Isiah Thomas Claims Youth Are Being “Misled” With Lies, Shines Light on NBA’s Lesser-Known History

Is the youth being misled about NBA history? At least that’s what former Detroit Pistons star Isiah Thomas has claimed. What started off with an appreciation post for the NBA’s selection of Conference Finals officials led to the condoning of lies served to the youth, as per Thomas.

Laying emphasis on the importance of fact-based knowledge, Zeke posted on X, “Thank you unfortunately so many of the youth have been lied to and misled about the history of our game it’s important from time to time I give them facts to research and comprehend.” This came as a reply to one of the fans’ appreciation comments, where he stated anyone with real knowledge of the game would know what Thomas has contributed to the game.

Notably, the whole thing started with the former Pistons star re-posting the NBA’s list of officials who earned spots to work the 2024 Conference Finals. While re-posting, Isiah Thomas wrote that all selected officials have great temperament, restraint, and understanding of players’ and coaches’ emotions in a high-level competition. He believes that there is a lot that younger officials could learn from this lot of Conference Finals officials.

Meanwhile, one X user pointed out a flaw in the present NBA officiating, citing missed calls as an example. “When I was playing or coaching I would always say to the officials I missed shots and make turnovers, no excuses none of us are perfect in a imperfect game,” the 2x NBA champ replied. Further in the series of posts, another X user appreciated Isiah for being one of the last real ones.

To which Thomas replied, “I am a paid historian Hall of fame champion in this game the accurate history of the game should always be told, a lot of BS has been sold,” and mentioned his belief in the importance of telling an accurate history of the game.

Zeke further stated he tries his best to provide fans with facts and observations. This was when the X user, appreciated Isiah Thomas for his real knowledge after 13 years in his career and leading the Pistons to back-to-back championships. As for the officiating scenario, no one can deny the changes over the years with changes in the game itself.

How has officiating changed over the years?

From being too sensitive to frequent missed calls, there is a lot of criticism against the refs at present. However, everything that occurs is impacted by a chain of events and the changes over a period. To have a better understanding of this, let’s have a look at some changes in the basketball scenario.

Notably, the strictest provisions regarding on-court violence came into play after the infamous ‘Malice at the Palace’ incident in 2004. During the match between Indiana Pacers and Pistons, an altercation occurred between Ron Artest and Ben Wallace. Although Artest (now Metta World Peace) backed down to avoid escalation, a fan threw a beer can at him. What started off with Artest charging at the fan resulted in an all-out brawl.

Subsequently, the league faced an image issue because of such a violent act on the court. The NBA had no option but to come with rules that had a lower threshold for any potential violence instances. This, to some extent, explains why refs eject players in even the smallest of such instances, and thus face the blame of being too sensitive.

As for the frequent missed calls, the game over the years has become offense favoring and fast-paced. In such circumstances, it is only human for the refs to be at fault. Additionally, there are certain calls that refs don’t take to interrupt the fast-paced flow of the game, especially on traveling. What is your opinion of this entire issue? Let us know your views in the comments.