Isiah Thomas

Isiah Thomas

Isiah Lord Thomas III is an American former professional basketball player, coach and executive who is an analyst for NBA on TNT. He played his entire professional career for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. After his playing career, he was an executive with the Toronto Raptors and head coach of the Indiana Pacers. In early May 2015, amidst controversy, Thomas was named president and part owner of the Knicks’ WNBA sister team, the New York Liberty.

About Isiah Thomas in brief

Summary Isiah ThomasIsiah Lord Thomas III is an American former professional basketball player, coach and executive who is an analyst for NBA on TNT. He played his entire professional career for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. After his playing career, he was an executive with the Toronto Raptors, a television commentator, and head coach of the Indiana Pacers. In early May 2015, amidst controversy, Thomas was named president and part owner of the Knicks’ WNBA sister team, the New York Liberty, subsequent to the re-hiring of Thomas’s former Pistons teammate, Bill Laimbeer, as the team’s coach. Thomas was born on April 30, 1961 in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in the city’s West Side. He attended Our Lady of Sorrows School and St. Joseph High School in Westchester, which was a 90-minute commute from his home. Thomas played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, leading them to the 1981 NCAA championship as a sophomore and declaring for the NBA draft. In the 1981 NBA draft, the Pistons chose Thomas with the No. 2 pick and signed him to a four-year, USD 1.2 million contract. Thomas started for the Eastern Conference All-Star Game and made the All-Rookie Team in the 1982 NBA playoffs. He is a member of the NBA Hall of Famer, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a 12-time NBA All-star.

Thomas is married to former NBA player and current New York Knicks head coach Kristie King. He has three children. He also has a son and a daughter with former NBA star and current Knicks coach, Tim Hardaway. Thomas has been involved in several charities, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Boys & Girls Club of New York and the Girls & Boys Clubs of New England. He currently lives in New York City with his wife and two children. His son, Isiah, is a junior at the University of Florida, where he is an assistant basketball coach and has coached the Golden Panthers men’s basketball team for the past three seasons. Thomas also has two children with ex-NBA player and ex-Hoosiers coach, Mike Woodson, who he also coached at Florida International University from 2009 to 2012. Thomas’ son, Michael, is also a professional basketball coach, currently with the Charlotte Hornets of the N.C. State Basketball League and the New Jersey Nets of the G-League. He had a son with former Detroit Pistons player and former Indiana Pacers head coach, Michael Beasley, who is now a head coach with the New England Nets. Thomas and Beasley have two children, Michael Thomas, Jr. and Michael Beale, who plays for the Charlotte N.S. Knicks. Thomas currently lives with his parents in New Jersey. He lives with wife and three children in Newburgh, New York, and has two stepchildren.