Yesterday was Media Day for the New York Liberty, and they finally introduced new team president, NBA Hall-of-Famer Isiah Thomas. During the press conference at the MSG Training Facility (which I affectionately call “Fort Knox”), Isiah expressed his excitement in taking the Liberty to the next level and to expand visibility of the WNBA, and answered questions by reporters about his previous stint at the Garden. Here are some key takeaways from the dialogue:
1) He’s here for the success of the Liberty…AND the entire league
He was very enthusiastic about being a part of the Liberty family, and in growing the popularity of the league as a whole. He talked about the humble beginnings of the NBA and of the struggles they had in their younger years, including racial tensions and lack of media coverage as well. He also talked about the recent transition to below-the-rim play in the NBA due to the rise of point guards (i.e: MVP Steph Curry), which is a style the NBA has had since the beginning. He encouraged the media to continue to support and cover the team and it’s players.
2) He continues to maintain his innocence
When asked by reporters about his sexual harassment ordeal while he was president of the Knicks, he stated: “I’ve always maintained my innocence, moved on from that. Our organization has moved on from that. I’m proud of the way I lived my life.” He also shared that although sexual harassment is a hard topic, the silver lining is that it opens up dialogue around the issue
3) He played a role in the team’s off-season moves, particularly with rookies Kiah Stokes (UConn) and Brittany Boyd (Cal)
As previous reports stated, and co-signed by head Coach Bill Laimbeer, Isiah did serve in an advisory role during this off-season and during the draft. He particularly has built a relationship Brittany Boyd, and attended UConn games prior to Kiah Stokes being drafted.
My overall takeaway is that Isiah has turned a new leaf and is ready to face the challenges ahead in order to take the Lib back to the playoffs, and would love to see the media more often covering the games and players, and less of him. He is aware of the attention and opinions, but he seemed pretty unfazed, calm, and ready for change….and so is the rest of the team. You can watch the full press conference below:
Now whether this is a stepping stone to eventually making his way back to the blue and orange, we’ll see….(*sips tea*)
