“Hell Bent”: Former Bulls Player Discloses Michael Jordan’s Obsession with Overcoming Isiah Thomas

Scott Williams played as a center and power forward with the Chicago Bulls from 1990 to 1994. At that time, Michael Jordan’s Bulls’ were determined to get past Isiah Thomas’ Detroit Pistons and break the dominance of the ‘Bad Boys.’ In the latest episode of the NBA Legends Lounge podcast, Scott Williams revealed MJ’s unwavering determination and zeal to break the dominance of the Pistons. Jordan shared a relatively cut-and-dry relationship with Thomas, and it is evident that the two backcourt legends do not like each other at all. The drive for MJ to defeat Isiah Thomas was after receiving a cold shoulder from the Pistons star during an All-Stars game.

Indeed, Jordan went on to break the dominance of the Pistons way later in the 1990s. However, he had been preparing for the same since his rookie years. He would spend hours during training camps and in practice sessions, with an unwavering determination to humiliate the Pistons in the games to come. Since his draft in 1984, it took seven years for Jordan to win his first championship. And as everybody knows, Chicago went into a frenzy, winning a three-peat from 1991 to 1993.

Michael Jordan’s obsession with going past Isiah Johnson knew no bounds

The Bulls and the Pistons were considered fierce rivals in the 1980s. Especially when the Pistons were ruling the league with their ‘bad boys,’ Michael Jordan was trying his level best to end their dominance.

In the podcast, Scott Williams revealed some exciting details about how he was impressed seeing Michael Jordan’s determination to defeat Pistons. Williams had just joined as a rookie at that time. However, he would be crucial in the Bulls’ three-peat victory off the bench. In the podcast, Williams said:

“The MJ that I knew in training camp that year was hell-bent on getting past the Pistons. That’s all they talked about… He was a smolder and beast and we practiced long and hard.”

While MJ and the Bulls could break the Pistons’ dominance only in the 1990s, it resulted in Jordan and Isiah Thomas’ relationship souring further. The two never could resolve their differences, leading to a contention going fresh even four decades forward.

MJ and Isiah Thomas could never recover from their sour relationship on the court

Although the Bulls were able to break the dominance of the Pistons, MJ and Isiah Thomas’ relationship never recovered. Former Pistons bad boy Dennis Rodman ended up with Michael Jordan in the Bulls. The duo, alongside Scottie Pippen, won another three-peat from 1996 to 1998.

Once again, in March this year, Thomas demanded a genuine apology from Jordan for calling him an “a**hole” in a recorded interview. He said:

“Some people, they ain’t been telling the truth. Now, anywhere, any time, publicly. Don’t call me behind the scenes apologizing or asking your friends to apologize. You got on national television, and you called me an a**hole? And then you said you hated me.” 

Perhaps, things to this day remain sour between Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas and it would hardly ever get resolved in the near future.