Isiah Thomas’ wife Lynn Kendall has had a lot of emotional supporting to do over the years. Her husband, though a phenomenal player, followed a coaching path that just never seemed to work in any way, and no matter where Isiah went and what direction he turned, he could never seem to get wins out of his clubs. But one great win that he achieved off the court was nabbing Lynn.
Lynn was Isiah’s girlfriend all the way back in the late 70’s when they met. He proposed to her on the steps of the library at Indiana University because they apparently met there. Isiah actually got engaged to Lynn in the mid 80’s– a full 5 years after getting drafted in 1980. After marriage, he’d become a two-time champion, but not before the birth of their first son Joshua in 1988. Lynn’s pregnancy and birth coincided exactly with the Finals series with the Lakers in ’88, so you can imagine how stressful that time was for them both.
Lynn also had to go through a scandal involving Isiah’s “liaison” with a woman named Jenni Dones in 1985. They got together and “conceived a love child on May 26, 1985,” according to the New York Post. Isiah’s son Marc Dones was born in February of 1986. So the way it all boiled down: Isiah married Lynn in July of 1985, but he got together with Jenni two months before. Isiah then agreed to pay Jenni “$2,764.78 a month until Marc Dones reached 18, when Marc would get a lump-sum payment of $100,000” according to the New York Post.
That’s a pretty expensive liaison. Well, Lynn and Isiah have led a nice life for themselves outside of things like that. They’re both known as philanthropists, and they are both firm believers in giving back to the community. New York Knicks fans definitely don’t think Isiah gave anything to them, as they would boo him constantly when he was in their organization, but Lynn and Isiah are now comfortable and living fine with Isiah as an NBA analyst.
