Empty the Bench

Good guess, but it wasn’t Stephon Marbury who whispered those words to Isiah Thomas as Zeke trudged to the basement dungeon the New York Knicks have sequestered him in as part of his “reassignment.” After all, that wouldn’t even be possible since Thomas has been banned from having any contact whatsoever with Knicks players; President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh fears Thomas would undermine his regime.

No, it was a down-and-out kid who nobody would give a chance to show his hoops talents because they thought he was too small (which Thomas can certainly relate to nowadays). Check out this vintage spot of Isiah Thomas helping a young protege work some magic on the court, then riding off into the sunset in his Toyota sports car, top down. (The parallel between this clip and the tearjerker closing scene in The Homer They Fall, in which Moe is shown helping people around the world via his trusty paramotor, is hard to miss.)