Isiah Thomas may only be 6'1", but Zeke will never back down from anybody. Known to be a usually excellent player, the second overall pick of the 1981 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons has his limits. Throughout his career, Zeke had been involved in several skirmishes. While he is ready to take the hits, he knows when one is a cheap shot.
One such incident happened in December 1982. The Pistons were playing the Washington Bullets then, and Isiah ran into a solid pick set up by Rick Mahorn .
Indiana product stayed on the floor after that collision. When he got up, he chased his former teammate down the floor and took a swing. Game officials never saw it since they were preoccupied with Jeff Ruland of the Bullets and Bill Laimbeer of the Pistons, who were called for a double foul.
"His whole objective was to hurt me," Thomas said via UPI . "I'm playing here for fun. I don't go around throwing elbows, grabbing arms, holding and pinching."
Was it a dirty hit?
After things settled down, Bullets coach Gene Shue approached Thomas and tried to explain that it was a clean screen from Mahorn. The 6'10" player was in the middle of the lane, and Zeke never saw him.
The Pistons went on to lose to the Bullets, 119-110. According to then-coach Scotty Robertson, Thomas's outburst may have stemmed from frustration. Detroit had been on a losing spell then, dropping their seventh assignment in eight games.
Thomas was only 20 years old at the time, and Robertson suggested that Isiah needed to learn to control his emotions.
"He's young, and he's been frustrated. He has to learn that sometimes you have to hold your frustrations in check," the Pistons coach stated.
Isiah was having a superb season
It was an unfortunate incident for the former Indiana Hoosier, who had been having a fine season that year. He finished with 25 points, 9 assists, and 6 steals in 41 minutes of action in that match.
Although Thomas had a great season, his efforts failed to push the Pistons into the playoffs. Detroit finished the regular season with a 37-45 win-loss record. Besides that outburst, Zeke was one of the top players who voted for the All-Star that season. He finished second to Maurice Cheeks of the Philadelphia 76ers at the time.
Isiah did well in the ASG, tallying 19 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds. The East All-Stars won over the West All-Stars that year, 132-123. In addition, Thomas made the All-NBA Second Team to cap his season. However, things started to pick up the following year as Thomas and the Pistons improved and made the postseason.
From there, Detroit was a familiar fixture in the playoffs. They made it to the 1986-87 Finals but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. The story was different the following year, with the Pistons returning to LA to win their first NBA title in 1989. They repeated as champions in 1990. Thomas would be named the Finals MVP after their 1990 title conquest.
Related: Isiah Thomas faced serious backlash for his comments about Larry Bird in 1987: "I was accused of being a racist, and I'm a bad guy now"
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