Isiah Lord Thomas III is the son of Isiah Thomas II and Mary Thomas. The youngest of 9 children, Thomas was born on April 30, 1961, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in the city's See more

Businessman
Thomas's business career began during his career with the Pistons. Planning for life after the NBA, Thomas invested in a host of ventures … See more

In 1987, when he was a Piston, Thomas organized the "No Crime Day" in Detroit. He had the help of Detroit Mayor Coleman Young to … See more

Thomas was recruited to play college basketball for Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers. Although he received mail saying Knight tied up his players and beat them, he did not believe the rumors. When Knight visited the Thomas home, one of Isiah's brothers, … See more

Detroit Pistons (1981–1994)
In the 1981 NBA draft, the Detroit Pistons chose Thomas with the second overall pick and signed him to a four-year, $1.6 million contract. … See more

Thomas was selected to the 1980 Olympic U.S. basketball team, but like all American athletes, he was not able to play in Moscow due to the Olympics boycott. The boycotting countries instead participated in the "Gold Medal Series", a series of games against … See more

Thomas graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in 1987. He received his Master's in Education from the UC Berkeley Graduate … See more