Isiah Thomas 'disagrees' with idea of Bulls winning nothing without Michael Jordan, says Pippen & Kukoc could have won titles
Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan have a sour relationship, dating back to the playoff battles between the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls in the late '80s and early '90s.
Isiah Thomas indicated he thinks the Bulls could have won titles without Jordan on X, praising Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc. Thomas responded to a comment that stated, "Without Michael Jordan, the Bulls have zero titles in their history."
"I disagree," Thomas argued. "[Scottie Pippen] and [Toni Kukoc] were good enough at that time to win one, maybe two. Definitely not 6."
The rivalry started with the 'Jordan Rules,' a method to keep Michael Jordan contained with dirty plays and hard fouls so that Thomas' Pistons could get past Jordan's Bulls in the 1989-90 playoffs and it worked, for a brief period.
The rivalry evolved when Thomas was famously left off the 1992 Dream Team, with the Pistons guard believing Jordan was the reason for him being left off the roster.
Years later, the rivalry reignited with Thomas appearing on "The Last Dance," a docu-series detailing Chicago's timeline with Jordan, with Jordan taking issue with Thomas' Pistons leaving the court instead of shaking hands at the end of Chicago's series sweep over Detroit.
Thomas appears to be holding onto his end of the long-time rivalry, but did pay Jordan some praise with his final remark of, "Definitely not 6."
Making Isiah Thomas' case for the Jordan-less Bulls' title hopes
While Jordan's greatness is undeniable, the trio of Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc and Horace Grant managed to lead the Bulls to a 55-27 record while Jordan tried his hands at professional baseball.
Sure, they didn't lead the Bulls to three-straight NBA championships, but they took a loaded New York Knicks team to seven games.
Without Jordan, Pippen managed an MVP-caliber season, averaging 22.0 points, 5.6 assists, 8.7 rebounds and 2.9 steals in 72 games. Pippen finished the season third in MVP voting, fourth in DPOY voting and earned All-NBA first-team and All-Defensive first-team honors.
Horace Grant proved to be a capable sidekick to Pippen, posting 15.1 points and 11.0 rebounds, while, then rookie Toni Kukoc showed flashes as a point forward, averaging 10.9 points, 3.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds.
With Phil Jackson still leading the way, there is room to believe in Thomas' opinion that the Bulls could have managed a title run or two in Jordan's absence.