Michael Jordan might be the greatest of all time in basketball, but for generations of ballers, Isiah Thomas was the idol. The way he dribbled the ball and troubled the likes of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and MJ-led teams in the 80s, was mesmerizing.
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You can count on the Hall of Famers who invite Zeke to present them the honor, and you’ll have the idea of how he has been an inspiration to so many even after decades of being away from the sport.
That too on top of the hate he receives for his rivalry with His Airness, which escalated after the Last Dance came out in 2020. But safe to say, that didn’t affect the respect he has according to the players.
Another former player who might have been a hero of yours growing up will tell you exactly what we are talking about.
Jamal Crawford and Candace Parker give Isiah Thomas his flowers
Isiah Thomas is probably the most skilled two-way player of all time. As much as the former Detroit Pistons point guard gets credit for his playmaking, scoring, and defense, he is a bit underrated dribbler.
And one of the top-5 dribblers most likely of all time, Jamal Crawford, recently got the opportunity to share the screen with the 2x NBA champ and tell him what he meant to him and the game of basketball.
After Candace Parker gave her roses to Zeke, the 3-time 6th man of the Year praised Isiah’s dribbling and ball-handling skills, saying it was way ahead of its time and looked like some spaceship had come down to the road.
Crawford, who played for the Thomas-managed Knicks team, also praised him for being the consistent motivation to players even after retiring from the sport and congratulated and asked him how he feels about always getting the invitation from players to enshrine them in the Hall of Fame. Have a look at the wonderful clip from last night’s TNT episode.
How big is Isiah in the basketball community?
The 6ft 1”, 180-pound, Chicago-based guard was probably too small to be the face of a franchise, and yet, he led a team full of rough players ready to kill on his orders.
Bad Boy Pistons’ leader might be known by many as one of the baddest players in the history of the game, but he has been an inspiration to countless individuals who really made it big in basketball.
Not only he was the idol for players who were under 6ft 2” and weren’t looked at as someone who could play basketball professionally he became an example that they could be the centerpiece of the team.
He might not be in most people’s Mount Rushmore of basketball, but Zeke will always be a legend among the legends.
