Isiah Thomas is the most underrated player in ISH history

[MiseryCityTexas]

No he didn't, the PISTONS beat the Lakers, Celtics, and Bulls because they were the better, more healthy team. Nobody wins alone. Joe Dumars was playing just as well as him and not only did he make the All NBA 3rd team over Isiah, he won FMVP over him too.

You can't beat teams by yourself when you're not even making All NBA 3rd teams in your prime.

Why is that Pistons team so underrated? They're one of the deepest teams ever and one of the best defenses of all time. They had 5-6 all-star caliber player on one team.

Pistons first championship is kinda suspect. They beat a Lakers team with no Magic. Lakers are a 5th-7th seed at best without Magic so that's kinda unfair.

[Young X]

Pistons first championship is kinda suspect. They beat a Lakers team with no Magic. Lakers are a 5th-7th seed without Magic so that's kinda unfair.

I always wonder what would've happened if Magic and Scott were healthy. That Laker team has to be one of the best teams to not win.

[Bigsmoke]

The 2nd best player to ever grew up in chicago

[Fresh Kid]

The 2nd best player to ever grew up in chicago

who's tha first?

[secund2nun]

Why is that Pistons team so underrated? They're one of the deepest teams ever and one of the best defenses of all time. They had 5-6 all-star caliber player on one team.

+1

Why do people always like to give all of the credit of team that wins on defense and team rebounding to PGs who have little role in those categories (kinda like Rose and Chicago)?

No PG will ever be the most underrated player. In fact, almost all PGs are overrated. Big men dominate the list of most underrated players.

Let's not act like Thomas carried them when they won as a team. Shaq, Duncan, Lebron he was not.

[joeyjoejoe]

That last paragraph is dumb you can't honestly believe the late 80's bulls was anywhere near as good as the bulls that Utah faced in the finals

[joeyjoejoe]

Same class as KJ. Why? No chips.

Who did these players have to go through to get to the championship? Look at the road Stockton had to take. Accolade after accolade after accolade for Stockton, he just couldn't do it. Couldn't get over the hurdle. And he had one of the top PFs of all time by his side.

Mark Price had to go through Jordan, someone Isiah and his Bad Boys dominated for the longest time. And he had one of the great centers in Brad Daugherty.

Isiah took out the guys that stopped these other PGs from getting chips. And then people mention these dudes in the same tier as Isiah. Naaaaahhhh, no thanks.

My post above was to quote this

[TheBigVeto]

Wrong. Will neg.

[Bigsmoke]

who's tha first?

Flash

[pauk]

Beat Magic, Bird and Jordan in their primes and lead a flawed team to back to back titles.

Had one of the greatest quarters in NBA finals history.

Had GOAT shook for his entire career.

Anyone who says Stockton, Payton or Kidd were better needs to be slapped. Second best PG of all time behind Earvin.

Ever heard of Oscar Robertson?

[JimmyMcAdocious]

who's tha first?

Antoine Walker

[bizil]

Bob McAdoo? Artis Gilmore? Those Where Dominant Players That Get Overlooked More Than Isiah.

Bob McAdoo Was Easily a Top 10 Forward (even though he played center sometimes it was clear his style of play was all forward)

What About Adrian Dantley? Best Scoring SF Ever!

Ya I agree. I don't think Zeke is underrated. He's usually regarded as the best little man (under 6'2) of all time. After MJ, Magic, and Bird, he was front and center as one of the L's more prominent superstars. Everybody knows he beat Bird, Magic, and MJ in the playoffs on the way to two rings.

But Isiah is one of the more CONTROVERSIAL AND HATED superstars of all time. I think that's more of the issue. If u count McAdoo as a PF (which is really his natural position), peak value wise he's a top 5-6 PF to me. He was like Dirk, but was ALSO a dominant rebounder and more athletic. Guys like McAdoo, Gilmore, Dantley, etc. are underrated by the casuals. U could ask many guys in their 30's and 40's who McAdoo, Dantley, or Gilmore were and they wouldn't even know. Or they wouldn't know their skillset and what made them great. If u are a TRUE STUDENT of BASKETBALL, u should know of guys like Dantley, McAdoo, or Gilmore if u are in your 30's to 40's.

Students of the game do the knowledge and learn about the game. Or at least know about the legends good enough. If u don't know then fine. But don't knock those guys or doubt their greatness either. Just because they weren't media darlings or guys who the L built their promotion or league awareness around. U have guys who were superstars ON AND OFF the court. McAdoo may not have been a transcendant superstar off the court, BUT he sure as hell was a superstar ON THE COURT!

[no pun intended]

Only player to has his full name on the back of the jersey=GOAT PG

[tontoz]

The Pistons strength was their defense and that wasn't because of Isiah. Dumars was the one guarding Jordan. Jordan said Dumars defended him better than anyone in the league.

Isiah was already on the decline when the Pistons won their first title. His strength was going to the basket and that was a rough era for a little guy to make a living taking it to the rim. His jumper was weak.

[Psileas]

If by "underrated" we only mean "non discussed enough", I'll say around 80% of all-time greats are equally or more underrated. Actually, if you're a retired great and your name isn't Jordan, chances are you won't be talked about much.
If we mean "ranked lower than he should", I've seen people pretend that Wilt isn't even top-10 all-time and many that rank him in the 6-10 range, so I'll say he's probably the most underrated one. He's what Kareem used to be a few years ago (but not that much now).
On Isiah, more specifically, I've also seen multiple threads where he's compared to Stockton and, not only do most people pick Isiah, but some claim or imply that it's not even close. This doesn't necessarily mean that Isiah wasn't better, but Stockton has a good argument for being even more underrated.
Oh, and Malone isn't that highly regarded or remembered, either. Just look at this very recent thread: http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...=312652&page=2 Only one person correctly mentions him among the players who have scored 25+ ppg in 12 seasons and nobody even pays any notice.