Isiah Thomas Secret: What Secret Is Bill Simmons Talking About?

Popular ESPN columnist Bill Simmons recently released an excerpt from his soon-to-released The Book of Basketball. The excerpt is from a chapter entitled "The Secret" and describes Simmons' 2007 encounter with basketball great Isiah Thomas.

In the excerpt, Simmons explains that he was nervous about the meeting since he had repeatedly ripped Thomas for his many missteps as an NBA coach and GM.

Although Thomas had threatened Simmons during a radio interview, the two seemed to have hit it off. At the end of the excerpt, Simmons writes:

So exactly what is the Isiah Thomas Secret that Simmons is referring to? It's tough to say. After all, secrets are by definition things that aren't common knowledge. And Simmons no doubt chose to keep readers in suspense in the hopes of selling books.

Still, it's hard not to speculate on what that secret might be. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a possible Isiah Thomas Secret is the star's reported pill overdose. In November of last year, emergency workers arrived at Thomas home for a sleeping pill overdose. It was originally reported that Thomas' daughter was the one that had overdosed, but afterward officials said that it was Isiah himself who had been treated. 

Although the story is juicy, it couldn't have been the Secret that Simmons was referring to since the meeting took place in 2007 and the Thomas overdose happened in 2008.

There's also the possibility that the Isiah Thomas secret revolves around Thomas' love child, Marc Edward Thomas Dones. Dones' mother had filed a paternity suit against Thomas when she was pregnant in 1985, just four months after the then-Pistons star married another woman. While Thomas had provided child support, he had largely ignored Dones' throughout his life. 

The Isiah Thomas may revolve around the sexual harrasment lawsuit filed against him and Madison Square Garden by former new York Knicks executive Anucha Browne Sanders. In the lawsuit, Sanders accused Thomas demeaning her and making unwanted sexual advances. Madison Square Garden was ordered to pay Browne Sanders $11.6 million. It's possible that many of the Isiah Thomas secret could stem from all the seedy details behind the Anucha Browne Sanders lawsuit.

Most likely, the Isiah Thomas secret is something far more innocent. The Amazon product description for the Book of Basketball notes that Simmons "uses a conversation with one NBA great to uncover that coveted thing: The Secret of Basketball." It's likely that the NBA great in question is Isiah Thomas. 

Just what that secret is won't be unveiled until Simmons book is released on October 27, 2009.