Isiah Thomas: 'Until I get an apology, my beef with Jordan will go on for a long time' / News - Basketnews.com

Isiah Thomas confirmed there's bad blood between him and Michael Jordan, especially after he saw the 'Last Dance' episode where MJ was calling him an asshole.

Credit: NBA Credit NBA

Dating back to the 1980s, Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas do not like each other. That remains the same today.

Isiah Thomas

Position:PGAge:61Height:187 cmWeight:83 kgBirth place:United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

In the 1980s, the two stars led their teams in some heated playoff battles. For the most part, Isiah got the better of Jordan, as he had the better teams for most of the rivalry.

They met in the Eastern Conference Finals three consecutive years from 1989-91, with the Pistons winning the first two until Chicago finally broke through in 1991.

The Bulls went on to win six titles in eight seasons from 1991 to '98. The Pistons didn't win another playoff series after that loss to the Bulls until the 2002 postseason.

In 1991, Jordan's Bulls swept the Pistons and Thomas led a team walk-off before the final buzzer. Thomas said during one episode that Bill Laimbeer directed the Pistons not to shake the Bulls' hands after Chicago swept them during the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals.

The relationship's notoriety took off during Jordan's ESPN documentary, "The Last Dance," in which Jordan and Thomas debated about Thomas's inability to join the 1992 Olympic "Dream Team" that won a gold medal.

While talking during the Abhi Dabi NBA games to COSMOTE TV, Isiah Thomas spoke about how he felt when he watched Jordan refer to him as an "asshole." The Pistons legend said he was ready to bury the hatchet, but MJ's words rekindled the passions

"When I was watching the 'Last dance', I'm seating there and I'm watching it with my family, thinking everything is good," Thomas recalled.

"And then this guy comes on television and he says that he hates me and then he calls me an asshole. And then I proceed to watch a whole documentary about him being an asshole. I'm like, 'Wait a minute, time out.'

Until I get a public apology, this beef is going to go on for a long time, cause I'm from the west side of Chicago," the retired player argued.

Isiah Thomas also reflected on his chance to play overseas in 1994.

"I got two offers, from Greece and Italy, to go overseas and play," he revealed.

"That was kind of my goal and my dream once I was going to retire in the NBA, to make my world tour. I wanted to play with an international team, so that I could have the experience; also for fans, who were abroad, to get the chance to see me play," he further explained.

"That didn't happen because I ended up becoming owner of the Toronto Raptors, and starting the franchise in Canada. But had I not done that, I probably would have played a couple more years internationally."

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