NBA legend Isiah Thomas plays Santa on native West Side
By Maudlyne Ihejirika | Chicago Sun-Times
January 2, 2016
NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is known by many monikers: the legend who turned the last-place Detroit Pistons into back-to-back NBA champions; 12-time NBA All-Star; one of the 50 greatest players in National Basketball Association history. Underprivileged kids in the West Side neighborhoods where he grew up, however, know him as none of those. They call him Santa. For the fourth year in a row, the 54-year-old one-time professional and collegiate basketball coach and businessman descended on East Garfield Park in December with toys, coats, clothing, bikes and computer tablets for more than 400 kids at Marillac Social Center on December 18, 2015.