Sports Poets Society

Credit: Fadeaway World https://fadeawayworld.net/isiah-thomas-biography-the-story-of-a-skinny-kid-from-chicago-who-became-the-detroit-pistons-biggest-legend TITAN FREY UPDATED: NOV 23, 2023 ORIGINAL: MAR 29, 2023 DETROIT PISTONS ARCHIVE START CONVERSATION Isiah Thomas was one of the most polarizing stars the NBA has ever seen. From his smile that would rub off on anyone to his incredible ball-handling skills that memorized all that watched him play. Thomas was a star. Isiah Thomas didn't grow up as a star, though. He didn't have things handed to him. In fact, like many who grew up on the west side of Chicago, Thomas struggled with his surroundings. So, how did Thomas make it out of a gang-infested area to become one of the NBA's greats? Stick around, and you'll find out here. Fadeaway World presents the biography of Pistons' legend Isiah Thomas. A Harsh Beginning For Zeke Leads To Stardom At College Isiah Thomas, also known as Zeke, was born on April 30, 1961, and w...

https://vault.si.com/vault/2017/02/13/little-man-big-shots No player this season is shorter than ISAIAH THOMAS.  No player in history has been more explosive in the fourth quarter than the 5'9" dynamo, who has lifted Boston to second in the East SI STAFF TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT THREE HOURS before a late-January game in Washington, Isaiah Thomas, the Celtics' 5'9" All-Star point guard, walks slowly through a Verizon Center tunnel, like a beleaguered civil servant going to work on a cold Tuesday morning, and onto the lacquered floor of the playing surface. The seats are empty, there is no music playing, and building personnel are bustling about. The hockey ice below the court keeps the air chilled. Thomas wears a green, long-sleeved shirt over practice shorts, three-quarter-length compression tights and low black Nikes with a green swoosh. No headband, not until the curtain goes up. "That's for fashion," he says. (And also an homage to Jason ...

Isiah Thomas in 1981 | Walter P. Reuther Library,  Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University https://michiganadvance.com/2022/06/09/nba-legend-isiah-thomas-talks-detroit-basketball-and-politics/ The Detroit Pistons drafted Thomas on this day in 1981 By: Ken Coleman - June 9, 2022 5:13 am With the second overall pick, the Detroit Pistons drafted 20-year-old Isiah Thomas of Indiana University on June 9, 1981. Thomas, a Chicago native, quickly immersed himself in the Motor City and helped the National Basketball Association team go from last place to league champions by the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons. Thomas, who became friends with former Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young, music legend Aretha Franklin, was among the notables who helped to host South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela on his epic visit to Detroit on June 28, 1990. During an exclusive interview with the Advance, Thomas, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and current cable NB...

https://vault.si.com/vault/1998/03/23/his-game-needs-work-isiah-thomas-is-not-an-nba-allstar-analystyet JOHN WALTERS TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT The kid seemed too good to pass up. When Isiah Thomas, then executive vice president of the Toronto Raptors, phoned NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol last fall to inquire about becoming the network's new NBA color analyst, Ebersol couldn't resist. "Of course I was interested," he says. Never mind that Thomas had never broadcast a game. Here was a former point guard who had twice led the Detroit Pistons to the NBA title, a 12-time All-Star who had been president of the players' association, a part owner and the de facto general manager of the Raptors, and a man with the most infectious smile this side of Magic. Color? Thomas would provide a spectrum. "I come into this as a rookie," says Thomas, whose broadcast partner is the seamless Bob Costas. "I don't come into this professing to be the top guy....

https://vault.si.com/vault/1981/04/06/and-a-little-child-led-them-as-though-drawing-inspiration-from-the-book-of-isaiah-baby-faced-isaiah-thomas-spurred-indiana-to-a-fourth-ncaa-championship AS THOUGH DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH, BABY-FACED ISIAH THOMAS SPURRED INDIANA TO A FOURTH NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP CURRY KIRKPATRICK Sports Illustrated -  APRIL 06, 1981 TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT In the end it was North Carolina that Bobby Knight shoved up against the wall in Philadelphia . Let that be the story of Indiana's 1981 NCAA championship , not the tawdry tale of Knight's scrap two nights before. The 63-50 beating the Hoosiers administered to Carolina on Monday night in the Spectrum was not so much a win as a wearing-out. This unrelenting team performance couldn't be upstaged by individual heroics. Not by the wondrous leadership of Isiah Thomas and his game-high 23 points. Not by James Thomas , who was off the bench and on the boards and everywhere that the ...

https://vault.si.com/vault/1994/11/07/a-new-ball-game-isiah-thomas-has-gone-directly-from-the-hardwood-to-the-hard-job-of-running-the-expansion-toronto-raptors ISIAH THOMAS HAS GONE DIRECTLY FROM THE HARDWOOD TO THE HARD JOB OF RUNNING THE EXPANSION TORONTO RAPTORS MICHAEL FARBER Sports Illustrated -  NOVEMBER 07, 1994 TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT TO: Ruth McFarlane, executive assistant FROM: Isiah Thomas, Toronto Raptors' VP, basketball operations RE: Joe Dumars If Joe Dumars calls again, don't ask what company he's with or what it's in reference to. Joe Dumars was my friend and teammate on the Detroit Pistons for nine years, a possible Hall of Famer. Just put him through. Thanks. You are Isiah Thomas. You retire as a player, and two weeks later you land an executive position and just under 10% ownership of an NBA expansion team . Your office isn't 94 feet long anymore, but your vision—your greatest asset on the court—is limitless . Your team might still be no...