Isiah Thomas

Isiah “Zeke” Thomas was one of the greatest “small men” ever to play professional basketball. His only peer at point guard in the NBA during the 1980s was the Lakers’ Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who at 6-9 brought unique physical skills to the position.

Thomas, who stood barely over 6-feet, was in his day the grittiest performer to play the position, a feisty competitor who offered no quarter and expected none in return. Like Johnson, Thomas possessed the skill and determination to take over a game at will.

Thomas helped build a last-place Detroit Pistons team into back-to-back NBA champions in the late 1980s. Thomas’ sunny smile belied an inner toughness that made him a key member of a scrappy, physical group of players dubbed the “Bad Boys” of Detroit.

“I call him the baby-faced assassin,” an opposing coach once told theCharlotte Observer, “because he smiles at you, then cuts you down.”

Like many of his teammates, Thomas was tempestuous, edgy, vocal and not opposed to balling up his fist when he felt the need. And he knew how to handle pain; he often played with injuries resulting from his rough-and-tumble style.

That fighting spirit, coupled with a shrewd business sense, served Thomas well as president of the NBA Players Association in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and continues to serve him well in his post-playing days, whether as a coach or executive, which has done with the Toronto Raptors, the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks.

Though Thomas was an unselfish player, his personal achievements were impressive. In 13 years with Detroit, he became the franchise’s all-time leader in points, assists, steals and games played. He made the All-Star Team in all but his final year and was named NBA Finals MVP in 1990.