Last Updated on March 4, 2025 by Mat Diekhake

Here’s a detailed profile of Isiah Thomas:

  • Full Name: Isiah Lord Thomas III
  • Nationality: American
  • Date of Birth: April 30, 1961
  • Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
  • Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
  • Weight: 180 lbs (82 kg)
  • Wingspan: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
  • Shoe Size: 12 (US)
  • Number: 11
  • Position: Point Guard
  • High School: St. Joseph High School (Westchester, Illinois)
  • College: Indiana University (1979–1981)
  • NBA Draft: 1981 | Round: 1 | Pick: 2 | Selected by the Detroit Pistons
  • Teams Played For:
    • Detroit Pistons (1981–1994)
  • NBA Debut: October 30, 1981
  • Championship Rings: 2 with Detroit Pistons (1989, 1990)
  • Kids: Joshua Thomas, Lauren Thomas
  • Siblings: 8 siblings (including an older brother, Lord Henry Thomas)
  • Net Worth: Made $16,681,000 playing in the NBA

Isiah Thomas stated recently that he had a positive record against Michael Jordan up until he got injured in 1991. I think Isiah has a point. It was Isiah who was the best player on that Pistons team and not Joe Dumars (Dumars was reaching his prime in 1991 but wasn’t nearly as strong before then). I tend to think of Thomas’s Pistons as a team that succeeded because they were a great team similar to the 2004 Pistons that won the NBA championship. But you could make that same argument for Jordan’s Bulls teams too. Interestingly, Dennis Rodman was playing for Thomas’s Pistons and later joined Jordan’s Bulls. 2/4/2025

Notes:

  • Isiah Thomas spent his entire career with the Detroit Pistons. It wasn’t that uncommon in his era. Another guard that did it was John Stockton for the Utah Jazz.

Fun Facts

  • His mother named him after the book Isaiah in the Bible, which is why his middle name is Lord.
  • Michael Jordan didn’t like him, but he didn’t know this until after they retired, or he says he would have treated Jordan differently.
  • He was working for the Toronto Raptors when they drafted Tracy McGrady.