"He was getting in the way of my championship" - Magic Johnson reveals the reason for his eventual falling out with Isiah Thomas

Magic Johnson, in the wake of his new show "They Call Me Magic," made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and talked about how his friendship with fellow NBA champion Isiah Thomas deteriorated following a minor altercation in the 1988 NBA finals.

Johnson said:

"He was getting in the way of my championship. So, you know, listen Jimmy, you can't get in the way of winning for me because I hurt you, just that way. Sometimes you tried me and I had to remind you, I played in the NBA and you playing wreck ball."

Johnson's relationship with Isiah Thomas worsened after Isiah had supposedly been spreading rumors about Magic's sexuality, as written by Magic Johnson in the book "When The Game Was Ours."

Magic further detailed his experience around his HIV diagnosis, his return to the court in 1996, and how Michael Jordan and the Bulls welcomed him:

"They (The Chicago Bulls) really showed me the difference between a championship team and a playoff team. They were a championship team and we were just a regular team. They played me so hard, they were physical, they pushed me around.

"He (Michael Jordan) met me in between the locker rooms and said 'Earvin, you have to remember now, you not with Kareem, you not with James Worthy, all the guys you used to play with, Showtime, are not on that Laker team anymore. So remember, maybe you should think about retiring'"

Magic Johnson's career in retrospect

Johnson was widely considered to be an anomaly as a 6'9" point guard with an exquisite style of play

Between the glitz and the glamor that the showtime Lakers and Magic Johnson embodied, there was a great basketball career, decorated with every basketball accolade in the book.

Magic's career at Michigan State was marked by two appearances in the NCAA tournament in 1978 and 1979. The 1978 run ended in an early exit after an elite-eight loss to Kentucky. In 1979, Magic Johnson and the Spartans reached the NCAA tournament finals and faced his future NBA rival, Larry Bird of Indiana State.

Like his college resume, his resume in the NBA was second to none. Johnson was a five-time NBA Champion, three-time NBA MVP, twelve-time NBA All-Star and three-time finals MVP.

75th Anniversary Team member... Magic Johnson! #NBA75

5x NBA Champion
3x NBA Finals MVP
12x NBA All-Star
3x NBA MVP

Learn more about Magic here: nba.com/75/player/magi… https://t.co/0N4uD9u6Nn

The duo of Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is considered to be one of the greatest of all-time, and so is Magic's rivalry with Larry Bird. Later in his career, after Johnson was diagnosed with HIV, he took some time off and returned as a coach to the LA Lakers and as a player for them in the 1995-96 NBA season, which was his final in the NBA.