Tommy Heinsohn went off on Isiah Thomas on live TV for throwing Danny Ainge: “He gets away with more than anybody” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The late 1980s were all about the shift in the Association. The Boston Celtics’ dynasty was fading, and the Detroit Pistons‘ time had come. The Bad Boys were rising fast, crashing the party in the packed Eastern Conference with elbows, grit and just enough offense to hang with the league’s best.
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The Celtics-Pistons wars were violent chess matches, just like with anybody in the Conference at the time. And in 1987, the Pistons came within one Larry Bird steal of finally getting on the throne. By 1988, the balance of power was officially up for grabs.
Detroit and Boston met in the Eastern Conference Finals, and though the Celtics were still fighting, it was clear they were no longer the bully on the block. The Pistons were coming for that crown.
Isiah Thomas was the engine, the voice, the fearless general of that Detroit team. And while his brilliance in crunch time helped lift the Pistons to victory, not everyone on the Celtics’ side wanted to give out flowers to Zeke.
Tommy Heinsohn had seen enough
Isiah’s clutch play in Game 5 was undeniable. He buried a high-arcing three over a close-out to give Detroit a late lead in overtime, showing once again why Chuck Daly trusted him to take the biggest shots.
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“Isiah had ice water in his veins out there,” Daly said after the contest, via the LA Times. “What an effort.” And effort it was — a performance that should’ve gone down as one of those all-time big-game moments.”
But Tommy Heinsohn didn’t care about that.
Calling the game for New England Sportschannel, the former Celtics great went on a live TV tirade that’s still remembered today. The trigger? A physical altercation between Isiah and Danny Ainge.
“He deliberately threw Danny Ainge to the floor! Call a foul on him!” Heinsohn shouted.
And, oh no, he didn’t stop there.
“I’m getting a little tired of Isiah Thomas,” the former player-turned-broadcaster added. “This game’s gonna get out of hand, and all because Isiah Thomas got away with throwing Danny Ainge to the floor. Isiah can jump on somebody’s back, or throw somebody to the floor. I’m just getting tired of Isiah Thomas and all his mouthing off. He gets away with more than anybody.”
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That was more than just an emotional outburst. That was old-school frustration boiling over. Heinsohn, a Celtics lifer, was watching the new kids push his team around on their way to the top right before his eyes. It didn’t quite sit right with him, mainly after Thomas employed some of his well-known dirty tactics.
As Thomas walked over to talk to referee Ed Madden, Heinsohn added one last jab, “Now he’ll go and try to smooth-talk with Madden.”
Then came a commercial break, but the broadcast mics were still hot. Over closed circuit, Heinsohn dropped the final hammer to partner Mike Gorman, “I don’t like Isiah.”
The Pistons almost made it all the way
Despite Heinsohn’s frustration, the Pistons got the last laugh. They won the series and advanced to the 1988 NBA Finals, where they went blow for blow with the Showtime Lakers. It was a war that went seven games, and if not for a turned ankle in Game 6 and a controversial foul in Game 7, Detroit might’ve walked away champions right then and there.
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But they didn’t. Coach Daly’s men had to sit with the sting for a year. Then, in 1989 and 1990, the Pistons kicked the door down with their signature style. Leaving no survivors.
And Isiah, despite all the criticism about the way his team played the game, kept smiling through it all.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.