Isiah Thomas

Isiah Thomas

Head Coach

Florida International Golden Panthers

187-223 as head coach of the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. No coaching experience at the collegiate level.

Bob Knight, Chuck Daly

Even Thomas' biggest critics acknowledge his eye for talent. As an NBA executive, Thomas drafted players like Tracy McGrady, Marcus Camby, Trevor Ariza, Nate Robinson, David Lee and Wilson Chandler -- many of whom significantly out-performed expectations and their draft position. His acquisitions via trade and free agency -- including Stephon Marbury, Jerome James and Eddy Curry -- were much less successful.

On the court, few players in basketball history could match Isiah Thomas. Among the game's all-time greats, Thomas led Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers to an NCAA championship in 1981 and two NBA titles with the "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990.

Off the court, Thomas' basketball career has been... less successful.

Actually, that's being charitable.

Thomas jumped directly from the court to the management suite in 1994, as part owner and executive vice president of the expansion Toronto Raptors. In Toronto, he established a reputation as a shrewd judge of talent, drafting players like Tracy McGrady, Marcus Camby and Damon Stoudemire. But he left the organization in 1998 after a dispute with the ownership group.

His next business venture was an ownership stake in the Continental Basketball Association. That venture -- and the CBA itself -- were short-lived, as the league folded in 2000.

He returned to the NBA that same year, as coach of the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers had some regular-season success with Thomas at the helm, but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs despite a talent-laden roster featuring Reggie Miller, Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest. He was fired in 2003.

The worst was yet to come. In December, 2003, Thomas was named President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks. His tenure in New York is best described as "disastrous." Under Thomas, the Knicks posted records among the league's worst and payrolls among the league's highest. But inept play was just part of the problem -- Thomas was at the center of a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by team executive Anucha Browne Sanders that eventually cost the team over $11 million.

He was replaced as team president and coach after the 2007-08 season and mostly kept a low profile... but even then couldn't avoid controversy. In October 2008, Thomas was hospitalized for what was called an "accidental" overdose of sleeping pills. In the aftermath of that incident, Thomas claimed it was his 17-year-old daughter that was hospitalized, leading to this immortal rebuttal from the Harrison, New York chief of police: "It was definitely not his daughter, it was a male. We know the difference between a 47-year-old black male and a young black female."

In April, 2009, despite all that baggage, Thomas was hired as the head basketball coach at Florida International. He'll take over a team that has made one NCAA Tournament appearance in its history -- as a 16 seed in 1995.