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Detroit Pistons Make Social Media Post for Historic Day

The Detroit Pistons had a reason to celebrate on Monday.

Justin Grasso

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Isiah Thomas G2sart22 Isiah 1c S Bkn Usa Ny / ROBERT DEUTSCH / USA TODAY NETWORK
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On Monday, the Detroit Pistons found a reason to celebrate the day. On June 9, 1981, the Pistons made a draft selection that has gone down in history as one of the most important picks for the franchise.

The Pistons’ social media team celebrated the 44th anniversary of the selection of Isiah Thomas on X.

via @DetroitPistons: 4️⃣4️⃣ years ago today, we drafted Isiah Thomas with the second overall pick in the 1981 @NBA Draft. The rest is history.

At the time, Thomas was wrapping up his stint at Indiana. He was drafted after his sophomore effort. Thomas left college hoops with 63 games under his belt. He averaged 15 points on 53 percent shooting from the field. He also had four rebounds, six assists, and two steals per game. He led the Big Ten in steals during both of his seasons.

With the second-overall pick of the 1981 NBA Draft, the Pistons banked on Thomas becoming a critical face for their franchise. Their projections ended up panning out, as Thomas played all 13 of his seasons with the Pistons. He ended up earning an All-Star nod in all but one of those years.

Thomas helped deliver two NBA Championships to Detroit. He was a five-time All-NBA selection and is recognized as one of the top players in NBA history, making the 50th and 75th NBA anniversary teams. After retiring, Thomas earned the honor of having his jersey retired by the Pistons. He is one of 11 players in franchise history who can say that.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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