“It’s OK for him to hate the team, but to personalize it…” – When Isiah Thomas fired back at MJ for saying he still hates the Pistons to this day originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The Chicago Bulls couldn’t get past the Detroit Pistons in the late ’80s and early ’90s as Michael Jordan’s high-flying brilliance met a wall of elbows, grit and cold-blooded execution. The Pistons reigned as the league’s most intimidating roadblock, a dynasty built on bruises, precision and a strict code of competition.
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Led by Isiah Thomas, Detroit’s Bad Boys won back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and 1990 and they did it by running through legends and forming rivalries along the way.
Some died off the court, others lived on.
Jordan’s hate
When Jordan said, even in “The Last Dance,” that he still “hates” the Pistons, the words came sharp as that sentiment still lingers. But Thomas, now older, calm and far removed from the hardwood, hasn’t forgotten either. But he doesn’t see the need for that.
“It’s OK for [Jordan] to hate the team,” Thomas said. “But to personalize it in terms of individuals, then that’s different. The rivalry was the rivalry and in teams, they don’t like each other when they’re playing. But that’s on the floor — that’s not off the floor.”
Thomas didn’t just lead Detroit; he embodied it. A 6-foot-1 general with a magician’s handle and a boxer’s toughness, Thomas steered the Pistons to three straight NBA Finals appearances. He averaged 19.2 points and 9.3 assists per game over his 13-year career, all with Detroit and carved his place in history by playing through injuries, controlling pace and dissecting defenses with ruthless intelligence.
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But the beef with Jordan never stayed between the lines. It deepened in 1991 when the Pistons, on their way out of power, walked off the court without shaking hands after being swept by the Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals. Jordan saw it as a show of disrespect. Thomas, on the other hand, saw it as tradition, a reaction rooted in precedent and rivalry.
Their cold war has outlived their playing days, spilling into commentary booths, Hall of Fame ceremonies and social documentaries. In The Last Dance, Jordan made it clear he still holds a grudge, not just against the team, but toward Thomas himself. That feeling, the Pistons legend seems to believe, misses the point.
Playing through rivalry
Jordan, the face of the NBA’s golden age, once needed to go through Detroit to become who he eventually became. From 1988 to 1990, the Pistons beat the Bulls three straight times in the playoffs.
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Chicago was tough, but Detroit was meaner, more experienced and expertly coached by Chuck Daly.
The Jordan Rules were notorious for a reason — hit him, trap him, wear him down. But according to Thomas, all of it was part of the game.
“We competed hard against the Chicago Bulls,” Thomas said. “But by the way, we competed hard against the Celtics, the Lakers and the 76ers. So competition in sport is good. When people compete, strategize and everything, that’s what we love. But it stays in between those four lines.”
Thomas isn’t asking for an apology. He’s offering perspective. In his eyes, the Pistons’ job was to win by any means within the rules. Their defense was physical but legal. Their schemes were intelligent, not malicious. And when they succeeded, they did so against arguably the toughest lineup of future Hall of Famers the league has ever known.
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He doesn’t deny the physicality of the era. Detroit was the bouncer at the door of the Finals and few were let in. But Thomas remains adamant that everything that happened, fouls, elbows, the famous walk-off — belonged to the game. Outside those boundaries, he believes respect should prevail.
What makes this friction between Thomas and Jordan so enduring is the cultural legacy they’ve each come to represent. Jordan is the icon, the marketer’s dream, the man who turned the NBA global.
Thomas is the tactician, the overlooked genius, the captain of the last team that made Jordan bleed. The tension was philosophical.
Both men are Hall of Famers, both ranked among the 50 greatest players in NBA history and both have had fingerprints on the league’s DNA.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.