HIS GAME NEEDS WORK ISIAH THOMAS IS NOT AN NBA ALL-STAR ANALYST--YET
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....