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“Legendary”: Despite Getting Bashed for Brutal Tactics, “Original Bad Boy” Isiah Thomas Gets Showered With Love by Loyal Fans

Published 09/04/2023, 11:30 AM EDT

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The physicality on the court and being relentless at the defensive end led to the Detroit Pistons winning back-to-back championships in the late 80s. The key player and leader of the team during the time was Isiah ‘Zeke‘ Thomas. Following the 34-year anniversary of his 1st championship, the Pistons legend is collaborating with world-renowned clothing brand Mitchell and Ness to release the ‘Bad Boys’ collection. A promotional image from Thomas has taken the internet by storm.

A rough game style and often heated altercations on the court led to the team being iconically named the ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons.

The original bad boy: Isiah Thomas

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It’s not an easy feat to be a 12x All-Star in the league while also being under 6 feet 2 inches. Zeke was exceptional at passing the ball and was the leader of the Pistons during the Bad Boys era. The Pistons’ road to the championship in 1989 saw them go up against a young Jordan in the playoffs and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.

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Being rivals against the Celtics and Bulls at the time, the matchups between the teams gave fans more opportunities to be involved in the sport. As all the teams were in the Eastern Conference, they often faced each other. The hard fouls and the mind games to get under the skin of the opponents made some people hate this kind of playstyle. However, people seem to have gotten over it now.

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Isiah recently shared an image of himself on Twitter and years later, the loyal fans of the team still stand strong. Thomas captioned the post, “Let it be known” as he can be seen wearing a cap that says “The Original Bad Boy“.

The fans were happy to see the greatest player ever in Pistons history represent the bad boys again in 2023, and they didn’t hold back their appreciation.

Fans shower Zeke with love

Fans were quick to give the legend his flowers, and some even mentioned that he was the greatest point guard in their eyes. This led to one fan commenting that he is legendary. Another fan wrote, “Zeke… You will always be the Detroit Pistons GOAT in my lifetime… not to mention the NBA Goat for point guards in my book!”

One fan pointed out the hat, which is a new collaboration by Isiah Thomas with Mitchell and Ness.

Some fans were reminiscing about their younger days when they saw this tweet. They shared their experiences during the Pistons championship run.

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It’s been almost 20 years since the Pistons last won a championship. The team has a young core right now and is trying to build around and develop their young star, Cade Cunningham.

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Do you think the Pistons will be able to get back to their glory days or do the team have to take a few pages from the predecessors?

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Written by:

Rijin Varghese

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Rijin is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He has been following the NBA for over a decade. He likes to learn about the nuances of sports, understand every player's contribution to a team, and also learn the logic behind player signings and team building.
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Edited by:

Pragya Vashisth