Isiah Thomas still isn’t over being embarrassed by Michael Jordan in The Last Dance.
Joining The Draymond Green Show on Tuesday, the Detroit Pistons legend reaffirmed that he is not planning to forgive Jordan anytime soon. In fact, Thomas won’t even accept a one-on-one dinner or private meeting to clear the air.
Because Jordan was so public in airing his grievances with Thomas in the first place, Thomas wants an equally public apology.
“This dude got on international television and called me a ***hole, somebody who’s been really good to him,” Thomas told Green. “If you didn’t mean it, say it publicly. If you meant it, I understand. I’m good with that.”
In the 2020 ESPN documentary covering Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls, he does indeed call Thomas an ***hole. Jordan explained that he did not explicitly demand Thomas be left off the Dream Team, but that he believed Thomas would have harshed the mellow in Barcelona.
Jordan said any regret from Thomas now is simply a byproduct of time passing. Back then, Jordan believed Thomas knew full well how he was perceived among his NBA brothers.
“The reaction of the public has kind of changed his perspective,” Jordan said in The Last Dance. “You can show me anything you want, there’s no way you can convince me he wasn’t an a**hole.”
Even in a friendly environment with a fellow Michigander like Green, Thomas still is playing hardball. It would appear that like his feud with Charles Barkley, this rift is not going away anytime soon for Jordan.
[The Draymond Green Show on YouTube]
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.