Isiah Thomas

Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961), also known as "Zeke", is an American former professional basketball player, philanthropist, and coach who is an analyst for NBA TV.

The youngest of 9 children, Thomas was born on April 30, 1961, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in the city's West Side.

He started playing basketball at age three and would dribble and shoot baskets as the halftime entertainment at Catholic Youth Organization games.

Thomas's father, Isiah Thomas II, was an army veteran wounded in the Battle of Saipan.

He later attended trade school, eventually becoming the first black supervisor at International Harvester in Chicago.

When the plant closed, the only work he could find was as a janitor; the family fell into hardship.

Isiah Thomas II left the family when Isiah was a young child.

Isiah Thomas III attended Our Lady of Sorrows School and St. Joseph High School in Westchester, which was a 90-minute commute from his home.

Playing under coach Gene Pingatore, he led St. Joseph to the state finals in his junior year and was considered one of the top college prospects in the country.

Thomas was recruited to play college basketball for Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers.

Although he received mail saying Knight tied up his players and beat them, he did not believe the rumors.

When Knight visited the Thomas home, one of Isiah's brothers, who wanted him to attend DePaul, embarrassed him by insulting the Indiana coach and engaging him in a shouting match.

Nevertheless, Thomas's mother chose Knight and Indiana because she felt that getting away to Bloomington would be good for her son, as would Knight's discipline.

Thomas quickly had to adjust to Knight's disciplinarian style.

At the 1979 Pan American Games in Puerto Rico, Knight got so mad at Thomas he threatened to put him on a plane home.

Knight recalled yelling at the freshman-to-be, "You ought to go to DePaul, Isiah, because you sure as hell aren't going to be an Indiana player playing like that."

Prior to the start of his freshman year, the 1979–80 season, Knight became so upset with Thomas that he kicked him out of a practice.

According to Thomas, Knight was making a point that no player, no "matter how talented, is bigger than Knight's philosophy."

Thomas quickly proved his skills as a player and became a favorite with both Knight and Indiana fans.

His superior abilities eventually caused Knight to adjust his coaching style.

Fans displayed bedsheets with quotations from the Book of Isaiah ("And a little child shall lead them") and nicknamed him "Mr. Wonderful."

Because of Thomas's relatively short stature for college basketball at 6 ft, coach Knight would call him "Pee Wee".

Thomas and Mike Woodson led the Hoosiers to the Big Ten championship and advanced to the 1980 Sweet Sixteen.

The next year, the 1980–81 season, Knight made Thomas captain and told him to run the show on the floor.

Thomas responded so well that, as the season unfolded, Knight and Thomas grew as friends.

When a Purdue player took a cheap shot at Thomas during a game at Bloomington, Knight called a press conference to defend his star.

And 19 days later, when Thomas hit an Iowa player and was ejected from a game, Knight refused to criticize him.

That year, Thomas and the Hoosiers once again won a conference title.

Thomas played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, leading them to the 1981 NCAA championship as a sophomore and declaring for the NBA draft.

He was taken as the second overall pick by the Pistons in the 1981 NBA draft, and played for them his entire career, while leading the "Bad Boys" to the 1988–89 and 1989–90 NBA championships.

Following his playing career, Thomas was an executive with the Toronto Raptors, a television commentator, an executive with the Continental Basketball Association, the head coach of the Indiana Pacers, and an executive and head coach for the New York Knicks.

In addition, the team won the 1981 NCAA tournament, the school's fourth national title.

The sophomore earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award and made himself eligible for the upcoming NBA draft.

In the 1981 NBA draft, the Detroit Pistons chose Thomas with the second overall pick and signed him to a four-year, $1.6 million contract.

From 2000 to 2012 he coached the Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, and FIU.

He later served as men's basketball coach for the Florida International University (FIU) Golden Panthers for three seasons from 2009 to 2012.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time, the 12-time NBA All-Star was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

He played his entire professional career for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Thomas was a president and part owner of the Knicks' WNBA sister team, the New York Liberty, from 2015 to 2019.

Isiah Lord Thomas III is the son of Isiah Thomas II and Mary Thomas.