One of the longest-running NBA feuds is that of Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas, the former rivals with the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons in the late 1980s and 1990s, culminating in Thomas' absence on the 1992 Olympics “Dream Team.” Over the years, Jordan has mostly stayed silent on the issue, while Thomas has had no problem spewing criticism in Jordan's direction, and that continued earlier this week when Thomas appeared on FanDuel's “Run It Back” show.
“You guys are playing with arguably the greatest to ever play, y'all treat him like he ain’t nothing. I’m talking about LeBron… instead of pumping y'all era up, y'all say Michael Jordan is the greatest… LeBron is holding every single record. You looking at Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, but then when you say who’s the greatest, y'all talk about the guy who gave y'all some shoes and some warmups,” said Thomas, per Run It Back on X, formerly Twitter, via Heat Central.
As Thomas referenced, some have wondered how Jordan's marketing and brand iconography might play into his perception as the greatest to ever play the sport, particularly considering that he played in a time when the talent in the league was diluted by the implementation of various expansion teams.
Meanwhile, LeBron James, as Thomas referenced, holds many NBA records, including the most points scored mark, but many have claimed that these are simply longevity stats and not an indication of who was better at their peak. Of course, there is also the fact that Jordan won six rings, to James' four, which has been a major talking point for Jordan supporters over the years.
At this point, few would argue that Curry or Durant are in the same conversation as James or Jordan, but that didn't stop Thomas from throwing them into the conversation.
In any case, it doesn't seem that Thomas will be attempting to bury the hatchet with Jordan anytime soon.
