Detroit Piston Isiah Thomas and Adrian Dantley beef are so famous in NBA history that it is still documented by many sports channels. If you look back you’ll realize that it is a dispute between cool-headed guy Isiah and Hot headed guy Dantley.
This beef left a black mark on Isiah’s character despite winning the rings and Dantley loses the status of the player in the league.
Infamous Beef Between Isiah Thomas and Adrian Dantley
Detroit Piston Isiah Thomas and Adrian Dantley’s beef were so famous that still Dantley blamed Isiah for his downfall. Dantely joined the Detroit Pistons as a low post despite his height of 6.5 inches. Both Isiah and Dantley want balls. Coach Chuck Daly slowed down the pace of the game according to the playing style of Dantley. This didn’t go down well with Isiah and other Piston teammates. Isiah convinces the coach that he wants to play the fast pace game in line with his skill set.
After the change in the game style, the drift between the two began. Adrian began complaining about not getting the ball enough and told the tabloids that it was Isiah’s team. Piston lost the final playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1988 NBA final match. In one of the matches against the Celtics in 1989, Dantley was scoring low and coach Daly wanted to replace him for defender Rodman, but he refuse. This infuriates Daly and he blubbers “We’ve got to get that mo**er f***er the f**k out of here”.
Dantley was traded in 1989 to Dallas Mavericks for Mark Aguirre, he was angered by this decision and blamed Isiah for his trade. A huge controversy irrupted in the media when Dantley said that It was Isiah’s team and he wanted to play with his childhood friend Aguirre. Isiah clarify the things that he was not even part of the trade.
Dantely played a huge part in both the years 1987-88 Eastern Conference League but they lost the finals. He retired without winning a ring.
Detroit Piston Winning Streak Began After Dantley’s Left off
Detroit Piston lost the finals of the Eastern Conference in 1987 against the Celtics and then in 1988 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Isiah Piston’s winning streaks begin in 1989 and 1990 when they won the finals. Isiah finally got the rings and fame.