Despite his dominance on the court, Isiah Thomas wasn’t a popular figure among his peers during his playing days, as is evidenced by his infamous exclusion from the 1992 Olympics’ US Men’s Basketball Team, better known as the ‘Dream Team.’ While most NBA superstars respected the Detroit guard’s talent and tenacity, not many considered him a friend. But John Stockton is in the minority who did.
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Thomas has known the Hall-of-Famer guard since they were teenagers, but their friendship didn’t blossom until they retired from the NBA. The Detroit Pistons icon recently paid homage to his friend on X, formerly Twitter, posting his picture with the Utah Jazz legend taken during the latter’s Hall of Fame enshrinement in 2009.
Thomas captioned the post, “Let it be known John Stockton is a friend. I was honored to escort him into the Basketball Hall of Fame.”
Let it be known John Stockton is a friend. I was honored to escort him into the Basketball Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/XFr1Z7ZLEm
— Isiah Thomas (@IsiahThomas) June 9, 2024
Thomas once shed light on his relationship with Stockton during a sit-down with the Jazz guard’s former teammate, Karl Malone. Zeke revealed that Stockton’s father kept his relationship with the PG alive despite the media’s attempts to drive a wedge between the two star guards.
IT also praised Stockton’s impact on the game, saying,
“[John Stockton] and I’ve known each other since we were like 13, 12 years old. His father was the one to always keep us together…The way John played, he ran the point guard position like none other. It was always perfect.”
While Thomas and Stockton became close friends by the time the latter’s career ended in 2003, their relationship wasn’t always rosy.
John Stockton and Isiah Thomas weren’t buddies during their playing days
John Stockton witnessed Isiah Thomas’ skills and competitive spirit when they were still in high school. Even then, the future Pistons icon was a handful and rubbed people the wrong way. In an interview with Jason Whitlock, Stockton once revealed,
“I came across him once in high school at a tournament, and he changed my world. I couldn’t believe there could be a basketball player that good, and he literally changed my world. He’s been impactful for me, and we probably hated each other when we played each other.”
“That is the beauty of competing, and these were fights, these were wars, and he is one of the guys that I respect the most out of my entire years of playing, and we weren’t buddies,” he added.
But in the biggest moment of his life, Stockton had nothing but praise for Thomas. He began his Hall of Fame enshrinement speech by showing gratitude to the Pistons icon and crediting him for playing a massive role in helping him on and off the court.
