Guest DT Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Growing up on the outskirts of Chicago in Northwest Indiana, I was a Bulls fan, although not a rabid follower of NBA basketball. You could not help but appreciate and marvel at the great talent of Michael Jordan and the incredible success of his Bulls teams in the 90s. As a graduate of IU, Isiah Thomas was at the epicenter of our Hoosier Hoops Universe, both during and long after his departure from Bloomington. Thomas had a great career in Bloomington and Detroit, but has generally been viewed as a notch down from Jordan, Magic and Larry when measuring the all time greats. Over the past few years, my feelings on this subject have changed somewhat. I used to be in the Jordan camp, but I am feeling differently now after watching these two in their post NBA careers. I do feel that Thomas has been slighted, and his accomplished diminshed when compared against the others. Isaih had much less to work with in terms of physical tools, but he could be equally as dominant during stretches of NBA games. I like what Isiah has to say in the attached article, and it adds to my new found respect for him and his accomlishments. Jordan has come off as somewhat of a bully and a megalomaniac in his post NBA career, and has little success at anything off the court. Thomas' legacy is intact, and he has nothing left to prove to Jordan or the others. Injuries derailed his career prematurely, and likley robbed fans of several more years of his true greatness. https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/at-a-crossroads-what-do-the-rockets-do-with-james-harden-and-russell-westbrook/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishman Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 13 minutes ago, DT said: Growing up on the outskirts of Chicago in Northwest Indiana, I was a Bulls fan, although not a rabid follower of NBA basketball. You could not help but appreciate and marvel at the great talent of Michael Jordan and the incredible success of his Bulls teams in the 90s. As a graduate of IU, Isiah Thomas was at the epicenter of our Hoosier Hoops Universe, both during and long after his departure from Bloomington. Thomas had a great career in Bloomington and Detroit, but has generally been viewed as a notch down from Jordan, Magic and Larry when measuring the all time greats. Over the past few years, my feelings on this subject have changed somewhat. I used to be in the Jordan camp, but I am feeling differently now after watching these two in their post NBA careers. I do feel that Thomas has been slighted, and his accomplished diminshed when compared against the others. Isaih had much less to work with in terms of physical tools, but he could be equally as dominant during stretches of NBA games. I like what Isiah has to say in the attached article, and it adds to my new found respect for him and his accomlishments. Jordan has come off as somewhat of a bully and a megalomaniac in his post NBA career, and has little success at anything off the court. Thomas' legacy is intact, and he has nothing left to prove to Jordan or the others. Injuries derailed his career prematurely, and likley robbed fans of several more years of his true greatness. https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/at-a-crossroads-what-do-the-rockets-do-with-james-harden-and-russell-westbrook/ Thomas' reputation partly comes from a couple of things.......first, being part of the bad boys of Detroit hurt. Next, there is the walking off the court after the Bulls beat them without shaking hands. But what really hurt Isiah's image was his off court issues; especially with regard to female employees of his. I am sure MJ had his off court issues, but he seemed to do a better job keeping a lid on things; or maybe he did a better job of controlling himself??? I say this as having never been a fan of MJ. As an IU huy as well, I did love Isiah, but HATED the Pistons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staxawax Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 Let’s not forget buying the CBA and less than 2 years later they go bankrupt as Thomas deserts them to coach the Pacers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobref Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 19 hours ago, Irishman said: Thomas' reputation partly comes from a couple of things.......first, being part of the bad boys of Detroit hurt. Next, there is the walking off the court after the Bulls beat them without shaking hands. But what really hurt Isiah's image was his off court issues; especially with regard to female employees of his. I am sure MJ had his off court issues, but he seemed to do a better job keeping a lid on things; or maybe he did a better job of controlling himself??? I say this as having never been a fan of MJ. As an IU huy as well, I did love Isiah, but HATED the Pistons. His pattern of behavior was evident early. Remember when he “sucker punched” Purdue’s Roosevelt Barnes? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballking16 Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 Don’t forget his comments about Larry Bird either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballking16 Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 10 minutes ago, Footballking16 said: Don’t forget his comments about Larry Bird either. That being said, I think he’s criminally underrated in regards to the all-time greats. Most consider him a top 25-30 player. I think he’s in the 10-15 range. Arguably one of the best pure PG’s of all-time behind Magic and just a tremendous leader. He had a relatively short career derailed by injuries and only played 13 seasons retiring in his early 30’s. Pound for pound, Zeke is one of the most fearless players of all-time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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