A 'bad boy' returns to the NBA: this time, Isiah Thomas is calling the shots.

This time, Isiah Thomas is calling the shots

Isiah Thomas awed sports fans with his prowess over the past decade. Whether it was a no-look pass or a three-point shot, Thomas left the hardwood with nothing more to prove.

Now, Thomas is set to return to his sport, only this time he'll be working behind the scenes, and much more will be riding on his decisions than before.

Thomas will go back to the National Basketball Association as part owner of the Toronto Raptors, a fledgling expansion team that debuts later this year.

As an African-American and a former NBA player, that puts Thomas in an exclusive group. NBA great Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who briefly coached the Los Angeles Lakers, now owns part of that team. Deron Cherry, the 34-year-old, former six-time All-Pro safety with the Kansas City Chiefs, is one of eight owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are set to debut this fall. Another black, Bill Simms--who is not a former player--is also one of the owners of the jaguars (see Newspoints, May 1994).

Thomas returns to the NBA as vice president of basketball operations for the Raptors, driving the distance from the Motor City, where Thomas became one of the best athletes ever to play his position.

An all-star guard with the Detroit Pistons for 13 seasons, Thomas won two championships as a member of the famed "Bad Boys." He retired in April 1994, after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon. There was speculation that Thomas would land a front-office job with the Pistons after retiring, but that never materialized. It wasn't long, however, before something even better came along.

"As soon as I announced my retirement, the phone was ringing off the hook," Thomas recalls. "But I had always prepared myself, hoping I would get to own part of a team."

Published reports put Thomas' cut with the Raptors at just below 10%. Thomas will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the franchise, including hiring coaches and evaluating players. He admits that the high-profile job comes with added pressure. "I know a lot is riding on my shoulders, and I plan to do a good job," Thomas says. 'I hope other pro athletes might look at me and realize there's more to playing die game than just playing the game."

Thomas took pains to establish himself as a businessman before venturing into sports management. Thomas serves as chairman of American Speedy Printing Centers, and he is a director of OmniBanc Corp., a black-owned bank holding company.

Thomas knows he'll have to prove himself again. And he's eager to get started.

RELATED ARTICLE: FYI WILKENS REACHES NBA COACHING PEAK

The scoreboard beamed: Atlanta Hawks 112, Washington Bullets 90. But 12,069 witnesses seated at The Omni in Atlanta on January 6 knew that the score was only a footnote to the boxscore of sports history. The Hawks victory was coach Lenny Wilkens' magical 939th career win, placing him ahead of the legendary Red Auerbach as the winningest coach in National Basketball Association history.

Known for his graceful intensity, Wilkens, 57, began his coaching career as a player/coach with the Seattle Supersonics in 1969, and only the second black head coach in the NBA. Picked to the NBA All-Star team nine times as a player with the then-St. Louis Hawks in the early '60s and later the Sonics, Wilkens has participated in more games as a player and/or coach than anyone else.

Does the Brooklyn-born Providence (R.I.) College alum, who "never intended to become a professional athlete" and never expected to become a coach, see ownership of an NBA franchise in his future? "The only way I'll become an owner is if I don't have to put any money up," he chuckles. "Right now, coaching, being on the floor, is too exciting. I still enjoy working with the young players."

With that attitude, Wilkens may put the record out of reach. Now that he is only the second NBA coach to exceed 900 career wins, Wilkens has his sights on a new goal: to be the first to breach the 1,000-win mark.