Isiah Thomas ranks Michael Jordan as fifth toughest player to face: ‘I was dominant over him’

One of the most intriguing rivalries in NBA history is the again In progress. Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan made it clear that they didn’t love each other during their playing days in the 1980s and 1990s, and even all those years later, they still don’t care about each other. Now Thomas is adding more fuel to the fire.

In an appearance on the latest episode of Shannon Sharpe’s podcast “Club Shay Shay,” Thomas ranked the five toughest players he has played against in his career. He ranked Jordan at No.5, behind Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird and Julius Erving.

But it is not only the ranking that can be seen as a shadow. Thomas added that he believed he was “dominant” against MJ.

“Right face to face, I was dominant over him,” Thomas told Sharpe. “Until ’91, when I had wrist surgery which ended my career, until then my record against him and his team – it really wasn’t a competition there.”

The Pistons were one of the best teams in the league in the 1980s, as they were in the Eastern Conference Finals for five consecutive seasons from 1987-91.

During the 1989 and 1990 seasons, the Pistons got the better of the Bulls and won both of their games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Finals in each of those two seasons to win back-to-back NBA titles.

However, the Bulls ultimately defeated the Pistons in 1991 to reach the NBA Finals. Jordan and the Bulls would win three consecutive NBA titles from 1991 to 1993.

“It just wasn’t my competition,” explained Thomas. “My goal was Bird, Magic, Dr. J [Julius Erving], Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It was the guys. I don’t care what anyone says. You can go back and watch the story – those were the guys. “

Jordan has been fairly open about his disdain for Thomas and Detroit, admitting that he “hated” the Pistons during ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary series that aired earlier this year. Jordan called Thomas an “asshole” at one point in the documentary.

It’s clear at this point that bad blood never goes away.