NBA News Update: "He just wasn't my competition," Isiah Thomas refuses to acknowledge Michael Jordan as his greatest rival
In an interesting NBA News Update, Isiah Thomas is back to ruffle some feathers with new comments about his infamous rivalry with Michael Jordan. The former Detroit Pistons star went on NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe's podcast Club Shay Shay to discuss his thoughts about his matchups with Michael Jordan prior to 1991.
NBA News Update: "Head-to-head, I was dominant over Jordan," says Isiah Thomas
If fans were thinking that the Last Dance on ESPN was the end of Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan's rivalry, they are sadly mistaken.
There seems to be no love lost between the two even after all these years, and Thomas did not mince any words when he spoke about Michael Jordan with Shannon Sharpe.
"He just wasn't my competition...My focus was Bird, Magic, Dr.J, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Those were the guys...I don't care what anybody say you can go back and look at history. Those were the guys." - Isiah Thomas
NBA News Update: Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas' competitive history
Most NBA fans see Michael Jordan and think of his six NBA championships as a sign of his dominance.
However, Jordan's career didn't start off that way; his career record against Isiah Thomas - 29-36 overall (10-12 in the playoffs) - is an underwhelming one. In the 80s, Thomas utterly dominated the young Michael Jordan until the superstar led the Bulls to their first NBA championship in 1991.
Thomas wasn't done with his comments on the Club Shay Shay podcast. When asked about the five toughest players he ever faced, Thomas provided another controversial response:
Isaiah Thomas: "Again, you can just go by the winning records. Magic, Kareem, Bird, DR. J, and then I would say Jordan."
Even Sharpe took a minute to process the comment, but in terms of the primes of Thomas and Michael Jordan's careers, it does make sense.
Jordan wasn't dominant until the 90s while Magic and Jabbar's LA Lakers and Bird's Boston Celtics dominated the league.