After snubbing the Bulls and Michael Jordan in 1991, the Isaiah Thomas Pistons got into a lot of trouble. The former leader returned to this episode.
In 1991, when the Bulls finally managed to beat the Pistons in the playoffs after three years of failure, Isiah Thomas’ teammates took it pretty badly. Following their elimination, the players went straight to the locker room, without greeting Michael Jordan.
In episodes 3 and 4 of The Last Dance, the documentary returned to this episode. Thomas tried to justify himself, enough to irritate Jordan, who launched an insult in the process.
Via ESPN, Zeke returned a little more in depth to the incident:
We were downhill, and Michael Jordan was going the other way. When it’s like that, you feel certain emotions. When you fall as champions, you have certain emotions … Come to think of it, after all these years, if we had the opportunity to start all over again, I think we would all make a different decision.
Read also | Isiah Thomas relaunches hostilities with Michael Jordan!
I paid a high price with this decision. I understand that this is the world of sport and all that, but at the same time, when we look at what we felt at that time, our emotional state and the way we left the floor, we have given the world the opportunity to see us in a way that we never wanted to be seen or portrayed.
It is unfortunate that this has happened.
Did this episode have an impact on the Dream Team? Thomas does not hope:
I think I should have been part of the Dream Team. Unfortunately, this was not the case. It hurts me, and if I wasn’t part of this team because I didn’t shake someone’s hand, if that’s it, then I would be even more disappointed today than when I was not chosen.
Many regrets for Isiah Thomas, who would no doubt have liked to manage the matter differently. One can appreciate his honesty.
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