Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas was asked to be a part of HBO’s Celtics City docuseries, but he declined the opportunity due to fear of being “set up” again. During an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Thomas stated he had no intention of potentially getting fooled the second time after what Michael Jordan and The Last Dance team did to him in 2020.
“I decided not to do the Boston documentary because of what Jordan and The Last Dance did,” Thomas said. “They totally set me up and blindsided me. I wasn’t gonna get fooled twice, so I just decided not to participate in the documentary and be able to talk about it. But I wasn’t gonna go on film and sit there and be set up — and potentially be set up again — like I was set up in The Last Dance.”
Thomas was asked to be a part of the docuseries and claims to have been stunned by how negatively he was portrayed in it. Considering Jordan’s tenancy to hold grudges, he really should have known what was going to be shown.
The rivalry between Jordan’s Chicago Bulls and Thomas’ Detroit Pistons certainly wasn’t a friendly one. They had brutal playoff battles in 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991, with the Pistons winning the first three. They introduced the infamous Jordan Rules as a means to slow down Jordan, and it played a part in those three triumphs.
By the time 1991 came around, though, the tables had turned, with the Bulls sweeping the Pistons in the Conference Finals. Many Pistons players, including Thomas, walked off the court without shaking hands with their opponents, and that rubbed a fair few Bulls players the wrong way. Thomas should have known that Jordan, of all people, was never going to forget that.
As for Thomas talking about a “set up,” he has spoken at length about this subject in the past.
“When you see that meme, you see me dressed in a three-piece suit. There’s another thing I gotta say about Mike. His producer and Mike, they called me ‘We need you in a video, can’t tell my story without you you’re so important.’ Now I am thinking we are all cool.
“I dressed up, I’m sitting in a three-piece suit, I brought my partner with me, he was in the interview. We actually did it at NBA TV. Sat there for two hours, and said a lot of good stuff. Last Dance comes out and, that’s it? I am dressed to the nines, I didn’t come here in a sweatsuit today, I am giving you respect. I will show up the right way because I got respect for you.
“I showed up the right way for that dude, and I showed up and did the interview. And that’s what you do to me? I like the meme, I’m not gonna front on that, at least I was dressed nice.”
Thomas didn’t want this to potentially happen to him again in this Boston Celtics docuseries, considering how heated the rivalry was in the 1980s. He wasn’t going to take any chances, having well and truly learned his lesson with The Last Dance.
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