When we talk about the greats of NBA basketball, we instantly think of certain names like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and other players looked at in the highest possible regard. Modern players like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are forcing their names into the conversation, and maybe we see Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, and Luka Doncic join that a decade from now.
But as generations pass, more and more people start forgetting about the ones that paved the road for modern success. Isiah Thomas was the first small guard to dominate on a championship level, winning consecutive titles by beating some of the most iconic names in the sport like Magic, Bird, and Jordan. However, he doesn’t get the respect he deserves quite often.
Kendrick Perkins wanted to stop that, calling Thomas a top-five point guard of all time ahead of John Stockton during a Twitter Q&A session:
Isiah Top 5!!! He went through Magic, Bird and Jordan https://t.co/LBIXoRW2JY
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 31, 2022
Thomas is the subject of a lot of disrespect, especially after his very public feud with Michael Jordan through the late-eighties and nineties. Thomas was controversially left off the 1992 US Olympic Basketball ‘Dream Team’, due to poor relations with stars like MJ and Magic.
However, what Thomas did on the court cannot be ignored. He’s a former Finals MVP and won two titles in an extremely competitive era of the NBA. He is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and atop both the all-time steals (17th) and assists (9th) list. He left behind a career of excellence and is often passed over in comparison to modern legends.
Thomas wasn’t the flashiest, but he could command his unit and be a floor general. Perkins is just recognizing him for that, as his contributions to the game are incredibly important while looking at the history of NBA basketball.
