“In terms of my era and what I’ve seen and played against, he was the best ever” – Isiah Thomas gave Michael Jordan an unexpected compliment after his last game

Thomas, who once fiercely battled Jordan and his Bulls, finally called MJ the best ever.

 

It’s one thing to receive a compliment from your contemporary or an analyst, but it’s a completely different thing when that compliment comes from a rival that you used to have tough battles and even public spats with for almost a decade.

That’s exactly what happened after Michael Jordan’s final game in a Washington Wizards jersey when he received his well-deserved flowers, among all other legends of the game, from Isiah Thomas.

The rivalry between Zeke and MJ was one of the fiercest in NBA history, marked by intense battles on the court and tensions off it. Their clashes defined the ultra-physical era of the late ’80s and early ’90s, with the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons being one of the few teams that managed to stop Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in his early years.

In terms of my era and what I've seen and played against, he was the best ever" - Isaiah Thomas gave Michael Jordan an unexpected compliment after his last game

However, the ending of GOAT’s career buried the hatchet, at least for a moment.

“In terms of my era and what I’ve seen and played against, he was the best ever,” said Thomas, who was the head coach of the Indiana Pacers at the time. “He was complete in every area.”

“When you look at Bird, Magic Johnson or myself, you could look at our game and say there was one thing we couldn’t do. I couldn’t jump and fly and dunk. Bird couldn’t defend as good as Jordan. Magic couldn’t defend and score as good as Jordan could,” the Pistons legend added. “But Jordan could do it all. He could defend, he could rebound, he could score. Then, he was a freak athletically. He was the best athlete in the league.“

The long history of beefing

Their battles in the Eastern Conference were legendary, as Thomas’ Bad Boys used their infamous “Jordan Rules” to physically punish MJ in his attempts to come into the paint and do his magic while also preventing him from reaching the Finals.

Isiah Thomas blames Michael Jordan for declining to be in the "Celtics City" documentary: "I was set up in The Last Dance"

After years of frustration and heartbreak, Jordan and the Bulls finally overcame Detroit in 1991, sweeping them in the Conference Finals. However, the feud escalated when Thomas and the Pistons walked off the court without shaking hands, a move that Mike and, quite frankly, the whole basketball world never forgave.

The tension between the two Hall of Fame guards reached its pinnacle when the legendary Dream Team squad was being formed. Isiah, who was one of the premier floor generals with two rings in his belt, never got the call, and many believe it was none other than Mike who played a role in that snub.

Respect for just a moment

I can do that too" - Jimmy Butler on what he told Draymond Green after game-sealing defensive play vs. Raptors

Despite their heated history, Thomas’ words after Jordan’s final game, which didn’t quite go as MJ planned, showed a level of respect and even maturity that was not present in the relationship between the two legends. “Zeke” swallowed his pride and softened the edges of their rivalry, even for a brief moment.

The whole world knew it at the time—MJ was the greatest basketball player to ever do it—but Isiah’s words carried a bit more weight than that.

Let’s not fool ourselves; their rivalry remains one of the most talked about in the Association’s history, and the relationship never fully healed. However, this moment served to prove that even the fiercest opponents can acknowledge greatness when they see it.