Rivalries among players are nothing new to the NBA as its history is filled with such stories that went too far beyond the court and survived many years inside the heart and souls of the basketball stars. The feud between Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan is one such case and it is unlikely to end soon.
Both of these stars attained media attention over the years for their ongoing contention. So, let’s find out more of the story exploring how the feud started and eventually got so intense.
How the contention between Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan started?
Everything started in the All-Star game of 1985 when Jordan and Thomas came face to face in a battle where only the stronger will chase the trophy. In the match, Jordan accused the Pistons player to freeze him out during the game and this is what ignited a fire in the Bulls player’s heart.
Although, Thomas denied such a claim made by MJ and declared the accusations to be nothing more than pure fabrication. This is how the rivalry got its beginning which only grew more intense with time.
"Isiah Thomas wasn’t hated by just Michael Jordan, he was hated by Larry Bird, Magic and just about everybody on that Dream Team." –@PatMcAfeeShow #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/Jdnzh9ONUS
— Pat McAfee Show Quotes (@PatMcAfeequotes) May 4, 2020
One of the few things that the GOAT hated most is to lose a single game and history bears evidence of Isiah being the opponent against whom the legend lost most games. Michael Jordan also has the record of losing three years in a row to Thomas which added more fuel to the fire.
To make the existing contention worse, there came the 1992 Olympics. The Dream Team which would represent America in the game was under the influence of Jordan who was accused of not opening the door for Thomas despite his potential at that time.
So, this is how year after year the feud got more intense and players grew hatred for each other in their hearts. Although it’s been a long since their playing period ended, they are still bearing the brunt of a broken relationship.
