film, and frequented inner-city schools, telling kids to stay in school and fight for their dreams. He also persuaded the mayor of Detroit to hold "No Crime Day" on September 27, 1986, so neighborhoods would be forced to focus efforts on dealing with crime, gangs, and drugs.
During the mid-1980s, Thomas realized that the Pistons needed a fresh image to help them compete. Though the Pistons had improved, other teams still thought of them as perennial losers. Over the next few years, Thomas helped redesign the team into the "Bad Boys" of the NBA. It was mostly a trick of perception, which worked. As the Pistons developed a more aggressive image, their play improved. They also picked up better players, like Dennis Rodman in 1986. Finally, in 1988, the Pistons achieved their dream of making it to the NBA Finals, where they faced the defending champs, the Los Angeles Lakers and Magic Johnson.
The series was intense. Going into game six, Detroit led three games to two and needed one more victory for the title. The Lakers, playing at home, led 53-46 at the half. Thomas came out the second half determined to win. He scored a speedy fourteen points to put the Pistons back in the game, then promptly sprained his ankle. Thomas sat out thirty-five seconds, then insisted on going back in. Blocking out the pain, Thomas scored eleven more points for a third-quarter total of twenty-five, setting an NBA Finals record for most points scored in a quarter.
According to Ron Knapp's biography on Thomas, Los Angeles Times columnist Mike Downey wrote up Thomas' game this way, "He was out of this world. He was making shots off the wrong foot, off the glass, off the wall." Though Thomas scored forty-three points, Detroit lost 103-102, leaving the series tied at three games apiece. A gimpy Thomas suffered through the final game of the series as Detroit went down 108-105. Even though his team lost, Thomas became a champion of sorts. Fans were amazed with his skill and determination, which broke through even in the toughest moments.
The Pistons ended the 1988-89 season 63-19. They rolled through the playoffs, then knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA championship. That season, the Pistons exemplified basketball as a team sport. Their shared skills got them through. The Pistons were the NBA champs, yet none of the players stood out among the league's best. None of the team members made the All-NBA team, no one averaged at least twenty points per game, or was even among the league's top twenty in scoring. It had truly been a team effort. The Wheaties cereal company couldn't figure out who the team's star player was, so they put six of the Pistons on the front of the box.
The "Bad Boys" continued the 1989-1990 season looking like a championship team. They had a 25-1 record during a hot streak in January and February. With a season-ending record of 59-23, they again entered the playoffs and made it to the Finals, where they faced the Portland Trail Blazers. The Pistons were down ten points with only seven minutes left in the first game. Thomas once again hit his nerve to score twelve points in the last seven minutes, giving the Pistons a 105-99 win. Throughout the rest of the series, Thomas' play kept his team in the series. In game four, Thomas hit twenty-two points in the third quarter alone. The Pistons repeated as champs, with Thomas earning Finals MVP honors.
The Pistons fell apart during the 1993-94 season. Thomas appeared in his 12th All-Star game, but the Pistons ended the season 20-62. During the season's final home game, Thomas tore his Achilles' tendon. Rumors flew that the Pistons were interested in trading Thomas to the New York Knicks for a No. 1 draft pick. Thomas couldn't see himself playing for another team, so he decided to retire, though he later questioned the move.
As Thomas wrote in his book on the fundamentals, "I wish I'd given it more thought…. I think I had more basketball in me than I realized at that point, and since then I've thought that it wouldn't have been so bad to win a championship or two for New York and then hang up the sneakers."
Though he feels he may have retired prematurely, Thomas's statistics tell the story of a complete player. Thomas retired as the Pistons' all-time leader in points (18,822), assists (9,061), steals (1,861), and games played (979).
Thomas, however, did not leave the court. In 1994, he became part-owner and general manager of the Toronto Raptors. In 1997, he joined NBC as an NBA analyst and sportscaster, and in 1999, he purchased the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for about $10 million. Thomas intended to boost interest in the nine-team league by adding Webcasts and lining up more sponsors. He dreamed of turning the CBA into an official minor league farm system for the NBA. With Thomas at the helm, the CBA became the only professional sports league in the hands of a minority owner.
In 2000, when Thomas became head coach of the Indiana Pacers, NBA rules forced him to put the CBA into a blind trust, and the league crumbled.
Thomas' time with the Pacers has been much more promising. In his first two seasons (2000-2001 and 2001-2002), Thomas coached the team to an 84-81 record. But he realizes, just as it took the Pistons years to build a championship team, it may take a few years for the Pacers. Once again, Thomas is chasing that dream of an NBA championship-this time as a coach.
He also devotes time to his family. In 1985, he married his college sweetheart, Lynn Kendall. They have two children, Joshua Isiah and Lauren.
Thomas will long be remembered for his brilliant shooting displays, particularly during post-season play. His 1988 record of twenty-five points in a single NBA Finals game quarter still stood in 2003.
Thomas's achievements, however, transcend the court. His success story continues to be an inspiration to youth growing up poor today. That Thomas moved from a life of stunting poverty into the basketball hall of fame is amazing. His story helps other children believe that they can do the same.
Selected Writings By Thomas:
(With Matt Dobek) Bad Boys, McGraw-Hill, 1989.
Yr Team GP PTS FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF
DET: Detroit Pistons.
1981-82 DET 72 1225 .424 .288 .704 2.9 7.8 2.08 .24 299 253
1982-83 DET 81 1854 .472 .288 .710 4.0 7.8 2.46 .36 326 318
1983-84 DET 82 1748 .462 .338 .733 4.0 11.1 2.49 .40 307 324
1984-85 DET 81 1720 .458 .257 .809 4.5 13.9 2.31 .31 302 288
1985-86 DET 77 1609 .488 .310 .790 3.6 10.8 2.22 .26 289 245
1986-87 DET 81 1671 .463 .194 .768 3.9 10.0 1.89 .25 343 251
1987-88 DET 81 1577 .463 .309 .774 3.4 8.4 1.74 .21 273 217
1988-89 DET 80 1458 .464 .273 .818 3.4 8.3 1.66 .25 298 209
1989-90 DET 81 1492 .438 .309 .775 3.8 9.4 1.72 .23 322 206
1990-91 DET 48 776 .435 .292 .782 3.3 9.3 1.56 .21 185 118
1991-92 DET 78 1445 .446 .291 .772 3.2 7.2 1.51 .19 252 194
1992-93 DET 79 1391 .418 .308 .737 2.9 8.5 1.56 .23 284 222
1993-94 DET 58 856 .417 .310 .702 2.7 6.9 1.17 .10 202 126
TOTAL 979 18822 .452 .290 .759 3.6 9.3 1.90 .25 3682 2971
The Fundamentals: Eight Plays for Winning the Games of Business and Life, HarperBusiness, 2001.
Books
- Knapp, Ron. Sports Great Isiah Thomas. Hillside, N.J.: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1992.
- Rappoport, Ken. Guts and Glory: Making it in the NBA. New York: Walker and Company, 1997.
- The Sporting News Official NBA Register, 2001-2002 Edition. St. Louis: The Sporting News, 2001.
- Stewart, Mark. Isiah Thomas. New York: Children's Press, 1996.
- Thomas, Isiah. The Fundamentals: Eight Plays for Winning the Games of Business and Life. New York: HarperBusiness, 2001.
Periodicals
- Brown, Roxanne. "How to Save Inner-City Children from Gangs." Ebony (May 1990): 29.
- Nance, Roscoe. "Looking Good Being Bad." USA Today (December 17, 2002).
- Wertheim, L. Jon. "Nice Rebound." Sports Illustrated (November 18, 2002): 36.
Other
- "Isiah Thomas Coach Info." NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/coachfile/isiah_thomas/?nav=page (January 5, 2003).
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