The fierce rivalry between Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas is pretty well documented. In their playing days, MJ and IT had some pretty intense battles, headlined by trash talk and extremely physical (and borderline violent) play that eventually got personal when Jordan refused to play on the Olympic National Team if the Pistons star was invited.
Today, while their on-court battles are now a thing of the past, we were recently reminded of the bitter feelings that still exist between the two — as, even years into retirement, they’re still taking verbal shots at each other.
So when Isiah Thomas revealed how he was trying to get drafted by the Bulls in 1981, and (theoretically) could have become Jordan’s teammate, you can imagine why it drew so much attention.
(via “Club Shay Shay” with Shannon Sharpe)
“Mark Aguirre and I were both trying to rig the draft so we could both get to Chicago. They had 4th pick and the 6th pick. We were trying to drop all the way to 4th and 6th. So every interview we did with the teams above us, we just blew the interviews.
When I interviewed in Detroit, they had Jack McCloskey and Will Robinson. Every question he asked me, I would answer wrong. I am trying to drop; I am trying to get people to not like me. And I’ll never forget. He looks at me and goes, ‘I know what you’re doing. I just want you to know, it ain’t gonna work. Number two, I’m taking you.’”
Obviously, Jordan was drafted by the Bulls three years later and would go draw unprecedented fame. Often times, and especially in the late 80s, it was Thomas and his Pistons team who would stand in Michael’s way.
Looking back, it’s crazy to think how close IT was to wearing the Bulls jersey himself. Had the star point guard been picked just four spots lower, he and Jordan might have been teammates and even best friends.
Alas, it seems that reality just wasn’t in the cards for us — but my, what a sight it would have been.
