Isiah Thomas Will Never Die

 Isiah Thomas will never die. 

 Isiah Lord Thomas III. 

 I.T. will never die.

 

 Thomas won his first major basketball championship under ogre coach Bobby Knight at Indiana University. As he accepted an award for his excellent play under Knight, Thomas publicly thanked his coach for teaching him the effectiveness of expressions like "fuck you" and "asshole." Knight laughed. Isiah survived.

 Isiah joined the Pistons in the NBA and became one of the best and most popular point guards of his era. He was the smiling pretty boy on a team of brutes & thugs like Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman and Rick Mahorn. He was the leader of a thuggish rebel coup who masked the insanity of the Bad Boys with laughter.

 He used to smooch Magic Johnson at midcourt before their head to head battles. The two point guard studs hung out together, partied together and loved on each other even more than LeBron James & Chris Paul do.

 At some point, Magic turned against Isiah, but didn't let the Bad Boys' leader know. The usually friendly and charismatic Johnson eventually aired the dirt on his disdain for Thomas in a book. Magic's usually a classy guy. Somehow Isiah brought out the darkness in him. Maybe it started with this exchange of hard fouls.

 Isiah and the Bad Boys were known for rough, physical & aggressive play. Magic retaliated with his book. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen got revenge by denying Isiah a spot on the original Dream Team. 

 Karl Malone's revenge may have been the sweetest when he delivered this vicious elbow leading to 40 stitches and plastic surgery for Thomas.

 Isiah's rep as a dirty player didn't hurt him as he moved into the front office phase of career. He became a part-owner and GM of the expansionToronto Raptors. While he was successful in drafting Rookie of the Year Damon Stoudamire and future all-stars Marcus Camby and Tracy McGrady, he left the struggling Raptors after a failed bid for increased ownership and a dispute over the team's direction.

 Unable to buy an NBA team, Thomas went for a whole league when he purchased the CBA in 1999 for $10 million. The league had been in operation since 1946 and had been acting as a successful, unofficial farm-like system for the NBA since the early '80s.

 Within 2 years of Isiah's leadership, the league was dead and bankrupt thanks to his mismanagement.

 Isiah escaped unscathed and was hired by Donnie Walsh to coach the Indiana Pacers. He coached Reggie Miller and company into the playoffs in all three of his seasons. His former on-court nemesis Larry Bird took over as president of the Pacers in 2003 and his first move was to fire Isiah. Somewhere, Magic and Michael were laughing. 

 Six months later, Isiah was named President of the Knicks. Personal turmoil with players crept up again when Stephon Marbury threatened revenge on Isiah for benching him. On the team plane, an angry Marbury told his teammates, "Isiah has to start me. I've got so much shit on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can fuck me. But I'll fuck him first. You have no idea what I know."

 Marbury didn't end up snitching on Isiah, who'd already cost the Knicks $11 million in a sexual harrassment case with team executive Anucha Brown Sanders. Thomas was eventually relinquished of coaching and front office duties after leading the Knicks to their worst season ever. He avoided full dismissal when Knicks' owner Jim Dolan kept him on the payroll as a scout.

 In July of 2010 after a year of coaching collage ball, Isiah returned to New York to try to help the Knicks woo LeBron. They failed with LeBron's people saying that the Knicks' presentation was poorly prepared and disorganized.

 Dolan rewarded Isiah by hiring him as a consultant in recruiting next year's top free agents like Carmelo Anthony. Knicks fans are left wondering why.

 On the mean streets of Chicago and under the fiery tutelage of Bobby Knight, Isiah survived. Despite feeling the wrath of NBA greats Michael, Magic & Larry, Isiah thrived. Franchises crumbled and leagues died while Isiah stays alive. 

 Isiah Thomas will never die.