ICYMI: "Ain't shaking no hands!" - Mic'd up Isiah Thomas banters with Tyrese Maxey, brings back memories from skipping handshake with Michael Jordan
Former NBA champion guard Isiah Thomas hilariously brought back memories of the Pistons' controversial decision to avoid handshakes with Michael Jordan's Bulls during the 1991 playoffs at the 2022 All-Star weekend.
The former Pistons guard was one of the four coaches at the Rising Stars Challenge and guided his team to the championship round. Thomas' team, led by the likes of Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton, beat James Worthy's side 50-49 but fell short against Rick Barry's team in the final round, losing the tie 20-25.
Following the win over Worthy's squad, Isiah Thomas hilariously refused to shake Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey's hands while saying:
"Ain't shaking your hand"
The duo eventually proceeded to shake hands, but Maxey made sure to bring up the infamous handshake snub Thomas and the 'Bad Boy' Pistons were involved in against Michael Jordan's Bulls.
"This ain't 1988"
Maxey got the year wrong, but the NBA world understood the reference quite easily. Here's a video of this epic moment (via Rob Perez):
perfect. https://t.co/pUsqk7ISzp
Revisiting the handshake row between Isiah Thomas Detroit Pistons and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls
![Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan in action [Source The Undefeated]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/02/bd919-16452782232165-1920.jpg)
Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan's rivalry has been one of the most talked-about stories in the NBA for a long time. The two dominated the Eastern Conference for several years. Thomas' Detroit Pistons and Jordan's Bulls squared off against each other in four straight playoff campaigns, with the former holding a 3-1 advantage during that stretch.
On this day, 1989: The Bad Boys had business on their minds as they looked to eliminate the Bulls. An exhausted, frustrated Michael Jordan scored 32, but just 2 of those came in the last 10 minutes.
Isiah Thomas scored 17 of his 33 in the 4th quarter to close it out: https://t.co/zmkFXf6xvj
The Pistons played with a great amount of physical contact, which led to plenty of altercations between the teams during those years. After being dominated by Detroit for three years in a row, Michael Jordan and Co. were determined to win their first NBA title and came up big during the 1991 playoffs.
The Bulls claimed a 4-0 series win over defending champs Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons in the Conference Finals. That win bolstered Jordan and his crew's journey as one of the most successful teams in the NBA during that period.
The Pistons weren't too impressed with how things went down later during that series, though. That led to their decision not to shake hands with the team that had just beaten them 4-0 in a playoff series to advance to the Conference Finals. Michael Jordan's side weren't impressed with the Pistons' physical style of play and made their opinions clear by the end of Game 3 of that series.
Here's what Isiah Thomas said regarding the handshake snub following the Game 4 loss in an interview in 2013 (via Sports Illustrated):
"We thought we deserved a little bit of respect as a champion," Thomas said. "Everyone could play and act like the Pistons and adopt our philosophy, except the Pistons."
He continued:
"Before the Bulls swept us, I remember clearly Jordan and Phil Jackson and everyone, they went on a day, day-and-a-half tirade about how we were bad for the game, about how we were bad people, about how [Bill] Laimbeer was a thug. They were up 3-0, and then they had this press conference just totally disrespecting us as champions."
Thomas wasn't shy about admitting that his team could have taken the high road, though, and avoided walking off the court without shaking hands with their opponents.