Isiah Thomas is arguably the rival that defines Michael Jordan‘s career, given beating Thomas was the final hurdle in MJ’s path to greatness. Funnily, Thomas never looked at Jordan as his rival when he was in the league, as he revealed in a discussion at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall.
“I didn’t know that I had a rivalry with MJ… My [rivals] were Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.”
Thomas did have rivalries with the likes of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, but it’s ludicrous to suggest he didn’t look at Jordan as a rival by the late ’80s. Jordan had already shown the league his individual talent and surpassed almost anyone the league had seen before.
Even though Thomas and the Pistons easily beat Jordan in the playoffs before 1991, they employed one of the most aggressive defensive strategies ever used against a single player to do that. When Thomas is the lead guard on the Pistons, how could the opposing guard that your entire defense be built to stop be someone you don’t consider a rival?
Isiah Thomas Opens Up On Michael Jordan’s Dislike For Him
In the same address to the students at Seton Hall, Thomas was honest about his relationship with Jordan. Everyone in the world could see there was clear dislike between the two Eastern Conference guards, but Thomas didn’t really know the level of dislike Jordan harbored for him until The Last Dance came out.
“I never knew Michael Jordan felt the way about me until The Last Dance when I saw it on television…He and his producers called and said we need you to do a story with Jordan…I thought we competed, but again, my focus was, ‘How do I beat Magic [Johnson] and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], and how do I beat [Larry] Bird, [Robert] Parish, [Kevin] McHale, and all of them?… He comes on television and says, ‘I hate you.’”
Thomas has previously discussed how he felt misled into giving the interview he gave for The Last Dance. If he got a chance again, he likely wouldn’t participate in that documentary. No point crying over spilled milk, but Thomas being surprised at Jordan’s distaste for him is surprising given how Thomas has religiously believed Jordan was responsible for him being snubbed of the 1992 USA Dream Team.
Isiah Thomas Believed Michael Jordan Kept Him Off The Dream Team
One of the greatest teams in basketball history has to be the 1992 US Men’s Basketball team that won the Gold medal in Barcelona. A team that featured all the top stars of the ’90s like Jordan, Magic, Bird, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, and many more. The one star missing was Isiah Thomas, who still believes Jordan made sure he didn’t get on the team.
“They didn’t want me on the team,” Thomas said. “A lot of people were saying there was no secret meeting. So it just sounds like it’s just one guy [Michael Jordan]. I’m just saying that’s the way it sounded, and if that’s how you felt, own it. If you didn’t feel that way, then clean it up.”
That snub has hurt Thomas for the majority of his life, as he’s spoken about it various times and in a frank manner. We even saw him discuss this on ‘The Last Dance, proving that Thomas rues not getting his chance to be on that historic roster.
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