"When I got into the NBA, I had never ran a pick-and-roll in my life" - Isiah Thomas credits Bob Knight for shaping modern basketball
The modern NBA has been defined by three-point shooting, and the team that has been leading that trend is the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors fling the ball around the perimeter, where their cast of shooters search for even the smallest opening to hoist up threes.
While the Warriors have developed the offense that has dominated the league in recent years, they weren't the sole founder of their own offense. According to Isiah Thomas, that credit belongs to longtime Indiana Hoosiers coach Bob Knight.
Thomas gives his former college coach credit
Zeke enjoyed a Hall of Fame career with the Detroit Pistons in the NBA, but before that, he spent two seasons playing for Knight at Indiana. Not only did Thomas turn himself into a star prospect, but he also won a championship during his second season with The General.
During his time with the Hoosiers, Thomas led an offense that focused on passing, setting screens, and reacting to what the defense gave them. While they didn't shoot like the Warriors do now, it set the foundation for what Steve Kerr has turned their offense into today.
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"The offense that you run, I played for the guy who invented it," Isaiah Thomas said on The Draymond Green Show. "His name was Bob Knight. I won championships at Indiana University as a student under Bob Knight. When I got into the NBA, I had never ran a pick-and-roll in my life. I played passing game in high school, I played passing game in college."
"In terms of your style of play in Steve Kerr's basketball philosophy, that passing game, read and react, move the basketball, set screens, that comes from coach Knight's philosophy and how offensive basketball should be played," Thomas added.
Zeke believes Knight is a basketball mastermind
This is a pretty jarring admission from Thomas. Not only does he give Knight credit, but he goes as far as to claim he never ran a pick-and-roll in his life before entering the NBA. That goes to show just how much offenses have evolved over time.
Pick-and-rolls have always been a big part of basketball, but Thomas preferred always to keep the ball moving and give what the defense gave him rather than try to force the opposing defense into giving him advantageous matchups.
The Warriors certainly run their fair share of pick-and-rolls, but their offense needs to be built upon that. They hunt threes, but if you give them space in the paint, they will gladly take that as well. It's precisely what Thomas and Knight did together at Indiana.
Kerr has added his own wrinkles into the system, but the premise of the offense is largely the creation of Knight's, and Thomas gives him his due credit. And while it initially may not seem like it, there are quite a few similarities between these offenses that Thomas points out too.
