“If you go back and watch, you can see Isiah Thomas freezing me out”: When Michael Jordan blatantly revealed that the Pistons guard was behind the 1985 All Star freezeout

Michael Jordan once let it be very known that Isiah Thomas was freezing him out of the 1985 NBA All-Star Game. 

Michael Jordan ran away with Rookie of the Year honors in 1985 and how could he not? After all, he made the All Star Game as a rookie and averaged 28+ points that entire season. The Chicago Bulls weren’t looked at as a threat in terms of postseason success by any means but Jordan’s arrival would change all of that. 

Despite having established himself as one of the best players in the league in merely his rookie season, garnering respect from your peers is difficult; especially if they’re older and more experienced than you. 

This was what took place at the 1985 NBA All-Star Game which saw Michael Jordan barely get any touches from his Eastern Conference teammates during the bout.

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Earning your seniors’ respect is something all rookies have to do but how could one do so if they weren’t given the chance to earn it. With the plays that were being run, it was apparent that Michael Jordan was the absolute last resort when it came to getting the ball to someone. 

Michael Jordan on getting frozen out in the 1985 All-Star Game. 

Michael Jordan had merely 7 points in his first ASG and in a 1992 Playboy interview, admitted that he most certainly believed he was being frozen out of the game. He would go on to say that Isiah Thomas was the one who initiated the freeze-out as well.

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“If you go back and look at the film, you can see that Isiah was actually doing that. Once it started getting around that he was freezing me out, that’s when the ill feelings started to grow between us.” 

Jordan go on to say that he felt immense pressure as a rookie to not mess up or say something ‘stupid’ to his peers. “I never wanted to step on anybody’s toes,” said Michael. However, after receiving a cold shoulder from Isiah Thomas during All Star weekend, he decided to do the same. 

The rest is history between the two as they would go on to face each in 4 straight Playoffs from 1988-91, with the Bulls finally getting over the Pistons hump in ‘91. Fast-forward 30+ years and those Bulls rosters are still not on good terms with those Pistons roster.