Isiah Thomas’s all-star MVP trophy pulled from auction after he says it was stolen

“This trophy was stolen from St. Joseph High School the night Mr. Pingatore my coach died,” Thomas tweeted. “It belongs to me. You stole my trophy please return it!”

“Mr. Pingatore” is Gene Pingatore, who was the winningest boys’ high school basketball coach in Illinois history and gained wider fame in the 1994 documentary “Hoop Dreams.” He died in June 26, 2019, at the age of 82.

Thomas was his biggest star at St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Ill., and, upon hearing of Pingatore’s death, Thomas tweeted, “I always told you, you saved my life.” Thomas, of course, went on to star at Indiana University and had a Hall of Fame career with the Detroit Pistons.

Heritage quickly responded to Thomas, tweeting that it “goes to every length to ensure the authenticity and provenance of the items that are consigned to us. We take the concerns and allegations of Mr. Thomas very seriously” and promising to investigate “as expeditiously as possible.”

Robert Wilonsky, Heritage’s communications director, told The Washington Post on Tuesday morning that the company expected the issue to be resolved “very, very shortly” and that officials were seeking “any police report that may exist to make sure we’re headed down the right path.”

Wilonsky added that such incidents are rare for Heritage and that when the incident was resolved the trophy would be on the way to the proper authorities. “We want Mr. Thomas to know that we heard him loud and clear.”

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