Isiah Thomas led Indiana to a national championship as a sophomore, earning Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors in the process, and opted to turn pro after averaging 16.0 points and 5.8 assists per game.
The Detroit Pistons, losers of the annual coin flip for the top pick, took Thomas with the second overall selection in the 1981 NBA Draft, handed him the ball and let Zeke run the offense.
He was a first team All-Rookie performer, earning the first of his 12 consecutive All-Star Game appearances that season, and was a five-time All-NBA selection. Thomas finished fifth in the MVP voting in 1983-84, when the Pistons returned to the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
He was also a two-time All-Star Game MVP, winning in 1984 and 1986.
Thomas led the NBA in assists in 1984-85, while finishing second in 1983-84 and 1985-86 and third in 1986-87. He also finished second in steals in 1983-84 and was fourth in 1982-83. Just for good measure, he was fourth in three-pointers in 1982-83.
But the Pistons gelled as a contender as Thomas’ individual numbers began to drop off. Detroit made three straight trips to the NBA Finals to close out the 1980s and begin the 1990s and Thomas was a key performer in all of them.
In 1988, Thomas sprained an ankle late in Game 6, but still put up an NBA Finals-record 25 points in the fourth quarter to keep the Pistons in a game they would lose to the Los Angeles Lakers 103-102. A hobbled Thomas was unable to stop the Lakers from repeating as champs in Game 7.
In the series, he averaged 19.7 points, 9.0 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.9 steals in 37.4 minutes per game, shooting .426/5-for-17/.833.
Detroit would sweep the Lakers in 1989, with Thomas putting up 21.3 points, 7.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 35.3 minutes a game on .485/2-for-6/.760 shooting.
He was the Finals MVP of their five-game triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers in 1990, erupting for 27.6 points, 7.0 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 38.4 minutes a night, while shooting .542/11-for-16/.742.
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Thomas retired in May 1994, shortly after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon.
In 13 seasons in Detroit, Thomas averaged 19.2 points, 9.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 36.3 minutes per game, shooting .452/.290/.759.
In retirement, Thomas served as the first general manager of the Toronto Raptors from 1994-98 and was the owner of the Continental Basketball Association from 1998-2000.
He also coached the Indiana Pacers from 2000-03 and the New York Knicks from 2006-08, while serving as the Knicks’ president of basketball operations December 2003-April 2008.
In five NBA seasons as a head coach, his record is 187-223, with a 5-10 mark in the playoffs. He was 26-65 in three seasons as head coach at Florida International University from 2009-12.
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Thomas, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000, is seventh in NBA history with 9,061 assists, 15th with 1,861 steals, 40th with an average of 36.3 minutes per game, fifth with an average of 9.3 assists per game game 20th with an average of 1.9 steals per game.