As part of his appearance on Monday morning's airing of “Get Up” on ESPN, former Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas apologized to the Detroit community for the perception that was created when he and his teammates walked off the court following their loss to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals.
“The fact that I have to sit here today — and Jalen (Rose), Chris Webber, Steve Smith, who I work with — the hurt that those guys feel for me, having to be in this moment. I apologize to them in Detroit for all of us in this moment,” Thomas said during his appearance.
Isiah Thomas apologizes to Detroit community and stars that came from the region, like Jalen Rose, for the bad perception the #Pistons 1991 walk-off created đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/ld8Pw0xhry
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 27, 2020
It was a moment that would live on through the ages. Isiah and his Pistons were the two-time defending champions, while Michael and the Bulls were on the rise. As Central Division rivals, the two sides knew each other well, which resulted in a fair amount of animosity. Ultimately, the Bulls managed to sweep the 1991 series, ending the “Bad Boy” era in Detroit.
Rather than taking part in a traditional handshake line after Game 4, Thomas and his Pistons walked straight off the court. In fact, several Detroit starters began making their way to the locker room a few seconds before the final horn blew:
Jordan would go on to claim his first championship with the Bulls that season, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers. From there, Chicago would set a course for their first three-peat, topping Clyde Drexler's Portland Trail Blazers in 1992 and the Charles Barkley-Kevin Johnson Phoenix Suns in 1993.
To this day, Michael Jordan is bitter about this Pistons walk-off, something “The Last Dance” clearly highlighted.
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