On 1985 All-Star Weekend, Isaiah Thomas took the elevator to a players' meeting, his fourth consecutive All-Star selection since his rookie season, and he had just won the All-Star MVP the previous year.
At this moment, a thin figure walked into the elevator, with several gold necklaces shining around his neck, a pearlescent treasure, and it was Jordan, a rookie with both popularity and strength.
They had played each other three times before, with Thomas averaging 26.7 points and 10.7 assists per game to give a record advantage of 2 wins and 1 loss, while Jordan averaged just 24.3 points per game.
Why did Thomas fight bulls so hard? Because Jordan was so "lucky" that he signed a five-year, $2.5 million sneaker contract with an unknown company called Nike without a game, and the whole league was shaken, and The highest price of sneaker contracts at that time, Abdul-Jabbar, was only $100,000 a year.
Everyone couldn't figure it out, and Thomas was no exception, only envy and jealousy, but these emotions never appeared on his face, he was a "smile assassin", he was calm, waiting for the rising star to greet him respectfully.
But Thomas was stunned, he could not imagine that this rookie was so arrogant, did not understand the rules, actually did not take him seriously, he showed a trademark smile, thinking about how to teach this boy who had just entered the jianghu a lesson.
When the opportunity came, Jordan wore An Air Jordan costume at the dunk contest, wearing gold and silver, like an upstart, which attracted the disgust of many stars. Thomas seized the opportunity to bring in many leagues and plotted to give Jordan a big gift at the regular game.
On offense, Thomas didn't give Jordan a pass until he had to; on defense, Magic Johnson and Iceman couldn't stop punching Jordan and making him uncomfortable.
In the end, Jordan scored only 7 points of 9, which is the end?
Isn't it forbidden to kill people!
At the airport after the game, Thomas was laughing with the leagues, and his agent was telling reporters, "The boy's arrogance made the players very unhappy, so they planned to teach him a lesson, and now they are laughing at this matter, and Gervin is still asking Thomas: Do you think we have taught him enough?" ”
When the news came out, Jordan suddenly realized that he was extremely ashamed and indignant, "I would like to find a hole to drill into and never come out again." ”
That's it?
Far from it, the first day after the All-Star game was the Pistons vs. Bulls!
When asked by a reporter before the game, Thomas was furious and denied, "There is no such thing, this kind of reporting will affect the potential friendship between Jordan and me!" ”
So Thomas texted Jordan, "We've got to talk." ”
They met, and Thomas put on an iconic smile, "Hey, I should have given you more passes, and now they're saying I deliberately didn't pass you." ”
Jordan responded casually, scornfully, "This guy is putting on a show again." ”
In this way, the game began, and when a Bulls attacked quickly, Thomas desperately tried to defend himself, only to see Jordan pause slightly, and when he caught up, he came to the full body to mark the split.
The live narrator immediately yelled, "Jordan is humiliating Thomas!" ”
Yes, Thomas also felt strongly, in the previous 3 games, Jordan has not exceeded 30 points, and tonight he frantically attacked the basket, cutting 49 points and 15 rebounds.
The hatred between the two was buried.
After that, as long as they meet on the field, they are the tip of the needle against Mai Mang, Mars hits the earth, you come and go, no one will accept defeat, under normal circumstances, Thomas wins the record, Jordan harvests the data.
Thomas's Piston Corps was gradually assembling, they were fierce in defense, against savage, dirty moves, and whoever dared to storm my restricted area had to be prepared to risk being carried out at any time. Their fierce and domineering defense suddenly swept through the alliance, Andrard, the magician, and Jordan all became ghosts under the knife, and the bad boy army dominated the alliance and stood on top of the world.
However, the frightening style of the ball has angered a large number of peers, no one likes them, the fans do not buy it, they like a super lone hero like Jordan, like his dunks, like his aerial performances, like his sneakers, like his everything. Jordan is the strongest Superman, the signature of the league, and the cash cow of the NBA.
Their treatment varies dramatically!
A documentary began filming, invited a lot of big stars to go abroad, Thomas's salary is 50,000 US dollars, Jordan knows the price of 400,000 US dollars, the producer is very reluctant, but still agreed. When Thomas learned about it, he was ashamed and angry!
Fortunately, it is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge for ten years. Someone invited Jordan and The Magician to a heads-up game and put it on TV for pay-per-view. Thomas, then president of the union, refused, and he had the right.
By this time, the magician's relationship with Jordan had been reconciled, and he and Thomas were still close friends.
Jordan was extremely unhappy with Thomas's involvement, and directly accused him of jealousy, because no one wanted to pay to watch him play.
They made their own means outside the court, they fought each other hard inside the court, two consecutive champions Thomas, when they hit the 3rd crown, were swept by Jordan, their fierce actions were defined by the league as "malicious fouls", their days came to an end?
No, he plans to fight again next year! He did not intend to shake hands with the other party, he did not want to give the opponent any courtesy congratulations, he announced the world with a direct exit, "Lao Tzu is not convinced, Lao Tzu will come back!" ”
Just as the so-called blessings are incomparable to the misfortunes, Jordan won the championship that year, like the sun in the sky. Just as the Olympic Selection Committee was forming professional players for the 1992 Olympics, they got into negotiations with Jordan, who said, "There is no Thomas, there is Thomas without me." ”
The committee compromised, and they didn't want to lose the world number one, even though the committee's members included Pistons head coach Daley and Pistons general manager Jack.
The news leaked, Thomas learned, even the coach and the general manager did not turn to him? The Pistons were done playing, and their chemistry took a heavy hit.
Thomas's rivalry with Jordan is basically over, but off the court, their fight continues and will never stop!