Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 12: The Ankle Game
From 1980 to 2010, the Detroit Pistons were genuinely one of the NBA’s best franchises. You likely know about the 2 best eras in their franchise’s history that define that period of excellence. Of course there is the ‘Goin to Work’ era that is universally beloved, then there are the Bad Boys who are very much not beloved and in many cases not respected.
At the start of the 80s, the Pistons were a dumpster fire with a promising point guard named Isiah Thomas. In the mid 80s, they became a pretty good team with an electric offense led by that aforementioned point guard. But by the late 80s, Thomas and the Pistons were sick of being pushed around, so they decided to push back.
They became a defence-first, unselfish group that focussed on not just winning games, but breaking teams. If you ask the players today, they’d tell you that they wanted to break teams mentally and how that was their priority beyond all else. However, in my personal opinion, even if that is true, the Pistons did it by beating up everyone they came across.
While some would argue the Bad Boys era began in 1986-87, I’d actually argue it truly started the next season. 87-88 was the first season Detroit finished as a top 3 defence (top 3 in defensive rating and opponent points per game). They won 54 games and entered the playoffs as a team that was a contender, but still believed to be a step behind the Larry Bird Celtics, who had eliminated them in 2 of the last 3 seasons.
Well, in those playoffs, the Pistons avoided a historic collapse and beat the Bullets in 5, then beat the MJ-led Bulls in 5 and faced those Celtics in the conference finals. After a hard-fought series, it was the Pistons who came out victorious, led by Isiah Thomas who averaged 23 points, 8 assists and 3 steals. That included 2 separate 35-point games to help Detroit slay their demons.
That victory set up a Finals matchup against the Showtime Lakers. Even though the Pistons were seen as underdogs going in, they had the Lakers on the ropes. Through 5 games, the Pistons had a 3-2 series lead. They were 1 win away from their first ever championship. Then game 6 happened.
At halftime, the Lakers held just a 7-point lead. The game was certainly in their hands, but far from over. Isiah Thomas proved that with an incredible start to the 3rd quarter, putting up 14 points to lead a Pistons rally that ultimately gave them the lead. Just when it looked like he was going to lead them to victory, disaster struck.
On a fast break, Thomas stepped on Michael Cooper’s foot and rolled his ankle. He went down immediately and it was clear he was writhing in pain. He needed help to get off the court and to the bench. His injury has since been described as a severe ankle sprain. That would make it a grade 3 sprain which means his ligament completely tore apart. The recovery on that injury is usually 1-2 months. Even if it was a grade 2, that is still a partial tear with a recovery timeline of up to a month.
While Thomas was on the bench, the Lakers took the lead back. It seemed like they got a huge break. Detroit’s best player was off the floor and the Lakers would surely cruise to victory. Just when Detroit looked doomed, Isiah limped back onto the floor. It’s impressive he can even walk with that injury, but what he did next was nothing short of miraculous.
With Michael Cooper hounding him, Isiah Thomas scored 11 of Detroit’s last 15 points, including a turnaround 3-pointer right before the buzzer. When he entered the game, the Pistons were down 8, at the end of the 3rd, Detroit had a 2-point lead. His 25 points in the 3rd is the Finals record for most points in a quarter.
I highly recommend you watch the highlights for yourself. It’s so clear he can barely put any weight on his ankle. When there’s a stoppage in play, his limp becomes so obvious. It is simply one of the gutsiest and greatest performances in sports history.
Isiah Thomas finished the game with 43 points, 8 assists and 6 steals. Thomas, Jerry West and Allen Iverson are the only players in NBA history to put up a 40-point and 5 steal performance in a Finals game.
Sadly, this game did not clinch the championship as a controversial foul call in the final seconds gave Kareem free throws to win the game for LA, which he nailed. In game 7, Thomas wasn’t able to play the entire game and the Lakers won by 3. Isiah Thomas has called that injury and loss the most painful moment of his career.
Thankfully, the Pistons returned in 1989 and destroyed the competition to win their first ever championship. They did it again in 1990 with Isiah Thomas winning Finals MVP.
The Bad Boys Pistons are remembered for many reasons. Some of those reasons make people smile and others that make others frown. No matter what you think of the Bad Boys, this performance deserves to be immortalized. Even though it was the year before he finally won it all, Isiah Thomas became a Larry O’Brien Legend on a bad ankle.
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