Isiah Thomas in his prime was the best point guard in the NBA. He was constantly compared to the likes of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan and he beat both of them. So when he was asked about the league constantly favoring them over him, he put up a grin and talked about how it didn’t matter to him. He still beat them anyway.
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The Detroit Pistons in the late 80s and 90s had real potential. They were great and had a team formidable enough to challenge both the Lakers and the Celtics. More than that they were also able to; quite easily, in fact, dismantle Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
But the league did not favor Isiah, instead, they had developed a bias towards the star boy, Michael Jordan. And in doing so, they implemented a bunch of rule changes.
In the Pivot Podcast, host Ryan Clark asks Isiah how it affected him despite being “The premier pg in the league along with Magic Johnson”.
Isiah Thomas details the league’s physicality and the sudden gravity shift
The weariness of the league in the 1980s didn’t bother him. Isiah was built differently. He was and is still amongst the craftiest point guards to have played in the NBA. He went toe to toe with Magic Johnson and beat him.
When Ryan asked Isiah about the NBA’s supposed favoritism and rule changes that were designed to help Jordan, he simply smiled. He talked about his fiercest rival with a glimmer in his eye.
Isiah says, “It was great! (Do) y’all want him to win? Y’all changed all the rules so he can win”. He then talks about how the league was a tough place, a battleground of sorts. The physicality of the league is evidenced by examples of Michael cooper scratching Larry Bird’s jersey off, and Kevin McHale slamming down Kurt Rambis.
The legendary Lakers-Celtics rivalry was more about brutalism than actual basketball. And yet, the league decided that Jordan’s dunking should be the focus.
The former Knicks GM talks about how the league favored Michael Jordan
Isiah continues to talk about it, he says the NBA’s mandate was simple, “but he can’t get hit, we gon change all the rules so he can dunk”.
Isiah says MJ’s athleticism became a way for the league to sell itself, and the only way they could highlight it was through a change in rules. And while they were great in their NBA careers, as managers they were horrendous. Isiah, a former Knicks GM, was heavily criticized for his tenure.
And so was Michael, who was the general manager of the Charlotte Hornets. He later went on to buy the team altogether.
On the rule change, he says, “did it make us mad? no, it made me want to beat you more”. And that they did. Isiah leads MJ with a 24-19 record in his career. Edge.
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