The intense rivalry between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons reached its zenith in the late 1980s. One of the driving forces behind the heightened excitement was the ongoing feud between Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas. Both Jordan and Thomas are revered as two of the greatest guards in NBA history, yet their mutual animosity prevented them from acknowledging each other’s greatness. This lack of recognition was exemplified when Thomas, during the 2017 NBA Finals, controversially chose LeBron James over Jordan, who has since amassed a net worth of $2 billion. This incident served as a stark reminder of the ongoing tension between the two basketball legends.
During the 2023 NBA Finals broadcast, Thomas kept his pride aside and stated that a team-up with MJ would result in the duo winning 8-9 Championships. Despite claiming he would win so many titles with the Bulls legend, “Zeke” once revealed preferring James over Jordan.
Isiah Thomas picks LeBron James over Michael Jordan but calls Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the GOAT
Isiah Thomas was invited to the panel of UNDISPUTED following Game 1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers-Golden State Warriors 2017 Finals series. Discussing Stephen Curry and co.’s 113-91 win over the Cavaliers, Skip Bayless, at one point, asked The Baby-Faced Assassin whether he believed LeBron was better than MJ or not. The Pistons legend picked the King without hesitating or giving it a second thought.
“I would pick LeBron James (over Michael Jordan).”
For many analysts and enthusiasts, LeBron and Michael are two of the frontrunners for the famous GOAT title. Even though IT did select LBJ from the two, he made it pretty clear that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was his pick for the GOAT debate.
“If I gotta get 40 points or 50 points then yeah, I’m taking Michael Jordan or Kobe. But the greatest player to ever play this game is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and we are dismissive of Kareem because every single stat that you throw up, he’s at the top.”
At this stage in his career, Bron had only won 3 Championships and wasn’t a threat to Michael Jordan for the GOAT debate. Irrespective of what he says, Thomas was biased when he selected LBJ over ‘His Airness’.
Jordan wanted to overcome the Pistons’ dominance
From 1988-1990, the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls faced off in consecutive postseason appearances. Despite Air Jordan playing some excellent basketball, the Thomas-led ‘Bad Boys Pistons’ would emerge victorious.
The continuous losses made Jordan “hell-bent” on defeating the Pistons. Scott Williams, a rookie when the Bulls first defeated the Detroit side in the playoff, revealed how motivated The Black Cat was to put an end to the Pistons’ dominance. Took a look at Williams’ podcast appearance in ClutchPoints’ tweet.
“The MJ that I knew in training camp that year was hell-bent on getting past the Pistons. That’s all they talked about… He was a smolder and beast and we practiced long and hard.”
