Isiah Thomas Echoes BJ Armstrong’s Sentiment of Michael Jordan Having Been a Center

Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan’s beef had been an era-defining one in the NBA. The legendary Detroit Pistons vs Chicago Bulls rivalry paved way for the greatness that was ’90s basketball. Most often, these beefs and rivalries are left on the court and players bury the hatchet after retirement. Not in Jordan and Thomas’ case though.

However, it also seems Thomas has genuine respect for Jordan despite all the unresolved conflicts. At least that’s what could be gathered from his latest Instagram story. Thomas shared a reel of BJ Armstrong speaking about Jordan’s skillset, essentially agreeing to the former Bulls guard dubbing the 6x champion a center instead of a shooting guard.

Armstrong argued that while he may have been a 2 guard on paper, Jordan’s game was similar to that of a center. His post moves, his dribble penetration, and his general play in and around the free-throw line were exactly what is expected of a team’s big man. Armstrong claimed that Kobe Bryant also played in a similar manner.

“Michael Jordan played the 2 position right? Kobe Bryant, what position did he play? Well, you’d probably say he was a shooting guard,” said Armstrong. “But here’s the truth, he really played the 5 position. Both of them. He was a center! Because they caught the ball below the free throw line 30 times a night! They played from the post!”

 

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Armstrong reasoned that both Jordan and Bryant were smart enough to understand that post moves gave them the best opportunity to manipulate the space with passes to their open teammates.

Thomas shared the reel on his IG story, which could only mean that he too sees some merit in Armstrong’s argument.

Isiah Thomas on IG pic.twitter.com/ABHCZjdyAS

— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) December 9, 2024

Both Jordan and Kobe were tremendous midrange shooters, and their accuracy from the paint and the arc is still referred to as near-perfect. A lot of players have modeled their play-styles around them. And in the age of floor spacers, these types of players have become truly valuable.

OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the perfect example of this. He boasts a phenomenal career average of 49.7% shooting from the field. His ability to penetrate off the dribble and find his shooting spots is nearly identical to Jordan and Kobe’s, and it’s a huge reason why he’s slowly becoming a near-perennial MVP candidate.

Armstrong, of course, has seen enough of Jordan to know what he’s talking about, having won three rings with him.

Jordan’s game largely depended on his body feints inside the arc, his post-game, and his ability to take the ball to the rim. These were eerily similar to premier big men like Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, and Shaquille O’Neal. He also perfected the art of the contested fadeaway, which allowed him to get shots off over bigger defenders.

Of course there are valid reasons why Thomas put aside his conflicted history with Jordan to acknowledge the Bulls legend’s post-up dominance.