Club Shay Shay - Isiah Thomas: “I was dominant over Jordan head-to-head”

Episode Date: September 12, 2022

In this special rewind episode of Club Shay Shay, revisit some of Shannon's favorite segments from the show so far.00:00 Isiah Thomas: “I was dominant over Jordan head-to-head”6:55 Isiah Thomas: my brother almost fought Bobby Knight because of the KKK14:36 Isiah Thomas on why the Pistons walked off w/o shaking the Bulls’ handsListen & follow more FOX Sports podcasts: http://sprtspod.fox/applepodcasts#DoSomethinB4TwoSomethin & Follow Club Shay Shay:                                                                 https://www.instagram.com/clubshayshayhttps://twitter.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.facebook.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.youtube.com/c/clubshayshay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This week on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, I am joined by the greatest alpine skier of all time,

Michaela Schifrin. Michaela talks about the ski accident that changed everything for her, performing while going through grief, and what it's like to release the pressure of being the GOAT. And so much more. Like, I have no right to be winning this race. I really probably shouldn't even be doing it. But I'm here, so I will win.

Listen to this episode of Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, Club Che Che listeners. We'll be back soon with weekly episodes featuring brand new interviews with exciting roster of guests. Until then, enjoy this special rewind episode with one of my favorite moments from Club Che Che so far. All my life, been grinding all my life.

Sacrifice, hustle paid the price. Want a slice, got to roll the dice. That's why all my life I've been grinding all my life. I know it's hard, but you played in arguably the greatest era, the 80s, that we've seen. How would you rank Bad Boy Pistons, Showtime Lakers, the Big Three Celtics, the Bulls at the tail end, although they didn't win, they did to you what you had did to the Celtics and the Lakers. They were stalking from an outside position. How would you rank the dynasties of the 80s? So you'd have to rank the, you know, Lakers, Celtics, arguably one or two, you know,

1A, 1B, depending on, you know, do you like vanilla ice cream or chocolate ice cream? But it's still ice cream, you know, 1A, 1B, depending on, you know, do you like vanilla ice cream or chocolate ice cream, but it's still ice cream, you know. And in Philly, that period of time with Moses and Dr. J, you know, in the 80s, you know, you got to give them their respect too. I think we will probably be, you know, in the eighties, we will be somewhere in there as a basketball team. Now, talent wise, the Lakers, the Celtics, the 76ers, we cannot compete with their talent, but as a basketball team, as a unit,

But as a basketball team, as a unit, I would venture to say that our basketball team as a unit was just as good as their teams. However, if you're just breaking it down by talent, we did not have the talent is really what made us even more special because we didn't have the luxury that they had. Right. You didn't have all those. I mean, the Lakers are littered with Hall of Famers. They got six or seven. We know about Kareem and Magic and James Worthy and Jamal Wilkes and Bob McAdoo.

We know about those guys. Norm Nixon was a heck of a player also. And you know about the big three Celtics. But people don't realize Dennis Johnson was a finals MVP and a defensive player of the year. Bill Walton, Bill Walton was an MVP. He was a finals MVP. People don't realize just how good those teams were.

And you took them down. And then everybody's going to say, well, you know, they got they got no but you still beat them nobody else beat them and they were getting old no no it wasn't it wasn't that they were getting old we were that good so and so i i gave you 86 87 those were the two best teams right in 87 we had them beat you did in 88 we had the lakers beat so we we were that good right now when you look at philadelphia the lakers and the celtics every one of those teams that we just named in the 80s that were champions, all of them had three or four top 50 players on their team. Yes. Not one. They had three or four top 50 players on their team.

Yes. Detroit Pistons, and this is why I say we were a great team. I was the only one as as a top 50 player on my team. That's how good that's how good a unit we have become to compete against teams that had three or four top 50 players on their team. Yeah, I think the Celtics had like five, because the big three, DJ and Bill Walton. Yeah, a couple of times. We ain't going to talk about it. Isaiah, you caught a lot of criticism.

And people say, well, he just hating. He just upset. You said, Michael wasn't my competition. I never chased Michael. I was chasing larry and magic i was chasing the celtics and the lakers because they had what i wanted michael never had what i wanted he was chasing me i wasn't chasing him explain what you mean by that Explain what you mean by that. You know, just head to head, you know, I was dominant over him. Right.

When all teams met, you know, when you go back and you look at until 91, when I basically had career-ending wrist surgery. Right. Up until then, you know, my record against against against him and his team, you know, it was it really was a competition. And, you know. You know, and most people think like we're, you know, I'm five years older than him, but we only a year apart, year two, year and a half apart. So, but, you know, he just wasn't my competition. Now, Bird. He didn't have anything that you wanted.

He didn't have no trophies? No. And like I said, my focus was Bird, Magic, Dr. J, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Okay. Those were the guys. Right. You know, I don't care what anybody say. You can go back and look at history. Those were the guys.

They were. Dr. J, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Robert Parrish, Kevin McHale, Kareem, Magic, James. Those were the guys. Right. Because back then the Celtics were putting four players on the All-Star team. They had their three big guys and Dennis Johnson. I'm like, the East would look like the Celtics.

I'm like, hold on, wait a minute. Is there anybody else in the East? Yeah. Well, there was Milwaukee. Because remember Milwaukee. Milwaukee was good. Terry Cummings. They had Bob Lanier. They had Albert Robinson and Demond Free. They would lose to –

The Sixers. Milwaukee would lose to Philadelphia or Austin. Yep. Seven games. Yep. And that's how good that Milwaukee team was. Yep. I remember it like yesterday.

Yeah, so Chicago, I mean, and I'm from Chicago and I'm from the west side, but, you know, Jordan was, you know, he dominated a different era. Right. If you put Jordan in our era, you know, he lost a lot in our era. Right. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps,

and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claibon, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now.

This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast at NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

So obviously coming from Chicago, I mean, normally when you hear about basketball players, you hear about Chicago, you hear about New York, you hear about the big cities. So you go to Indiana. What was the thought process of going to Indiana? I'm sure you had heard some of the stories about Coach Knight. And then it's reported that your brother and Coach Knight get into it when he comes to recruit you. Well, that's true. And by the way, I you hear something scratching, that's my dog behind me. I saw him walk in. Yeah. And now most people probably think I got

a big dog, but hey, that little fella, he tough now. But, you know, I didn't make the decision to go to Indiana. That was made by my mom. And again, back then, remember, your mom and your dad, they had the hammer. Right. I'll never forget, back then, remember your mom and your dad, they had the hammer.

Right. I'll never forget, you know, my mom, you know, called the press conference and she said, my son has made his decision. He decided to go to Indiana University and play for Coach Knight. And I was like this. And yeah, he and my brother, they got into it. And they got into a pretty big fight. And, you know, the reason why I got into it. What was it about?

Well, Coach Knight was recruiting me to come to Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana. Right. And the next town over from Bloomington was Martinsville, Indiana. Right. And the next town over from Bloomington was Martinsville, Indiana. Okay. Where the Klan started at. Right. And the Klan is, you know, has a big presence

in the state of Indiana. Right. And so my brother, you know, he asked Coach Knight, he said, well, you know, when Junior's down there, because that's what they call me in the family, they said, when Junior's down there, if something was to go down with the Klan, who's going to take care of him? And, you know, I thought it was kind of a funny answer. Coach Knight said, well, if we're winning, they will. We just kind of laughed it off right my brother didn't think that was funny right so so he's like oh you know you know he went into his thing and right you know and and

so they they got into you know a little back and forth and then then my brother said, well, hey, we can take this outside. And Coach Knight stood up, took his jacket off, rolled up his sleeve and was like, yeah, we can take this outside. And, you know, everybody in the house, we were panicking. Oh, no, no. You know how households are. Oh, no, no, no. Now, Shannon, you know, let me paint the scene. Now, Shannon, you know, let me paint the scene. So we, at that time, we got no lights. We pour as pour. So all our meetings have to be in the daytime.

Right. So it's about 4 o'clock. And, you know, again, we got, you know, it actually was a big roach crawling behind Coach Knight's head. Oh, man. You know what it's actually, it was a big roach crawling behind Coach Knight's head. Oh, man. You know, and it was like, we were sitting there like, go away, go away, go away, you know. They don't come out until you have company, Isaiah. Right, right. And sorry about my dog.

But anyway, so now it's getting to be a little dusk. And I remember, you know, so the scuffle you know started happening not a scuffle but the back and forth right coach and i took off his jacket and we was all no no no no and you know it's that one person in the room who ain't moving ain't doing nothing right my mom my mom was looking at him like shaking her head and i was like at him like, shaking her head. And I was like, oh, she like him. And so that's, that's how it went down. And my mom and my mom and my sister, you know, he, he came in and he said, I'm all for your son, three things. A, he's going to graduate from college.

B, he's going to be a gentleman. And C, everything that I know about basketball, I'm going to teach him. And that was it. Isaiah, at the time that you went to college, was your father alive? My father was alive. Now, the interesting thing about my father my mother and my father and and again you know people who were coming up in the 60s you you will notice um you know so we had to go on welfare so when you go on welfare i mean the u.s government was really breaking up

your family because the man couldn't be inside the household. Right. And so my father had to leave so we can get on welfare, get the welfare check. And then they started having teaching and everything else. But my mom, my dad, when he looked at Indiana, he did not like me playing basketball. Okay. My father didn't like nothing about entertainment my father was everything about books learning getting educated because this is the way you're going to make it in this world right son if you think you're going to make it in this world bouncing a basketball that's not how you're going to make it you're not going to be you know and and his beliefs was you know

entertainment you know wasn't wasn't the wasn't the door or the avenue for you to make it it was education and those were his beliefs Isaiah the reason why I asked you that because I don't know how many people know this but we know this because we come from black families the older brother took on the role as the father if the father wasn't in the house and because you said your brother your older brother had this conversation that let me know okay when somebody when the father was absent he's the man of the house he took on that responsibility yes he did and and they and even though and it's well documented you know my my brothers after after the Vietnam War everybody fell into you know heroin and cocaine.

And my brothers, a couple of them died. One of them had HIV. And so it was a very difficult time during that period of time. But the messages that they were always giving me on their hard times was, don't don't do what we're doing. Right. Can do something else. And Shannon, I never forget, you know, now you got me going down memory lane because when we start when we're talking about my brothers, you know, everybody got to hand me down. Right. Oh, yes. So me being the youngest. Right. Oh, you got you got three or four deep hand me down three four deep but i couldn't fit my brother's clothes so you know whose clothes i could fit your sister's

sister's clothes i got my sister's clothes so you button up on the left side too i'm wearing a jean and you know we knew man those are girl jeans so i'm having to fire on people in elementary and junior high because they talk about i'm wearing girl jeans so i got to fire on them i say i got no choice that's how i got good with my hands that's how i was like okay well on graduation day i had on my sister's black patent leather boots. And I had on her flowered red blouse with a hood on the back. And I had on her Providence St. Mel blazer. That was my graduation outfit in eighth grade.

Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claibon, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe.

This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast at NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day.

Subscribe today, and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And, you know. Because a lot of people forget Isaiah. They say, well, because when you had beaten them the previous, you beat them 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, and they finally broke through and they beat you guys.

And they said that each time that you beat them, they shook your hand. But I don't know if people remember this. In 88, when you beat the Celtics, they walked off the court and they didn't shake your hand. Yeah. You remember that, Isaiah? Yeah, I remember that. But nobody said, hold on. Nobody said a word about that. It was only became an issue when you guys walked off the court and didn't shake. and look, I'm not excusing what you did, but if you didn't have a problem with it three, four years earlier, why you got a problem with it now?

Yeah, and so, yeah, when the Celtics walked off, right, here's the difference. We as the Pistons, we never made a big deal. Right. Celtics walking off, not shaking our hands. They were champions, and they deserved to- Go out how they want to. Yeah, and we were thankful and grateful for the lessons that they taught, and now we go on to try to beat somebody else.

Right. We never sat around and said, oh, you know, McHale. And McHale and I are good friends still today. Right. And before Dennis Johnson and all them guys, before Dennis Johnson passed and, you know, Larry and I, we see each other today and it's still cool. But we never said, wow, they didn't shake our hand. What poor sports. And we never did that. It was like, okay, they didn't shake our hand. What poor sports. We never did that.

It was like, okay, they were champions. They were exiting. And we moved on. The other thing that I would say is the night before, now we're down 3-0 in the series. You've heard me speak glowingly about the Celtics and the Lakers as champions and when we were getting ready to beat them and we knew we had the better team and they were going down we wasn't the day before talking about how they were

bad and they were this and they were right they're bad for the nba yes we gave them their respect right now jordan before you know before you know they swept us you know the night before you know he has this big press conference where he he annihilates our team and the one thing that really you know hit us hard is when he called us undeserving champions now you've won super bowls you've been a champion yeah now imagine someone saying that what you earned and what you did, you were undeserving of it. And by the way, it wasn't a coach. It wasn't a media person.

It was one of your peers. Right. What made, why do you think you said that? What made you guys so undeserving? I don't know. The, these are questions that, that questions that you have to ask him. Right. Now all I can do is speak for us and speak for the Detroit Pistons. So you know when we walked off and Lambert said I'm not shaking their hands and this is how we roll we rolled as a team we

rolled right you know it's one for all all for one you know and and lamb beer was like this is what we're doing so you fall in line and that's right i didn't none of us knew that and that the camera would be on you and right it's supposed to be a passing of the torch. Shannon, that is some BS. Ain't never been no torch pass and glorious moment and all that. All that narrative around that was just total made up BS

to make one team or one player look bad and another one look good. That was it. You know what to do. Hit the subscribe button to become an official member of Club Shea Shea, where we always do something for two something. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal.

Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. You'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.