Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan did not like each other for the majority of their time in the NBA, mostly due to the intense rivalry between the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons in the late 80s and early 90s. The two sides spent years duking it out in the Eastern playoffs, with the Pistons coming out on top for three consecutive years (1988,1989, and 1990). However, in 1991, the wind began to change direction as the Bulls came out swinging in every game, leading to a 4-game sweep of Isiah Thomas’ Pistons side. During this time, Jordan took a massive dig at the legacy of his opponents, calling them ‘undeserving champions’, referring to the Pistons’ two championships. Years after ‘MJ’ announced his opinion on his rivals, Thomas came swinging right back with some words of his own.
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In the summer of 1990, Jordan was sick of Thomas and the Pistons. He kept getting beaten down to the floor every time the Bulls faced off against the Pistons. The 1990 postseason was arguably the most painful experience for the Bulls’ centerpiece. Chicago went to 7 games against their rivals in the Eastern Conference Finals, before losing out in the end.
To prepare for the next time they met, ‘His Airness’ immediately hit the weight room, understanding that he needed more muscle to take on the Bad Boys’ rough style of play. Working with his legendary personal trainer, Tim Grover, Jordan started the 1990-1991 NBA season with an added 15lbs of muscle.
Isiah Thomas disproves MJ’s claims of the Detroit Pistons being ‘undeserving champions’
Isiah Thomas often brushed off any hate that came his way during his NBA career. After all, he was the leader of the ‘Bad Boy Pistons’ in the eyes of the NBA. There was disapproval and dislike coming from all directions.
Still, a few things stayed with him. Among these, Michael Jordan is responsible for a few. In a recent interview, Thomas spoke out against one of them. Speaking on Jordan’s ‘undeserving champions’ comment, here is what he had to say, as seen in the Instagram post by ‘_clutchtime‘.
“(Michael Jordan) called us ‘undeserving champions’. Now, we done beat the Lakers, we done beat the Celtics, we done beat y’all (Chicago Bulls) several times. Ain’t nobody had a harder march to the NBA Finals than the Detroit Pistons. We done got cheated, we done got beat up. We have beaten the best of the best to ever play this game.
If Jordan, if they saying [he’s] the best, beat [his] a**. Magic and Kareem? Beat you. Bird and McHale? Beat you. Can’t nobody else say that. We the only ones who can say that.”
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Thomas not only called out Michael Jordan but also went against others stars in the league at the time. Since his 1992 Dream Team snub, it’s safe to say that the two-time NBA Champion is not a big fan of many of his contemporaries.
However, it is hard to disagree with Thomas’ point. After all, no ‘undeserving champion’ faced such a difficult path to the NBA Finals, and won it on two occasions. But then again, the Detroit side didn’t receive the praise Thomas thought they deserved because of their physical brand of basketball, which Jordan was alluding to his comment.
Michael Jordan blamed Isiah Thomas for being ‘frozen out’ of the 1985 All-Star game
Michael Jordan is one of the few players in NBA history who can boast of being selected to the NBA All-Star team during his rookie season. Unfortunately for him, things didn’t go as well as he hoped during the All-Star game.
After watching how the Eastern Conference Team played around him rather than with him in the 1985 All-Star game, he alleged that Thomas had frozen him out of the team. Thomas denies this to this day. However, according to Dr. Charles Tucker, there was indeed a freeze-out, just not one initiated by Isiah Thomas. Instead, here is what he had to say on the matter.
“The guys weren’t pleased with his demeanor up here. They made the decision to teach him a lesson. On defense, Magic and George were tough on him, and on offense, they simply didn’t give him the ball.”
Michael Jordan later stated that his standoffish demeanor was due to how nervous he was to meet all his basketball heroes in the same room. Unfortunately for him, the damage was done.
