Former NBA Star Isiah Thomas Claims His 1984 All Star Trophy Was ‘Stolen’ By Auction Company

August 12, 2020 by Chelsea Adjalla in Sports with 0 Comments

Isiah Thomas

Former NBA Player Isiah Thomas Claims His 1984 All Star Trophy Was ‘Stolen’ By Auction Company

Former NBA player and 2x NBA champion Isiah Thomas believes that his 1984 All Star Trophy was stolen as it appeared in an auction ran by Heritage Auction Sports. The 59 year old who played for the Detroit Pistons his whole career, took to twitter to let everyone know that his trophy was stolen,

“This trophy was stolen from St. Joseph High School the night Mr. Pingatore my coach died it belongs to me. You stole my trophy please return it! Let it be known @HeritageAuction @nba @nbatv @NBAonTNT”

After Isiah Thomas inquired about his trophy, fans pressured the auction company to discover the origin of the trophy. It turns out that Isiah Thomas was right, his trophy was allegedly stolen from his high school’s trophy case at St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Ill., where the Basketball Hall of Famer played under Coach Gene Pingatore. Since then, the trophy has been removed from the auction and an investigation has been launched.

Isiah said that he gave the trophy to his former high school out of respect for Coach Pingatore, who died on June 26, 2019, at the age of 82. Isiah said the items were loaned to the high school with the understanding that they would one day be returned,

“For me and my family, the silver lining in all of this is that it showed up at your house [Heritage Auctions], we never would have known, so we are grateful and I am thankful that the item was found and will be returned.”

Heritage Auctions also released a statement regarding the trophy situation, stating,

“Heritage Auctions does not sell stolen property, so we take any claims of title seriously. Even though each consignor warrants clear title when material is consigned to auction, we do have issues of title or potential stolen property come up a handful of times per year. In those instances, we investigate to validate any claims, and if the title is in question, then the lot is removed from auction until the dispute can be settled.”

What are your thoughts on Isiah Thomas’s All Star trophy being stolen and sold in an auction? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.