The Lakers and the Celtics dominated the 1980s, winning eight of the first nine championships of that decade. Their lengthy spell of domination came to a close towards the tail-end of the decade when Isiah Thomas and the Pistons won their first title in 1989 before successfully defending it in 1990. It took the Pistons guard eight years to lead his team to the NBA title.
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But he believes it’d have come way sooner if he had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a teammate.
During a lengthy back-and-forth discussion with fans on X, the Hall of Famer was asked if he’d have won the Championship much earlier with the Pistons if he shared the court with the Lakers icon. Thomas responded,
“Yes, Yes, and Yes again!! Lol”
Yes, Yes, and Yes again!! Lol https://t.co/hh39TNDynL
— Isiah Thomas (@IsiahThomas) August 22, 2024
When Detroit drafted Thomas in 1981, their roster was underwhelming. In the two years before his arrival, they had won only 37 games and lost 127.
On the contrary, when the Lakers landed Magic Johnson in 1979, they had won at least 45 games in each of the previous three campaigns.
More importantly, they had Kareem, who was entering his fifth year as a Laker and was arguably the best player in the league. He had won two MVP awards in his first four seasons in LA and was the face of the franchise.
Johnson had the perfect supporting cast around him since the day he was drafted, a privilege Thomas wishes he had.
The Pistons icon is a massive fan of Kareem and is in the minority who believe that the six-time NBA champion is the greatest ever.
Thomas has anointed Kareem as his GOAT
The GOAT debate often boils down to two names — LeBron James and Michael Jordan. However, a handful of fans, analysts, and former players, like Thomas, believe that Kareem should be in that conversation. The Pistons guard has dubbed Kareem’s overall body of work as a player as the greatest in history.
Let it be known The greatest basketball career ever @kaj33 grade school, high school, college, NBA https://t.co/8YMe1NFZXw
— Isiah Thomas (@IsiahThomas) June 7, 2024
It’s hard to argue against Thomas’ claim. The center won back-to-back National High School Championships and finished second in his senior year before committing to UCLA. He led his alma mater to three straight NCAA titles and won the National College Player of the Year and the Final Four Most Outstanding Player awards thrice.
The Bucks picked him first overall in the 1969 NBA Draft and he led them to the title in his second season with the franchise. After six years in Milwaukee, he returned to LA, joined the Lakers, and helped the franchise win five more championships.
When he retired in 1989, he was the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and held the record for 34 years before James went past him, poetically in a Lakers uniform with the center in attendance. Kareem still holds the record for most MVP titles with six and is a two-time scoring champion.
As far as resumes go, nobody in basketball history boasts one quite like Kareem’s. His legacy is incomparable and he’s inarguably one of, if not the greatest player ever.
