Isiah Thomas Reveals Boycotting $7.3 Billion Brand Over Michael Jordan Beef

Isiah Thomas opened up about his beef with Michael Jordan that has spanned for over three decades and why it has still not ended.

Isiah Thomas Reveals Boycotting $7.3 Billion Brand Over Michael Jordan Beef

Michael Jordan (Left) and Isiah Thomas (Right) (Image credits - Firstsportz)

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It is no secret that Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan have had a long-standing beef spanning over multiple decades now. At first, it was believed that the animosity existed due to their rivalry on the court. The rivalry between the Detroit Pistons, led by Thomas, and the Chicago Bulls, led by Jordan, was there for everyone to see.

The Pistons’ “Jordan rules” was an infamous defensive strategy used to stop Michael Jordan and physically wear him down. It was a strategy that proved to be effective as the Pistons beat the Bulls for three straight years. Isiah Thomas and his men proved to be a roadblock for Jordan from 1988-90. But in 1991, Jordan being the competitor that he is finally overcame the Pistons and swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals.

But what added fuel to their rivalry and pushed their animosity beyond the basketball court was Pistons’ abrupt walk-off without shaking hands after being swept by the Bulls in 1991. That was when the rift between the two legends turned personal as they have never seen eye-to-eye since.

Several reports even claim that Jordan opposed the inclusion of Thomas on the 1992 Dream Team, which included stars such as Magic Johnson,  Larry Bird, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing and more. It has been over three decades but it does not look like their beef is going to end anytime soon.

Speaking on the New Era Detroit podcast, Thomas shared about his beef with the six-time NBA Champion.

Some of the Jordan stuff is fly but I can’t mess with them. I can’t hate on them, they look nice but if I walked in here with some Jordans, you’d be like ‘What’s going on man?’

While several NBA stars today have their own brands and customized sneakers, none of them have been able to compete against the ‘Air Jordans’. The Jordan brand has won hearts all over the world for its quality and value.

Isiah Thomas expects a public apology from Michael Jordan

Thomas has been involved in broadcasting and providing analysis for the NBA, while Jordan has more or less avoided the public eye. But this offseason, Jordan is in NBC’s NBA coverage as a special contributor. It was a surprising decision to many but Jordan revealed that this was his way to give back to the game by helping the next generation of players.

Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas
Michael Jordan (Left) and Isiah Thomas (Right) (Image credits – UPROXX)

The two stars may be at peace with the distance and have gone on with their lives just fine but it does seem that there are a lot of misunderstandings and unresolved issues between them.

In fact, Thomas revealed on the podcast that he was not even aware that Jordan hated him till he watched his documentary “The Last Dance”.

Me and my family, while he was in Chicago, we were extremely nice to him, just as brothers. His family hung out with my family sometimes. He asked me, could I come do his video (for The Last Dance), and said, I can’t tell my story without you. You’ve been so influential, inspirational with me and so on. His producer sending me emails. So it’s COVID and everybody’s sitting at home, and he comes out and says, I hate Isaiah Thomas. That stuck, man.

Thomas went on to finally add, leaving the door open.

I’ve always said it every time somebody asks me: if you didn’t mean it, and you said it to the world publicly, then apologize publicly.

It does not look the two legends are ready to bury their beef as of yet. But the NBA world will be hoping that whatever misunderstanding exists between them will be sorted out eventually.

Isiah Thomas revolutionized the point-guard position like Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry is often credited for revolutionizing the game of basketball for his three-point shooting. Being a point-guard, it could be said that the Golden State Warriors star has revolutionized the guard position. The modern-day NBA heavily revolves around three-point shooting and perimeter defence.

Just like Curry, Thomas has played a role in revolutionizing the point-guard position as well in the 1980s. Back in those days, the point guard was viewed as a floor general. The role involved more ball-handling duties and playmaking. But Thomas believes he pioneered the era of scoring for point-guards. He said:

Steph is listed as the point guard, and you say, the evolution of the point guard position is now a scoring point guard, and I would look at myself as being the seed and the root in the tree that birthed all the scoring point guards today. What we were able to do in Detroit is allowing a young point guard to be your leading scorer, to handle the basketball, to create, dictate shot selection for your team. And everything evolved after that.

Thomas does make a strong case, as he led the Pistons in both points and assists during their back-to-back championship runs in 1989 and 1990.

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