Isiah Thomas would like the world to think that he has been railroaded and his reputation has been torn shreds by lies and innuendo. To say he is a bit bitter, would be an understatement.
He seems to be mad at everyone and is very upset that he has been kicked out of the Hall of Superstar club.
He has been frozen out the same way he froze out Michael Jordan in the All-Star game many years ago. The Big Lead has the details:
He is exiled.
And for the exiled, what is lost — and what is still hoped for — bears down with brute force on the present no matter how idyllic it seems.
A quick glance at the drama surrounding him:
Accusations he orchestrated a freeze-out of Michael Jordan during the 1985 All-Star Game. His comment after losing in the 1987 Eastern Conference finals to the Celtics that if Larry Bird was black “he’d be another good guy.”
The 1992 Dream Team snub. Magic Johnson’s very public rebuke. Talk he ruined the minor-league Continental Basketball Association as its owner. The confusion surrounding Isiah’s alleged suicide attempt, his daughter’s trip to the hospital and the controversy surrounding both.
And, of course, those New York years.
The exiled speaks of contemporaries who have not been banished with unusual candor. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson — all of these men remain intricately involved in the league, respectively, as owner, general manager, color commentator.
“I have no problem saying this at all,” he says. “They’re all 6-(feet)-9 and Jordan was 6-6 and a half. If they were all 6-1, it wouldn’t even be a question. They wouldn’t even f—ing rate. If they were all my size, s—, they wouldn’t even be talked about.
“I beat the s— out of them when they were that big. If we were all the same size, f—.” He stops to laugh good-naturedly. “Make them 6-1 and let’s go on the court.”
Salty a little?
Has a bit of a Basketball version of the Napoleon Complex.
The thing about it, is that Thomas is responsible for the majority of problems and damaged relationships he has. He is upset that he isn’t getting the recognition for his basketball accomplishments like Jordan, Magic and Bird have received. That might be a valid beef, but one of the reasons he doesn’t, has more to do with the Pistons Bad Boys’ reputation and Thomas’ reputation once he became an executive.
Nothing he can do about that now, so no reason to continue to let that ether burn your soul. He needs to look at the bright side he could be Patrick Ewing or one of the many great players of the 90’s who have no jewelry at all.