When it comes to the history of the Detroit Pistons, it cannot be told without mentioning Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer over and over again.
Thomas and Laimbeer were teammates on the ‘Bad Boys’ teams that ended up winning back-to-back NBA Championships.
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But just because they won together does not mean they got along 100% of the time.
In fact, let’s flashback to Nov. 17, 1993, when Isiah broke his hand while punching Bill in the head.
Here is the report from the L.A. Times explaining the event.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. —
Isiah Thomas broke his right hand Tuesday when he punched Bill Laimbeer during a scuffle at a Detroit Piston practice.
Witnesses said Thomas, who broke a rib Oct. 30 when he was elbowed by Laimbeer, became angry when Laimbeer elbowed him again. Thomas threw a punch that struck Laimbeer in the head.
The team said Thomas broke the third metacarpal bone of his hand and will be sidelined for three to eight weeks.
Neither Thomas nor Laimbeer commented on the incident.
Coach Don Chaney said fatigue from a recent trip and frustration from a four-game losing streak probably was a factor.
“Frustration, fatigue, when you have those things combined, then you have a problem,” Chaney told WWJ-AM. “That’s what happened out here on the floor. If you’re going to play aggressive, tempers will flare. You can’t play soft at practice.”
Bad Boys!
