Not many people can brag about beating Michael Jordan in the playoffs, but Isiah Thomas certainly earned that right. The Detroit Pistons often bullied the Chicago Bulls out of contention during MJ’s early days in the league.
Jordan eventually got his revenge and once he got past ‘The Bad Boys’, he became unstoppable. He went on to win six NBA championships and earned the GOAT distinction by most people.
Thomas, on the other hand, was often left behind by history, even despite being one of the greatest point guards of all time. For conspiracy theorists, it all has to do with the fact that he never liked Jordan and made sure to let everybody know about it.
Michael Jordan Explained Why He Doesn’t Get Along With Isiah Thomas
Back in 1992, the word was already out that Thomas hated Jordan’s guts. That’s why MJ sat down with Playboy Magazine to discuss how it all started, stating that Thomas talked behind his back and was actually jealous of him:
(Transcript via Playboy Magazine)
“PB: There are some differences you haven’t ironed out. What’s the story with you and Isiah Thomas and the alleged Jordan freeze-out at the 1985 N.B.A. All-Star game? Do you think they were really denying you the ball?
Jordan: If you go back and look at the film, you can see that Isiah was actually doing that. Once it started getting around that he was freezing me out, that’s when the ill feelings started to grow between us.
PB: There were some problems even before the game, weren’t there?
Jordan: That was my first All-Star game. I stayed in my room most of the time because I didn’t know what to do. None of my teammates were there. I didn’t want to be out in a situation that I wasn’t comfortable with. The one time I did go out, I got on an elevator with Isiah Thomas to go downstairs for a league meeting. That was the first time I met him. And I said, ‘Hello, how ya doin’?’ That’s all I said. I was really intimidated because I didn’t know him and I didn’t want to get on his nerves. I didn’t want to seem like a rookie. You know, to just be so stupid. So I was quiet. I stayed in the corner. When I went down in the room for the meeting, I still didn’t say anything. After the weekend was over, it got back to me that I was arrogant and cocky and I wouldn’t even speak to Isiah on the elevator, that I gave him the cold shoulder. And I’m saying Isiah Thomas initiated it all.
PB: How did that make you feel?
Jordan: I was really disappointed and upset because I never wanted to step on anybody’s toes. When I came into the league, I considered myself the lowest on the totem pole. I’m a rookie, now let me work my way up. When I started with the Bulls, they wanted me to be a vocal leader, but I told coach Kevin Loughery that I didn’t feel comfortable doing that. We had all these guys with six or seven years in the league and I was in my first year. How could I tell these guys this and that? The best way I could do it was just to go out and play hard. And that’s the way I’ve always treated it. They took that as disrespect and misinterpreted that whole weekend.
PB: The next game after the All-Star break was at home against Detroit. How did you react?
Jordan: Normally, I would smile and enjoy myself, but I was serious the whole game. It was a grudge game from my standpoint. And the next day, the headlines read ‘Jordan Gets His Revenge, Scores 49.’ That’s all Isiah needed to see. It was a competition from that point. I always tried to respect him and be kind, but I always would hear talk that he was saying things about me behind my back. I just said, Well, I’m gonna stop trying to be nice. Screw it. Just play basketball. We don’t have to be best of friends.
PB: Was that experience ultimately good for you?
Jordan: Well, it taught me about the jealousy that you deal with on this level. But at the same time, this is a business. I’m going to take advantage of all the opportunities. If they were in my shoes, they would do the exact same thing.”
To this day, Isiah Thomas continues to hold grudges towards Jordan and takes subtle shots at him whenever he has the chance. That’s just the relentless competitive nature that most players lived by back in the day.
