Editor’s note: This is part of an extended Q&A with Isiah Thomas that will run in Sunday’s online edition.
It’s been almost three years since the airing of “The Last Dance,” ESPN’s 10-part documentary retrospective on Michael Jordan’s career, and more than 30 years since the “Bad Boys” Pistons had their memorable series with the Chicago Bulls, preceding Jordan’s championship era in the 1990s.
That rivalry was punctuated by Isiah Thomas and several Pistons walking off the court and not shaking the Bulls’ hands after being swept in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals.
One of the lasting takeaways of the documentary was Jordan’s commentary on the Pistons, especially his disdain for Thomas, who also was interviewed for the series. When Jordan was shown some comments that Thomas had made about the walk-off, Jordan already had his mind made up about how he felt.
“I know it’s all b——-. Whatever he says now, you know it wasn’t his true actions then. It’s time enough to think about it, or the reaction of the public has kind of changed his perspective of it,” Jordan said in the documentary. “You can show me (any video) you want. There’s no way you can convince me he wasn’t an a——.”
So much time has passed, but that hasn’t meant that those old feelings go away easily.
Jordan’s sentiments caught Thomas off-guard then, especially since Thomas did an extensive interview for the documentary. Thomas, who spoke to The Detroit News this week for an extended interview, said he was surprised at what he saw in the final product.
“I talked for two hours to their producers, and I still have all the emails and everything else, from his producer, from Jordan and everybody else. So, when we sat down and watch ‘The Last Dance’ during COVID, we were all pretty excited to see it,” Thomas said. “When he came on and called me an a——, and then said he hated me, we were all shocked.
“So, his portrayal, not only of the Pistons, but his portrayal of (former Bulls general manager) Jerry Krause, his portrayal of his teammates — which, a lot of them called me, and I’m friendly with some of them still today — it was kind of like he just went off on everybody. Nobody ever got on TV and said they hated me and called me an a——, especially after my family and your family have been socializing for years.”
Thomas said he and Jordan had had a better relationship after their playing days, so the comments in “The Last Dance” were surprising.
“I went out to dinner with (Jordan) several times — me, him and Ahmad (Rashad) — when I was working at NBC,” Thomas said.
“Yeah, again, his producer and him calling me and asking me to be in it. That’s what’s got me (confused). And now, everybody’s quiet and kind of running away, (as if) this is how it’s always been. And I’m like, ‘No.’ Now, if it was (like that), I didn’t know, and I guess a lot of things came out in ‘The Last Dance.’
“I always took people at their word. He said he had nothing to do with me not making the Dream Team. OK, fine. I moved on. You’ve never heard me say anything bad about him or nobody. I still haven’t said anything bad about him.”
For his part, Thomas is leaving the ball in Jordan’s court to try to remedy the situation.
“I’m just saying, people can start asking him these questions. I’m the one that gets asked these questions in these interviews. By the way, I’m just as confused and blindsided as everybody else was,” Thomas said. “Yeah, he’s sent friends and people to say, ‘Hey, I didn’t mean it, and it came out the wrong way.’ OK, well, then clean it up. But, he’s letting this stuff linger out here.”
Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard