We all know the bits and pieces about the beef between Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas and there are multiple stories about how it started.
Advertisement
Some say it was the bullying young Jordan received at the hands of Bad Boy Pistons, whose sole proprietor was Zeke. Some believe it to be the handshake snub by Thomas and Co after the Chicago Bulls had finally beaten them in a Playoffs series in 1991.
And others believe the beef became official after MJ led the front to leave Isiah out of the Olympics Team in 1992. However, it was not the snub from the Dream Team or the beating by the Bulls a year ago, that really irked Thomas. It was his own nephew.
John Salley claims Isiah Thomas’ nephew was the reason behind his and Michael Jordan’s rivalry
In an appearance on VladTV, one of the two Bad Boy Pistons who played with both Thomas and Jordan, John Salley revealed how actually the beef started between the two.
“Isiah Thomas goes home, his nephew is wearing a Bulls jersey, Michael Jordan’s Bulls jersey,” said Salley while speaking about the roots of the rivalry and went on to explain the kid’s likeliness towards his hometown (Chicago) team rather than his uncle’s Pistons.
It makes sense. You cannot tolerate your first-blood relatives supporting a man you’ve been beating night in and night out. Let alone blood relatives, even your friends supporting some other team or an athlete over you should mean war.
How good was Thomas and the Bad Boys?
The Thomas-led Pistons team was not just a team famous for playing rough basketball. They were two-time NBA champions who had a history of stopping the Bulls in the Playoffs, not once, not twice, but thrice.
When the Bulls finally came out on top in 1991, the Thomas-led Pistons went straight into the tunnel without shaking the hand of their opponents, who would go on to win the championship not just that season, but six out of the next eight.
Thomas’ Pistons would be the last but one team to eliminate the Bulls from the Playoffs. Shaquille O’Neal’s Magic would do it in 1995, but MJ had just returned to the NBA, a few days before the Playoffs that year.
So, you judge for yourself how good was that Pistons team.
