“Isiah Thomas hit my dad in the back of the head a couple of times and he did nothing”: Klay Thompson remembered his dad getting hit by Pistons’ legend

Isiah Thomas and his antics with the Bad Boys Pistons are some of the most heated altercations in NBA history. 

Regardless of era, Isiah Thomas is one of the NBA’s best point guards, but he is also one of the dirtiest players in the league ever. He and his “Bad Boys” Pistons were a tough matchup for every NBA team back then.

Whoever played the Detroit Pistons would come home bruised, as if they were wrestling. Isiah was the major procrastinator of that team. “Zeke” looked, happy, innocent, sarcastic, and insane all at the same time. Even Klay Thompson’s dad wasn’t spared by Thomas on his hay day.

Also read: “Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are the greatest backcourt ever, it ain’t even close!”: Mark Jackson explains how his confident prediction about Warriors’ Splash Brothers came about in press conference

Isiah Thomas is one of the biggest admirers of the Splash Brothers but he had a different rapport with Klay’s father

Joe Dumars and Thomas are among the best backcourt duos in the all-time category. They once sat down with their counterparts of this generation, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.

Both the pairs had various questions for each other. Klay Thompson reminded Isiah of the time he faced his father Mychal Thompson and got in an altercation with him.

Klay remembered “There’s a funny clip which me and my brothers bring up to my dad. He was coming off from an offensive board and you guys were losing to him, you hit him in the back of the head a couple of times, and didn’t just do anything, ‘stand up for yourself, do something we gave him flag since we were 12-years old.”

To which senior Thompson used to say “’ No I didn’t feel nothing, it was like a massage.’” 

Mychal was a 6’11 tower and Isiah was just a 6’1 guard, but he never used to back down against anyone in the league.

Isiah, in an embarrassing tone told Klay that he knew he would be asked this question and said “I am fortunate that big guys during that time, now that I see them now, I am glad that they looked at me with compassion,”

“And looked at me like, ‘Man!! What’s wrong with you??’ They could have been like, ‘boom’ (smashes air), and my life would be over.”

Also read: “I will miss Michael Jordan, man!”: When Isiah Thomas gave the most shocking reaction to the Bulls legend’s retirement in 1993

Isiah understands now how foolish it was to do all of those antics then, but he could never help it and keep that animal inside him, as he was backed up by the bigger Bad Boys in his team and the coach Chuck Daly.

Thomas was the leader of that pack, they didn’t just fight with hands, in the era of Bird, Magic and Jordan Pistons won two championships.

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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