Isiah Thomas Biography

Fast Facts

• Was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000
• Paid the college tuitions of more than 75 young people during his time in the NBA and did charity work for educational, anti-crime and anti-poverty programs
• Was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996
• Played basketball for Indiana University for two years before entering the NBA Draft
• Though he was selected to play on the 1980 U․S․ Olympic Team, he never got his Olympic experience due to the U․S․ boycott of the Moscow Games
• Was drafted second overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1981 NBA Draft
• Quote: "As a person and as a human being, if the only thing I'm remembered for is playing a stupid game of basketball, then I haven't done a very good job in my life․ Basketball isn't everything to me․"
• The Detroit Pistons were a last-place team when he joined them, but he helped build them to the point that they won back-to-back NBA championships in the late 1980s
• Was considered one of the best point guards in the NBA during the 1980s
• Was the president of the NBA Players Association in the late 1980s and early 1990s