Isiah "Zeke" Thomas was one of the greatest "small men" ever to play professional basketball. Thomas, who stood barely over six feet, was in his day the grittiest performer to play the position, a feisty competitor who offered no quarter and expected none in return. Thomas possessed the skill and determination to take over a game at will and helped build a last-place Detroit Pistons team into back-to-back NBA champions in the late 1980s. Thomas' sunny smile belied an inner toughness that made him a key member of a scrappy, physical group of players dubbed the "Bad Boys" of Detroit. more...