Isiah Thomas Claims His Life Story Was Stolen to Make Michael Jordan Look Like a Hero in Last Dance: “Jordan Didn’t Go Through Magic, Kareem and Bird”

Published 03/11/2022, 3:30 PM EST

A rivalry comprises competitiveness, aggression, passion, fighting spirit, and bad blood. We love to see two teams or two players go head to head with very little to differentiate between them. The rivalry between Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan was a rivalry that had it all. It was never a dull game between their two teams. Their rivalry was often filled with intensity, close scores, and trash talk. And on to top it all off, quality performances from everyone involved.

The Bad Boys Detroit Pistons and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, the two teams made the games look like child’s play. Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan were unstoppable in their day. Thomas was often selfless and was a key figure in the team’s 2 consecutive championships. His game included making his team play well and contributing to the wins with his creativity, movement, and passing.

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On the other hand, Jordan was utterly dominant. Although he had the support of Scottie Pippen, he carried his team with great aplomb. MJ and Scottie in their partnership won 2 three-peats in a decade.

Isiah Thomas vs Michael Jordan is an endless rivalry!

Recently on the “Point Forward” podcast with Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner, Isiah revisited his rivalry and had more salty remarks about Michael Jordan. He was particularly pissed about the narrative shown on the Netflix docu-series, and how Jordan had to play through the best talents in the NBA.

“So this whole narrative about, ‘Jordan went through [Larry] Bird, he went through Magic [Johnson], he went through Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar].’ Nooooo. Timeout. That’s my story! That ain’t Jordan’s story,” Thomas said on the podcast.

“Jordan didn’t go through Magic, Kareem, Bird if I remember correctly. Jordan beat, he beat us [the Bad Boys Detroit Pistons] in ’91 at the end, and then he beat [Charles] Barkley, Shawn Kemp, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing. These were the people he beat. He didn’t beat Magic, Bird, and Kareem. But y’all been sold this story, ‘Oh, he was in the ’80s getting down.’ No, no, no, no, no.”

To be completely fair, the statements made by ‘IT’ weren’t exactly true. Jordan beat Magic in the 1991 finals. Michael Jordan’s Bulls also won 3 times in 8 games against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. MJ never won against Larry Bird, but he still had convincing performances against him.

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It is simply the case of him not being able to stand the name, Michael Jordan. However, he is not the only one who maintains this relationship. MJ also returns the favor with the “friendly” treatment whenever he gets the chance.

WATCH: Michael Jordan Visibly Still Sour About His 30 Year Rivalry With Isiah Thomas; Duo Seen Purposely Avoiding Each Other at NBA All-Star Game

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Thomas often says that he never considered MJ as his competition, but we all know this wasn’t the case. For both of them, being better than the other was a matter of accomplishment, probably more for Jordan than for Thomas. But one thing Isiah clearly had issues and problems with was the way MJ’s life story was depicted in the 2020s “The Last Dance”.

The rivalry between Thomas and Jordan truly transcends time. 30 years’ worth of bad blood and they both still go at it with the same passion and spirit of competitiveness.

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Chaitanya is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his engineering from SRM University. Having determined an interest in football and basketball, he was inclined towards having a job in the sports industry.

Isiah Thomas Claims His Life Story Was Stolen to Make Michael Jordan Look Like a Hero in Last Dance: “Jordan Didn’t Go Through Magic, Kareem and Bird”

Isiah Thomas vs Michael Jordan is an endless rivalry!

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