Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan never really had a good relationship. Even though you could see pictures of them talking and even laughing on the court, there was no love between them. Many people wondered how and when things went wrong between these two, and Jordan explained it in an old interview.
Talking about the beginning of this rivalry, His Airness revealed that it all started during the 1985 NBA All-Star Game, when Thomas allegedly froze out Jordan, preventing the ball from getting to his hands and shutting him down. Jordan has spoken about this before, saying that he tried to be as polite as possible with Thomas, but he simply didn’t reciprocate that.
Playboy: There are some differences you haven’t ironed out. What’s the story with you and Isiah Thomas and the alleged Jordan freeze-out at the 1985 N.B.A. All-Star game? Do you think they were really denying you the ball?
Jordan: If you go back and look at the film, you can see that Isiah was actually doing that. Once it started getting around that he was freezing me out, that’s when the ill feelings started to grow between us.
Playboy: There were some problems even before the game, weren’t there?
Jordan: That was my first All-Star game. I stayed in my room most of the time because I didn’t know what to do. None of my teammates were there. I didn’t want to be out in a situation that I wasn’t comfortable with. The one time I did go out, I got on an elevator with Isiah Thomas to go downstairs for a league meeting. That was the first time I met him. And I said, ‘Hello, how ya doin’?’ That’s all I said. I was really intimidated because I didn’t know him and I didn’t want to get on his nerves. I didn’t want to seem like a rookie. You know, to just be so stupid. So I was quiet. I stayed in the corner. When I went down in the room for the meeting, I still didn’t say anything. After the weekend was over, it got back to me that I was arrogant and cocky and I wouldn’t even speak to Isiah on the elevator, that I gave him the cold shoulder. And I’m saying Isiah Thomas initiated it all.
In recent hours, Thomas rejected this story, taking to social media to call out Jordan, saying he’s a liar and telling his version of the story.
https://twitter.com/IsiahThomas/status/1545043150535659524
Stop lying this story is not factual or accurate, tell the truth man. Dr.J, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Sidney Moncrief and I did not freeze you out. If memory serves me correct I was injured most of the second half and Bird had a broken nose. Magic and Sampson dominated the game.
The beef between Jordan and Thomas has been around for many, many years, and it doesn’t look like we’ll see the ending of it anytime soon. Zeke has constantly spoken against MJ, saying that he’s not the GOAT, looking for excuses to diminish what Jordan accomplished during his era, but MJ also has had some things to say about his long-time rival.
Mike doesn’t have a social media account, so it’s unlikely that we see him replying to Thomas. Still, perhaps, whenever he has the chance, he would fire back at the 2x NBA champion.
