Don’t Hate a Player, Hate the GAME
Another NBA team fight has brought about enough news to take ESPN’s focus away from Barry Bonds and T.O. Saturday night the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets scuffled in a good old fashioned throw down. The fight was said to be started by the unsportsmanlike conduct of the Nuggets who continued to run away with a 20 point lead late in the 4th quarter and embarassed the hometown Knicks. In the middle of the fight was Detroit’s favorite son Isiah Thomas who coaches the Knicks, and told or warned (however you’d like to judge it) Nuggets players not to go back into the post.
Isiah Thomas has a storied history for being slandered at any time possible by the sports media as a whole for his unfavorable role in the 89 and 90 Piston Championships. The Pistons played a very physical style of basketball and were painted as thugs lead by southside Chicago’s own Isiah Thomas. In the era of Magic, Bird, Jordan, and Barkley the shortest guy that they all resented inside pulled out some of the BIGGEST GAMES in NBA history.
The NBA and players have taken firm stances against Isiah and here are some I’ll always remember. NBA black operated and white owned.
Michael Jordan’s Request to deny Isiah Thomas on the 1992 Dream Team was met.
Isiah Thomas and Piston owner Bill Davison have severred ties due to Isiah expressing his joy with taking on a position with the Pistons in the off season before the hiring was made public which rubbed Davison the wrong way. Since this incident Davison has expressed disgust for Thomas who brought his franchise 2 Championships.
Larry Bird and the Indiana Pacers fired then Coach Thomas of the Pacers a year removed from the best record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
Coach George Karl of the Denver Nuggets openly ranted in an interview calling Thomas an ***hole Monday, December 18th 2006.
Isiah Thomas intorduced the expansion Toronto Raptors to the NBA in 1995 and by 1997 he had the financing to take majority ownership and the NBA counsel of owners denied his request.
Isiah Thomas has been thrown under the bus for many reasons time and time again. At times it appears to be a vendetta against him, in my opinion.
I love ya’ Zeke, you’re my people forever though!
December 20th, 2006 at 2:04 am
I love Zeke, too, but he has not been a successful executive. He’s only average as a coach. He could eliminate a lot of the bad press about him by winning some games.
January 5th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
I think he should just back out of the lime light and have fun with his children. He has not had a good run since he left and went on to Toronto and was pimped for labor and never given an owernship stake in the team.