Players in the 1980s and 90s played with a level of extreme competitiveness and intensity. Nonetheless, they all had great respect for each other. This was quite evident in the relationship between Isiah Thomas and Larry Bird. On the court, they were rivals, always duelling to the very last second. Off the court, Thomas looked up to the Celtics legend. Crediting him for saving his career in 1987.
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Bird and Thomas went toe-to-toe in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. The series extended to a win-or-go-home situation in Game 7. Boston ultimately won the series and advanced to the NBA Finals. Following the Pistons’ loss, forward Dennis Rodman made some insensitive comments regarding Bird’s race.
Once made aware of his teammate’s statements, Thomas jokingly repeated them. That didn’t go over well with the media. The 6-foot-1 guard received a tremendous amount of backlash. However, before it reached a point of no return, Bird silenced those critiquing Thomas and putting the negative narratives to bed.
That gesture from Bird has never gone overlooked by Thomas. In 2024, during a special on TNT, Thomas spoke on Bird’s actions and how it saved his career.
“Larry, you had my career right at the palm of your hands,” said Thomas. “Now, the media at that time kept playing it on. And that’s where it went. But Larry did us a huge favor.”
Bird understood Thomas didn’t mean any harm with his comments. He did what he thought was the right thing to do. It had great implications on Thomas’ career and success, which followed shortly after.
Two seasons later, Thomas led the Pistons to win the 1989 NBA championship. He responded in the 1989-90 season by repeating as champions. His success is a testament to the work he put in. However, it wouldn’t have been possible with Bird.
Bird influenced Isiah Thomas to become a champion
Bird has been instrumental in Thomas’ career in many ways. Before the Hall-of-Fame guard even reached the league, Bird had motivated him to reach newer and greater heights.
Ahead of the 1981 NBA Draft, Thomas was on top of the basketball world. He had just led the Indiana Hoosiers to a National Championship. That same season in the NBA, Bird won a title with the Celtics. Regardless, Thomas knew Bird’s accomplishment was different and wanted to experience that feeling.
“I’m watching [Bird] in the NBA Finals,” Thomas said. “And I’m like, ‘I want to learn how to do that.’ I had won a championship in Indiana, and I knew in Detroit we were nowhere near that level.”
The Pistons were far from being a team ready to compete for a title. But Thomas had aspirations of reaching that level one day. He worked tirelessly to achieve that, which he eventually did in 1989 and 1990. At the heart of it all was the desire that Bird left within him.
