“Only one led his team to back-to-back championships” - Isiah Thomas emphasizes what set him apart from Stephen Curry

The discussion of small point guards' ability to lead their teams to a championship went into full swing recently after Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to a second consecutive conference semifinal appearance.

After it was pointed out that only Isiah Thomas and Stephen Curry have been able to lift their squads to two championships as the undisputed best player, the Detroit Pistons legend reminded people on social media that he is the lone such player to win back-to-back titles.

Thomas' incredible two-year run

The best two-season stretch in the Pistons' history came in the 1988-89 to 1989-90 campaigns. The first season saw the team secure the best record in the regular season and dominate the playoffs. If it weren't for the Chicago Bulls stealing two wins in the Eastern Conference Finals, Detroit would have gone 15-0 through the entire postseason.

Perhaps the only knock on Zeke's assertion was the argument that he wasn't the Pistons' best player in the 1989 Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. Joe Dumars deserves that recognition after the retired shooting guard averaged 27.3 points and 6.0 assists per game on 57.6% shooting.

To be fair to the 12-time All-Star, he did lead the Pistons in scoring and assists in the regular season and playoffs.

Thomas made sure that he would take home the Finals MVP trophy the following year, putting up 27.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.0 dimes per contest versus the Portland Trail Blazers.

Downplaying Curry's back-to-back?

Interestingly, Steph also experienced repeating as an NBA champion, helping the Golden State Warriors bring home the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2017 and 2018. However, Kevin Durant was arguably the franchise's top gun in those title runs.

It doesn't mean, though, that Curry got carried to those two rings, as he also put up elite numbers in those series. In the 2017 Finals, he recorded 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 9.4 assists per game. The following year, his averages were 27.5 points, 6.0 boards, and 6.8 assists per contest.

While Thomas was probably just tooting his own horn with his social media post, some might be thinking that it could be a shade toward his fellow candidate for the greatest point guard of all time. Zeke has already offered his two cents in that debate, refusing to include the two-time MVP in the GOAT PG conversation and saying that Steph is in a different category for how he plays the one position.

Related: Chris Paul on being a huge fan of Isiah Thomas early in his career: "Isaiah was one of those players who went out every night to win"