Rumors

As the Nets’ lone NBA All-Star, Richardson was the face of the franchise. “I love him. He had it all as a player, with no weaknesses in his game,” said former Detroit Pistons guard Isiah Thomas, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer. “He is the player who gave me the most problems playing against him. He was taller, just as fast and could shoot from 3 and midrange. His post-up game was elite. Offensively, he had it all.” Said Birdsong: “He never really feared any opponent. I tell people this story and they don’t believe it. He used to go in the [opponents’] locker room, whether it was Isiah or Magic [Johnson], and he would tell them, ‘I’m gonna bust you’re a– tonight.’ He was fearless and that’s how he played. … “On the court, fearless, competitive, feisty, mean, nasty. Not mean and nasty in a bad way, just in a competitive way. And off the court, do anything for you. Funny. Fun-loving. Totally different person off the court.”

Andscape

In 2000, Bryant did the same to ignite a new generation of Lakers dominance. He wasn’t smiling, though. He didn’t use words. He laced jumpers like daggers into the hearts of the Pacers. Then Bryant gestured to his teammates, to the fans, to everyone who had yet to fully comprehend the level of No. 8. Everybody, calm down. Kobe is here.  A superstar was born. “You only get a few of those players,” Ron Harper, Bryant’s Lakers teammate, said to The Athletic this week. “You can count on a few of them: Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas. They get to those special moments when the game slows down in their eyes, when it speeds up for everybody else. “He went and got the game. He allowed the game to come to him, but he went and got the game.”

New York Times

"The independence of Isiah Thomas is a legally defined concept. He was listed as the official independent board member of UWM. Only three total independent board members—one of them is Isiah Thomas, who is supposed to be independent and holding the Ishbias accountable.official independent board member of UWM. Only three total independent board members—one of them is Isiah Thomas, who is supposed to be independent and holding the Ishbias accountable He's being listed as independent in these SEC documents—independent from the Ishbia family. Even though Isiah Thomas happened to help install the former assistant general manager of his New York Knicks as the assistant GM of the Phoenix Suns... Even though his son happens to now be a scout for the Phoenix Suns... Even though Isiah Thomas himself sits in the owner’s seats... Even though Isiah Thomas is being reported—according to our journalism—as a leading voice in the ear of the owner of the team, Mat Ishbia, the man he’s supposed to be independent from... But he couldn’t be hired by him because he was involved in an infamous sexual misconduct scandal when he was running the New York Knicks. That Isiah Thomas is 'independent'—per those documents—from Mat Ishbia. That is also my understanding."

YouTube

Also, if you're wondering—as I have been—if Isiah Thomas has gotten paid for any of the stuff he does for any of Mat Ishbia’s companies: It turns out that Isiah has been getting a six-figure salary from UWM for years for being a board member. And that is on top of the annual grants of stock that he gets in the company. That's all according to government filings that we saw. And we here at Pablo Torre Finds Out requested formal comment about all of this from Isiah Thomas and his representatives. We sent over a detailed list of questions—and they did not respond."

YouTube

"Around the time we were looking into this, how UWM's referred guardrail in this way for years has been Isiah Thomas, we got another intriguing update. Actually, a few weeks ago, UWM quietly changed its security filings and announced that Ishbia was no longer going to label Thomas as an 'independent board member.' He’s now just a board member—still supposed to serve the best interests of the shareholders, not necessarily the executives—but he is now no longer labeled as independent."

YouTube

NBA TV will offer nightly studio coverage of the NBA Finals. GameTime Live at the Finals will feature analysts such as Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith of TNT’s iconic Inside the NBA, as well as Grant Hill, Isiah Thomas, Candace Parker, Steve Smith, Brendan Haywood, and Channing Frye.

Front Office Sports

Derrick Rose: My GOAT now is Isiah Thomas because he’s from Chicago. The only guy who beat Magic [Johnson], Mike [Jordan], and [Larry] Bird all in their prime at 6-3. Chicago’s way of doing sh*t. I used to say MJ, but it wasn’t MJ. I said it because I was intrigued by his story and how he won. But I’m not a two-guard. I don’t score like him at all. So it was just me just admiring his story.

HoopsHype

Haliburton has gone out of his way in the past to say that he wants to be a “good mom” for the Pacers, that is, he wants to make sure that his entire team eats. But as a superstar in his own right, there are nights where he has to hunt for his own shot more proactively. And when he does, he typically lights it up from beyond the arc, reminding Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas of another Indiana sporting icon at present in Caitlin Clark. “The way [Haliburton] played the game [on Tuesday night], this is a Caitlin Clark type of game. He's shooting it from way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way out there,” Thomas said, via NBA on ESPN on Instagram. “I see a lot of her in his game right now.”

Clutch Points

Jorge Sierra: Draymond Green has passed Isiah Thomas in assists for No. 15 in NBA playoffs history. He also tied Elvin Hayes in blocks for No. 20 all-time.

bsky.app

Awful Announcing: "I totally 100% object to this ... the professionalism in our NBA league has diminished so much." Isiah Thomas tees off on LeBron James for warming up shirtless pregame in L.A. 😬

x.com

What’s the biggest confrontation a player has had with something you wrote? Jack McCallum: [Chuckles] Well, I had a couple with Isiah [Thomas]. This was after they had won, early 90s, they had won in ’89, they repeated in ’90. I went up there for something, the Pistons were starting to fall apart totally, and I went up there to do a story about that. Isiah had a confrontation the day before with someone in the parking lot. I can’t remember exactly what it was, but I said I wanted to talk to him after practice and he was like, ‘Yeah, but I don’t wanna talk about what happened yesterday.’ I said okay, so I started talking to him and the interview was going so well, and me being me, I said well I know you said you didn’t wanna talk about it, but let me ask you about it and we’re in a corner of the gymnasium, and Isiah goes, well I thought we agreed you weren’t gonna ask me about it. I go yeah, okay. And he goes, ‘Well, why did you ask me about it?’ And his voice kept getting louder and louder and louder, and finally Laimbeer comes over and kind of got between us.

HoopsHype

NBA Stat: Longest streaks of PTS/AST double-doubles with at most 2 TOV in NBA history: 12 — Tyrese Haliburton (Active) 5 — Isiah Thomas (1984-85) 5 — John Stockton (1992) 5 — Chris Paul (2014) 5 — Tyrese Haliburton (2023-24) 5 — Nikola Jokic (2025)

bsky.app

Marc J. Spears: Hawks say Dyson Daniels is the youngest player in the NBA since at least 1973-74 to have 200 steals in a single season. He’s the fifth player to do so prior to turning 23, joining Magic Johnson, Chris Paul, Isiah Thomas and Dudley Bradley.

Twitter

Eric Woodyard: FINAL: The #Pistons fall to the Wizards, 129-125. Cade Cunningham finishes with 38 pts and 10 rebs. With his 5th 35-point, 10-assist game this season, he now has the most in a season in Pistons history, passing Isiah Thomas, per ESPN Research. pic.x.com/kitpcIXc3o

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