Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas are two of the greatest point guards we have ever seen, and for quite a while, the two of them were very close friends. Magic once spoke about how Isiah was his best friend in the early years of their careers and how they would often get together to talk basketball.
Isiah would learn about what it takes to win from Magic, and eventually, he and the Pistons broke through and won two championships of their own. By that time, however, the relationship between the two had soured, and it wasn’t because Thomas had beaten Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1989 NBA Finals. Jeff Pearlman, author of Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, said that Isiah’s controversial comments regarding Larry Bird in 1987 were a big blow to their relationship.
via GQ:
“The relationship took a major hit when Thomas talked trash about Larry Bird, making a case that he was overrated because he was white. Magic and Bird weren’t close, but there was a bond—Michigan State–Indiana State, entering the league together, Boston-Lakers clashes—between Johnson and Bird. When Thomas made those comments, Magic called Bird and made clear he didn’t agree. The Magic-Thomas relationship was never the same.”
The comment in question here is when Isiah agreed with teammate Dennis Rodman and said that Bird would be just another good player if he was black. It caused outrage, and Thomas held a press conference with Bird, where he tried to walk back on those comments, but the damage was done. Some believe that this remark was just one of the many reasons why Thomas was eventually left out of the Dream Team for the 1992 Olympics.
Magic And Isiah Made Up A Few Years Back
Magic and Isiah weren’t on great terms for a long time after this, and their relationship suffered another big blow in 1991 when Magic tested positive for HIV. His agent Lou Rosen told him that Thomas was spreading rumors about his sexuality, something Isiah denied ever doing.
That also played a role in Thomas not being in the Dream Team, and the two men kept growing apart as the years went by. It was only a few years back in 2017 that they finally buried the hatchet in an incredibly emotional 1-on-1 interview. It remains such a beautiful moment, and it was wonderful to see the two old friends finally get back together.
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