Isiah Thomas: With today's rules, Pistons would have won more titles

Detroit Pistons all-time great Isiah Thomas was a guest on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike" and was asked about his pseudo namesake, Celtics star Isaiah Thomas, who's having a noteworthy playoff run.

And while the Isiah-Isaiah comparisons are natural - both are lead guards and often the smallest guys on the court - the Pistons' Thomas was asked a hypothetical that played to his pride for himself and his Pistons, which won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990.

Thomas was asked if the game was officiated like it is today, when it seems physical play is more closely regulated, how good would he be?

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Without hesitation, Thomas said, "I think it's safe to say I would probably would have won two or three more championships. Because the rules favor the small guy. When I played, all the rules favored the bigger players, the offenses were designed for the big players around the basket, the way the officials officiated the game ... favoring the bigger players. And the bigger players and wing players are what the game was advertising. Now, it's about the point guards, it's about the small players, all the rules favor the small players. And all the marketing and advertising are around the small players."

Thomas continued: "I won in an era where all the rules favored the big guys, so if the rules were for the small guys, I think I would win more."

The former Pistons captain may have a point. During Thomas' 13-year career, the list of NBA MVPs were 6-foot-9 Larry Bird (three times), 6-9 Magic Johnson (three times), 6-6 Michael Jordan (three times), 6-10 Moses Malone (twice), 6-6 power forward Charles Barkley and 7-0 center Hakeem Olajuwon. In the past two seasons, 6-3 point guard Stephen Curry has won MVP, and this season's award likely will go to 6-3 Russell Westbrook or 6-5 James Harden, who were both lead guards on playoff teams.

In his Hall of Fame career, Thomas averaged 19.2 points and 9.3 assists without the game's emphasis on the three-point shot and pace of play.

Contact Kirkland Crawford: kcrawford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @HiKirkHere. Be sure to follow Freep Sports on Twitter (@freepsports) and Instagram and like us on on Facebook.