“Dr. J, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Sidney Moncrief and I did not freeze you out” - Isiah Thomas tells Michael Jordan to "stop lying" about the origins of their beef, says his version is not factual or accurate
The beef between Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas goes all the way back to the 1980s, when Thomas was one of the league's premier point guards. At the time, Thomas was winning back-to-back championships with the Detroit Pistons. Jordan was an NBA newcomer, trying to take the talent-thin Chicago Bulls to the promised land.
A story recently surfaced about Thomas and Jordan's feud on Inquistr, which detailed the reasons behind their beef. It cites an interview Jordan did with Playboy magazine in which he stated his reasons for the growing animosity between the two.
Jordan described an incident where Thomas accused him of being arrogant and cocky, whereas he claimed he was trying to be polite. Jordan told Playboy:
"I got on an elevator with Isiah Thomas to go downstairs for a league meeting. That was the first time I met him. And I said, 'Hello, how ya doin’?' That’s all I said. I was really intimidated, because I didn’t know him and I didn’t want to get on his nerves. I didn’t want to seem like a rookie.
"After the weekend was over, it got back to me that I was arrogant and cocky and I wouldn’t even speak to Isiah on the elevator" (via) Inquistr
Thomas replied to Jordan's comments on Twitter.
Stop lying this story is not factual or accurate, tell the truth man. Dr.J, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Sidney Moncrief and I did not freeze you out. If memory serves me correct I was injured most of the second half and Bird had a broken nose. Magic and Sampson dominated the game. twitter.com/theinquisitr/s…
Thomas and the Pistons defeated Jordan and the Bulls in back-to-back Eastern Conference finals in 1989 and 1990. They won the NBA championship in both years.
Michael Jordan's rise to stardom wasn't sudden or easy
Unlike LeBron James, who almost instantly rose to fame, Jordan had to face a gauntlet of NBA legends. Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and many others ruled the NBA in the '80s, and Jordan didn't get his way until 1991.
Jordan was drafted in 1984, and until 1991, couldn't get the Bulls to the NBA Finals. Jordan had already accumulated a Hall of Fame career by the time he reached the NBA Finals. By then, he had an MVP trophy, multiple All-Star and All-NBA selections and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Michael Jordan with the triple clutch lay-up! (1991) https://t.co/DLF2IOJtXJ
The future Hall of Famer broke through to the NBA Finals after sweeping the Pistons in the ECF in 1991. The Chicago Bulls won the 1991 NBA Finals and weren't dethroned for the majority of the 1990s.