Isiah Thomas graced Detroit Pistons fans with his presence at the Palace to attend the Los Angeles Lakers last visit to Auburn Hills. With Thomas in the building, Stan Van Gundy reflects on what Thomas has meant to the franchise.
Stan Van Gundy took some time before the Detroit Pistons game against the Lakers to reflect on one of the greatest players of all-time, Isiah Thomas.
He, like most fans, agrees that Thomas is the best player in franchise history.
"“His jersey’s up there, his number’s up there, and the guy won championships. And I think still, to this day, if you talk to Detroit Pistons fans — certainly of my age or older, maybe not the young ones — and just one name? It’s going to be Isiah Thomas,” Van Gundy said after today’s practice.“He’s clearly the best player in the history of the franchise,” Van Gundy said. “He’s the guy you most identify the Pistons with, and I think it will be that way for a long time. …“There’s 30 franchises, and some of them, it might be murky who the best player is. Certainly here, I don’t think it’s even murky at all that he’s the best player for the franchise. That’s a pretty heady thing in the NBA. There’s a lot of good players, and when you’re the guy for a franchise, that’s pretty impressive stuff.”"
Van Gundy is spot on. As Van Gundy mentions, he’s so iconic that people call him by his first name and not his last.
Isiah is one of the few true superstars to ever play for the Pistons. He won two championships and was a 5-time all-NBA selection. For his career he averaged 19.2 points, 9.3 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 steals.
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He’s far and away the Pistons best player of all time, though some would argue that Grant Hill is the most talented. (Oh, and he did spent all 13 seasons of his career with the same team, something few players do).