Michael Jordan calling Isiah Thomas an a**hole in The Last Dance reopened old wounds and renewed a bitter feud between them.
Weeks after that controversial episode, Thomas appeared on the Speak for Yourself show on FS1 and declared that Jordan was never his competition. His comments led to an avalanche of criticism from MJ's legions of supporters, but the Detroit Pistons' legend was not deterred.
In fact, he doubled down on his take during an episode of Shannon Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast.
"You know, just head-to-head, I was dominant over him," he said. "When our teams met, you go back, and you look at until 1991 when I basically had career-ending wrist surgery; right up until then, my record against him and his team, it wasn't, it really wasn't a competition."
Isiah vs. MJ
Thomas and Jordan faced each other in 65 NBA games. Isiah posted a 36-29 record against Mike during the regular season and 24-19 during the playoffs. These included games played through the 1992-93 campaign, the last time both were in the NBA simultaneously.
Individually, the two were at their best when matched up against each other, putting up career-average-exceeding numbers. Jordan averaged 31.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.7 assists, while Zeke put up 20.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per contest.
Thomas suffered a wrist injury in January 1991, which he claims changed the trajectory of his NBA career. Before that injury, Zeke said he had been dominant against Jordan. His team, however, undoubtedly was, with the Pistons eliminating the Bulls in three straight playoffs.
The two played 15 times after Thomas' return to action, including the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, where MJ's Bulls swept Thomas' Pistons. Overall, Chicago went 12-3 against Detroit during that span. After deducting these games from their overall head-to-head record, Isiah was 21-11 during the regular season and 12-6 in the playoffs against Michael Jordan. That's 33-17 overall or a 66.6 percent winning percentage.
Jordan wasn't Thomas' rival
The legendary point guard also pointed out that MJ did not win his first championship until 1990. So, when Thomas and his Pistons were on the rise in the late 1980s, they were primarily after the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. From 1980 to 1988, the Lakers, Celtics, and Philadelphia 76ers were the only teams that won the NBA title.
"He just wasn't my competition," Thomas added. "My focus was Bird, Magic, Dr.J, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Those were the guys. I don't care what anybody says. You go back and look at history; those were the guys. Dr. J, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Kareem, Magic, James. Those were the guys."
What makes the Thomas-Jordan rivalry even more interesting is that the Bulls' ascent coincided with the year that Thomas got hurt. Zeke claimed they would have beaten Mike in 1991 if he had stayed healthy. Jordan would undoubtedly disagree with that take.
Related: When Isiah Thomas ranked Michael Jordan as his 4th best rival: "When you put Jordan and his team in the '80s, they weren't a very successful"