The Detroit “Bad Boy” Pistons and the Chicago Bulls had an intense rivalry throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. But the animosity between Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan was fueled long before the teams matched up in the postseason. The pair’s feud dates back to Jordan’s first All-Star appearance as a rookie in 1985, where he was supposedly “frozen out” of the offense by his fellow Eastern Conference All-Stars.
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The ploy, reportedly spearheaded by Thomas, was intended to show the rising star that he would have to wait his turn before taking the reins from other NBA stars, including Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and naturally, Thomas. However, after being questioned about the hazing before Detroit’s first contest in Chicago since the mid-season festivities, the 12-time All-Star was quick to shut down any possibilities that he was involved.
“Thomas chafed when reporters asked about his involvement in the freeze-out. ‘That never happened,’ Thomas said. “I was very upset when I read that,'” as reported in Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby. “That could affect a potential friendship between Michael and me,” the guard was further quoted saying.
Following the accusations, the future Hall of Fame point guard took it upon himself to make things right with the 21-year-old Jordan, setting up a face-to-face discussion. The 13-year veteran did apologize to Mike, but it apparently didn’t come off as genuine, as MJ later deemed the atonement “mostly show“.
The disingenuous apology further fueled the fire in the young star, leading to an explosive performance in an overtime win. Jordan also went out of his way to save something special for his new rival.
“That night, Jordan scored 49 points with 15 rebounds to help the Bulls to a 139-126 overtime win. On one breakaway, Jordan clearly paused, giving Thomas just time enough to run into the picture before throwing down an emotional dunk, which the game’s broadcasters immediately identified as taunting,” the biography added.
That sequence was enough for Thomas, as the star grew angry with reporters following the heated contest. “It’s over. It’s over,” he said, insinuating that the pair’s relationship was permanently tarnished. This situation proved to only be the beginning of the two legends’ long-standing feud.
MJ once again got revenge on Thomas before the Barcelona Olympics
After leading Detroit to two titles in 1989 and 1990, Thomas was regarded as one of the top point guards in the entire association, behind only Magic Johnson. His dominance with the Pistons made IT a sensible choice for Team USA’s Olympic team in 1992, but Jordan notably played a role in stopping that possibility.
Undoubtedly accomplished enough to be part of the “Dream Team”, the team instead decided to bring on several guards who had yet to win anything in the league, including Clyde Drexler and John Stockton.
The roster was loaded with Hall of Famers, but considering former Pistons head coach, Chuck Daly, was leading the team, Jordan had to have gone out of his way to keep his bitter rival off of basketball’s most iconic squad.
