Isiah Thomas is one of the best point guards in NBA history. A Hall of Famer, Thomas enjoyed a great career in the NBA. And he had a great many rivals.
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Thomas has career averages of 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals per game. In addition, he has been in a total of three NBA Finals, winning two NBA Championships.
Two of his Finals were against the Los Angeles Lakers and his good friend Magic Johnson. Although, their friendship wasn’t really on display when they faced each other.
Magic Johnson avoided his best friend Isiah Thomas when they faced off in the NBA Finals
The 1987-1988 NBA Finals were a huge deal for Isiah Thomas. The Hall of Fame point guard led the Detroit Pistons to his first finals appearance, where they would face the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers were led by another superstar point guard and Thomas’ best friend, Magic Johnson. However, according to Zeke, the friendship would be put on pause when they met in the Playoffs. To the point where Magic constantly turned away and avoided Thomas.
The @DetroitPistons @IsiahThomas & @Lakers @magicjohnson were the 1st men I ever saw kiss publicly. So, I was shocked to hear how different Finals’ Magic was. This started to fracture a friendship & it was mended as publicly as their affection.@thepivothttps://t.co/mk04fchGuo pic.twitter.com/peOuOvm5g5
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) December 20, 2022
Coldness was a common occurrence among superstars back then. Especially if you were friends who met in the NBA Finals on two occasions.
It worked for Magic the first time. But, the second time around, Isiah came out on top. Winning one of his two rings, the cherries on top of his legendary NBA career.
Thomas was a champion on the court but struggled to make an impact in the front office with the Knicks
Isiah Thomas is a champion. A two-time champion to be exact. He knows what it takes to win it all as a player. Unfortunately, it did not translate to wins as a general manager. As seen with his horrid spell as the GM of the New York Knicks from 2003 to 2008.
Today in 2003, the @nyknicks hire Isiah Thomas as Team President. By 2005, they had the highest payroll and second-worst record. 🏀#TodayInSports #NBA pic.twitter.com/i6Kqg44NHc
— TodayInSports (@TodayInSportsCo) December 22, 2019
It was a horrible decision by the Knicks to hire him and Thomas for joining them. But nevertheless, a learning experience for both.
