Former NBA forward Tim Thomas spent more than a decade in the league, but one story from early in his career had nothing to do with basketball. During a recent appearance on VladTV, Thomas described a frightening night in Detroit when a celebration for a teammate suddenly turned into a tense confrontation involving armed gang members.
The moment he said still stands out years later. It started as a normal night for the team. Thomas explained that several players traveled to Detroit to support Robert ‘Tractor’ Traylor after he returned to his hometown for a game.
“It wasn’t a shootout. It was close to being a shootout. God rest his soul. Tractor Taylor. This brother is heavy out there, whatever, is documented.”
“So we went to support Track when he got into the league. He’s from Detroit. So he had parties and whatever. It was his first game back home and all that stuff. So he had dinners and all kinds of stuff. So we all supported him as a team or whatever.”
“Somebody from a different guy’s girlfriend ended up with Track’s family, sort of set. So we moving around Detroit in about five or six vehicles, and they realized that’s how we was moving around. We talk about a lot of basketball players, but back then, it’s limos. Guys had stretch limos. So you ain’t dipping and dodging no corners. So you either going straight or you stopping and that’s that.”
“We was leaving one restaurant, going to another, and none of us as players, knew what was going on. But we was basically in the front of this caravan of vehicles. So when we finally got to the place where we was going, it wasn’t like you just pull in valet kind of stuff. It wasn’t none of that. It was just straight street. So you had to double park. And again, we in limos.”
“So as we’re double parking, two vehicles pull up on the side of the five vehicles that we’re in, and everybody just pop out, drawing out. And it was with a girl, with a girl, with a girl. So now they going vehicle to vehicle to vehicle.”
“Shout out to my man Jackie Miles, who I put in as an NBA security guy, former officer. He got out and kind of diffused the whole thing, man. But we was literally stuck on a block with, I don’t want to name the guns, but on a block with some high end s**t pointed at all the vehicles. And it’s all NBA guys that are supporting Track. So it was a real moment. Scary moment.”
According to Thomas, the players were moments away from a possible shootout before things finally cooled down.
The night had begun as a celebration for Traylor. The Detroit native played seven seasons in the NBA and averaged 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds during his career. Before turning professional, he had been a standout at the Michigan Wolverines program.
However, Traylor’s college career later became connected to the well-known Ed Martin booster scandal, which led to a lengthy investigation into Michigan basketball. Prosecutors eventually revealed that Martin had provided loans totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars to multiple players, including Traylor and Chris Webber. Despite the controversy, Traylor remained a respected figure among many former teammates.
Thomas’ interview covered more than just that dangerous moment.
In the same conversation with DJ Vlad, he also spoke about turning down an $18 million endorsement offer from Adidas when he was only 18 years old. Thomas revealed that one college recruiting pitch even included promises of a $3 million payment, a $2 million house, and four cars.
He also reflected on his high school battles with Kobe Bryant, claiming he once sat at the top of Bryant’s famous ‘kill list,’ the group of players the future Lakers legend used as motivation during his early career.
Thomas’s story about that night in Detroit captured just how unpredictable life around professional athletes could become away from the court. What started as a routine night supporting a teammate nearly turned into something far more dangerous.
