As an ode to Michael Jordan’s iconic career, ‘The Last Dance’ debuted at the height of the pandemic and gave fans a never-before-seen look into Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls.
The 10-episode docuseries highlighted everything about the ’98 Bulls, from head coach Phil Jackson to co-star and sidekick Scottie Pippen.
It also covered Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons, who were MJ’s biggest rivals at the time. As you might expect, MJ didn’t have nice things to say bout Detroit, or their star point guard, back then — and instead of saying nothing at all, Jordan made it a point to voice his honest opinion.
“I know it’s all bull—-,” Jordan said in the fourth episode of “The Last Dance,” the 10-part documentary on Jordan’s NBA career and the 1997-98 Bulls’ season. “Whatever he says now, you know it wasn’t his true actions then. He has time left to think about it, or the reaction from the public has changed his perspective. You can show me anything you want,” Jordan said.”There’s no way you can convince me he wasn’t a (jerk).”
Isiah Thomas Finally Fires Back After MJ Calls Him An A**hole In Front Of The Cameras
It has been years since Jordan made that statement, but Isiah Thomas finally broke his silence on the beef this week, when he delivered this pretty savage response about his relationship with Jordan:
“When I was watching the “Last Dance”, I’m seating there and I’m watching it with my family and I’m thinking everything is good. And then this guy comes on television and he says that he hates me and then he calls me an asshole. And then I proceed to watch a whole documentary about him being an asshole. I’m like wait a minute, time out. Until I get a public apology, this beef is gonna go on for a long long time, cause I’m from the west side of Chicago.”
So, what is the deal between Jordan and Thomas? While their beef traces back decades, it’s actually pretty easy to understand where the hatred comes from.
Back in the day, during the height of Jordan’s powers, the Pistons, who were led by Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and Joe Dumars, employed the infamous ‘Jordan rules,’ which basically involved using strength and extreme physicality to slow down MJ at the rim.
While the strategy did have its intended effects (for a time), it also succeeded in making Jordan and the Bulls utterly hate the Pistons, and IT especially. At one point, things got so bad, that Jordan even kept Thomas from playing on the legendary ‘Dream Team.’
Of course, Thomas isn’t the only one to take offense to the documentary. Jordan basically ruined his relationship with Scottie Pippen because of it.
So, while ‘The Last Dance’ was technically a huge hit for Jordan, it did have some unintended consequences. After burning so many bridges, it remains to be seen if MJ will ever offer an apology to Thomas, or anyone else he offended in ‘The Last Dance’ — but if you know Jordan at all, it’s probably a good idea not to hold your breath waiting for it.
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