Isiah Thomas has once again addressed the beef that exists between him and Michael Jordan, during an appearance at the ForbesBLK Summit in Atlanta. When asked about the situation, Thomas revealed that he had no idea there was any beef before The Last Dance documentary came out.
“Let me reset the stage,” Thomas said. “When you asked me about The Last Dance, I didn’t know we had a beef. I really didn’t and if you see me in that interview, I’m dressed in a three-piece suit, we did the interview right across the street at NBA TV, and Jordan and his producer called me themselves, and I still got all the emails.”
Isiah revealed they wanted him to participate in the documentary, as Jordan admired him. He was also told he had to be there as Jordan’s story could not be told without him.
“Why was I so willing to do that? My nephew lived with Michael Jordan for five years when Michael Jordan first came to Chicago,” Thomas continued. “My family looked after him. We all hung out together. This beef that supposedly we had, or have. I didn’t know anything about it until The Last Dance.”
Thomas was shaken when he found out that Jordan did indeed play a role in keeping him off the 1992 Dream Team.
“When people say well he kept me off the Dream Team, I didn’t know that,” Thomas added. “Until word came out that he didn’t want me around so forth and so.”
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Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, speaking at the ForbesBLK Summit in Atlanta, opened up about his strained relationship with Michael Jordan:
“This beef that we supposedly had,”Thomas said, “well, I didn’t know anything about it until The Last Dance.” pic.twitter.com/v8kAycjz4y
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) November 6, 2023
The 63-year-old says he has never said anything negative about the Chicago Bulls icon and is placing the blame for their strained relationship on Jordan’s feet.
It is really interesting that Thomas claims to have never known Jordan felt a certain way about him. The Bulls and Isiah’s Detroit Pistons had some brutal battles in the playoffs in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and there was clearly a lot of bad blood.
Their final playoff series in 1991 saw Thomas infamously walk off the court without shaking hands with anyone, so it clearly wasn’t all roses and sunshine. Jordan even brought it up in the documentary and he wasn’t happy with their actions.
Even before all of that, there had been rumors of Isiah leading a “freeze-out” on Jordan in the 1985 All-Star game, where the veterans refused to pass the ball to him. Jordan had actually cited that All-Star weekend as when the beef started between him and Isiah. He claimed that Thomas was also behind stories that came out back then about him being arrogant and cocky.
Isiah Thomas Is Open To Having A Conversation With Michael Jordan
Isiah claims to be willing to bury the hatchet now, though. During this appearance, he went on to state that he’d be open to having an honest conversation with Jordan.
“I don’t hate anybody,” Thomas said. “If the brother came here and sat down today and wanted to have an honest conversation — keyword, honest — I’m down for it.”
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More from Isiah Thomas on his strained relationship with Michael Jordan:
“I don’t hate anybody. If the brother came here and sat down today and wanted to have an honest conversation — key word, honest — I’m down for it.” pic.twitter.com/Mist32WC3i
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) November 6, 2023
Thomas spoke about the heart-to-heart conversation he had with Magic Johnson previously as an example. The two mended fences in what was a very emotional conversation and Thomas has extended the same invitation to Jordan.
Charles Oakley Stated That Michael Jordan Does Not Want To End The Beef
While Johnson wanted to end any kind of hostility between himself and Isiah, it doesn’t look like Jordan is interested in that. Former NBA player Charles Oakley is one of his closest friends and he had spoken on this subject earlier this year. Oakley clearly warned Thomas that Jordan doesn’t want to end their beef.
“Michael does not want to be your friend, Isiah,” Oakley said. “For the fifth time, he does not want to be your friend! Stay on ESPN, and keep talking on TNT. Now you’re trying to say everybody’s better than Mike. It’s OK! You are not better than Mike.”
If Jordan hasn’t been interested in mending fences with Charles Barkley, who used to be perhaps his closest friend at one point, for all these years, then he almost certainly wouldn’t be interested in doing that with Thomas.
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