‘My commute to high school was about 3 hours’: Chicago Westside native Isiah Thomas on how he faced occasional racism while in high school

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Isiah Thomas, who grew up in Chicago’s west end, faced a lot of casual racism when he came. The two-time NBA champion once recounted such an incident to Jackie Macmullan for her book.

Isiah Thomas is often called the best pure point guard in NBA history. While most people agree that Stephen Curry and Magic Johnson were better players, neither of them was a traditional old-school entertainer in the same sense as Isiah.

Standing at 61 but weighing just 82kg, Thomas had some of the best grips in league history. He developed these skills while playing alongside fierce competition in his hometown during his formative years.

Isiah Thomas takes care of it! pic.twitter.com/BZ8i2SKUpF

Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 11, 2020

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Thomas was a precocious high school basketball talent. He even led his alma mater St Josephs High School in Westchester to a state championship game during his senior year.

However, all was not rosy during her school years. Thomas graduated from high school in 1979, just 2 decades after the Rosa Parks bus incident and a decade after MLK’s assassination.

Racial tensions in the country were still quite high compared to today’s much more leveled scenario. And occasional racism of the kind that would be decried today was barely noticed in Isiah Thomas’ school days.

Isiah Thomas reveals how his classmates wouldn’t or couldn’t offer him a ride

Noted NBA historian and renowned journalist Jackie Macmullan wrote a book titled Basketball: A Love Story, published in 2018. To complete this project, she interviewed hundreds of NBA and college players, as well as coaches chief and members of the front office.

In a chapter titled Basketballs Battle for Racial Equality, Jackie Mac gleaned the following anecdote from Isiah Thomas:

My commute to high school in 1979 was about three hours. I would have to take three buses to the end of the line and the train to the end of the line, then I would have to walk a mile and a half to school. During this walk, your [white] friends drove by with their parents, but they didn’t stop.

It’s cold in Chicago, and by the time you get to school, you’re like hey man, haven’t you seen me? Why didn’t you stop? And they’d say, Well, I’m not like that, but my mom and dad are from a different generation.

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