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Isiah Thomas says he revolutionized the scoring soint guard and set the blueprint for today's teams
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- Isiah Thomas says he revolutionized the scoring soint guard and set the blueprint for today's teams
Stephen Curry has changed the way the game is played today with his 3-point shot. He is also considered to have revolutionized the point guard position, turning it from a floor general role into a scoring one.
However, during a recent appearance on the "Hoop Genius" podcast, Isiah Thomas offered a different perspective: he claimed that he actually initiated the era of the scoring point guard in the NBA.
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"Steph is listed as the point guard, and you say, the evolution of the point guard position is now a scoring point guard, and I would look at myself as being the seed and the root in the tree that birthed all the scoring point guards today," Thomas said .
Thomas' historic run
The 6'1" Thomas was the Detroit Pistons ' No.2 overall pick in the 1981 NBA Draft after a standout collegiate career at the University of Indiana. Eight years after leading the Hoosiers to the NCAA men's basketball title, Thomas delivered back-to-back NBA championships for the Pistons in 1989 and 1990.
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Despite being a point guard, he led the Pistons in scoring in four different seasons, including 1989 and 1990 when they won their NBA titles. Thomas is the only point guard in NBA history to lead his team in points and assists during back-to-back championship runs, somewhat proving his claim.
"What we were able to do in Detroit is allowing a young point guard to be your leading scorer, to handle the basketball, to create, dictate shot selection for your team. And everything evolved after that," he added.
" So when I look at all the scoring point guards who have won and who are trying to win, I thank my coaches for allowing me and trusting me enough to score from that position and since then, and I say this respectfully… every NBA team right now that I see is looking for a backcourt that looks like Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Vinnie Johnson," Thomas concluded.
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Pistons are still an inspiration
Many things have changed since Thomas' time, and the game has undergone significant evolution. However, as crazy as his claim may seem, teams in today's pace-and-space era still look to the Pistons guard lineups as a blueprint.
When the Golden State Warriors won in 2022, they had a scorer in Curry, a defender in Klay Thompson and a bench spark in Jordan Poole . The following year, the Denver Nuggets had Jamal Murray , Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown to follow Detroit's lead. During their title run in 2024, the Boston Celtics had Derrick White , Jrue Holiday and Payton Pritchard . Last year, the Oklahoma City Thunder had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , Luguentz Dort and Isaiah Joe .
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Thomas often gets a negative reputation due to his feud with Michael Jordan. But if people are objective, he was more than just the guy snubbed on the Dream Team. He was one of those who ushered in the scoring point guard as a key player in a championship run. Curry might have perfected it, but Thomas planted the seeds decades earlier.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
