A lot of the beefs in the NBA tend to go away once the players in question retire. When they are out of that competitive setting, they realize it is really not worth it to hold a grudge over something that happened on the court, but that isn’t the case for everybody.
Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas have one of the longest-standing beefs in the NBA, which stretches back to when Isiah reportedly led a freeze-out on Jordan in his first All-Star game back in 1985. They then clashed in some big playoff series, with the last one in 1991 seeing Thomas walk off the court without shaking hands with any of the Bulls players after they got swept. Despite the fact that he clearly wasn’t on great terms with MJ, Isiah wasn’t averse to praising Jordan when he deserved it.
Isiah Thomas Once Admitted What Amazed Him The Most About Michael Jordan
With Jordan and the Chicago Bulls going for a three-peat in 1993 when they took on the Suns in the Finals, Magic Johnson and Isiah were giving some big praise to MJ during the broadcast. Magic called him the greatest ever back then, while Thomas revealed the one thing that amazed him the most about Jordan.
(starts at 2:19 mark):
“The thing that amazes me about Michael Jordan is his stamina and his endurance. The thing that I wasn’t able to do, the thing that Magic wasn’t able to do, we succumbed to injuries. We didn’t have the type of stamina, the type of energy level that Michael seems to possess every single night, whether he’s playing against the worst team in the league or the best team in the league. He has an energy level that’s unmatched by any other player or any other athlete that I’ve seen in professional sports, rather be basketball, football, baseball, track, tennis. His energy level was so much greater than ours it seems that night in and night out he’s there performing at a level that we frankly just weren’t able to reach and that’s why he’s out there tonight, healthy and trying to three-peat and Magic and I succumbed to injuries.”
That is something coming from Isiah, as this was just a couple of years removed from their bruising postseason battles. As Thomas says, MJ was an incredible athlete at his peak, which was a big reason why he had so much success and has gone down as the GOAT.
It is a real shame that Jordan and Thomas haven’t been able to mend fences, and at this point, it seems unlikely it will ever happen. Their relationship has probably gotten worse post-retirement, with The Last Dance documentary, in particular, leaving Thomas furious as he said the beef wouldn’t end until he gets a public apology. Jordan isn’t the type to apologize for anything, so we can expect this beef to last their entire lifetime.
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