Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan have never been fond of each other, and Thomas may have taken another slight at MJ by labeling Dwyane Wade as the best Chicago athlete.
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The beef started all the way back in 1985, right from Jordan’s rookie season and the All Star game that season. Jordan was in the midst of a phenomenal year, showing he was going to be an incredible force right from the start.
He averaged 28.2 points per game on 52.6% shooting while averaging 6.5 rebounds per game and 5.9 assists per game. He was already one of the best players in the game, and for his efforts he was voted into the All Star game. However, in the game he was completely shut down, scoring only 7 points on 2 of 9 shooting, and claimed that Thomas was ‘freezing him out of the game.’
Immediately after the game, Jordan 49 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in an incredible effort to lead the Bulls to a victory over the Pistons and soon after there was a heated rivalry between the two. Jordan supposedly miffed Thomas from the 1992 ‘Dream Team’ squad that won the Olympics, and in Jordan’s ‘Last Dance’, the two acknowledged there was something different about their relationship.
Isiah Thomas: “Michael Jordan is not the greatest NBA player ever.”https://t.co/FVExHgvAlH pic.twitter.com/ICaTANgTIl
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 27, 2021
Isiah Thomas labels Dwyane Wade as the best Chicago athlete, snubbing Michael Jordan
Thomas appeared on “Point Forward” podcast with Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner, and he spoke about how much he values Dwyane Wade and how good of a player he was.
“D Wade, go to Marquette and get off, right? And then when you talk about in Chicago, he is the most accomplished, you know, athlete in terms of basketball that’s come out of Chicago from the winning standpoint, nobody’s got more gold medals, nobody’s won more championships than D Wade like he’s you know he’s definitely made his mark.”
Of course, Thomas could have been talking about how Wade is the best athlete to come out of Chicago in the sense that Wade was born and brought up in the city, but nevertheless, when you’re talking about Chicago, not bringing up Jordan will always turn some heads.
Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, Charles Barkley and Moses Malone have a backwards free-throw shooting contest in warm ups at the 1988 NBA All-Star game. #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/Do0XdI2Itx
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) February 8, 2022