Despite their last hardwood action back in 1993, Isiah Thomas had his guard up against bitter rival Michael Jordan. Over the years, the history books have multiple chapters on their feud, and one of the highlighted issues has been the post-release of the Last Dance documentary. It was Magic Johnson who once vowed to bring the dispute to a close. His recent admission at least got the two champions from Chicago aligned on the same thought process. But, mind you, the rivalry hasn’t simmered down.
“So Michael Jordan calls and talks to Jeanie (Buss) and say ‘How did you guys do the showtime reunion? What happened?’ She said ‘I didn’t do nothing that was just magic and Pat Riley putting it together and they did everything.’ And so he couldn’t believe it. Isaiah and them can’t believe it.” On Byron Scott’s podcast, Magic Johnson revealed how the Lakers Showtime reunion had other stars questioning how it was possible.
“Like guys were like sitting there saying ‘How did they do that?’ and we pulled it off.” The trip took place in 2022, and the 5x NBA champion was at the helm of planning and bringing all his former teammates under one roof. Not just icons like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper, but other role players too were part of the vacation in Hawaii.
A.C. Green, Mychal Thompson, Spencer Haywood, Bob McAdoo, Kurt Rambis, Wes Matthews Sr., Billy Thompson, Eddie Jordan, Milt Wagner Jr., Mike Smrek, and even 7’5″ reserve big man Chuck Nevitt! Current Miami Heat team president Pat Riley, who served as an assistant coach for the 1979-80 title-winning team and the head coach from 1981 to 1990 (when L.A. won four championships), led the charge. Gary Vitti, who served as the team’s physical trainer for 32 years, also attended.
It was not just the Lakers legends who were in attendance. In fact, they all flew in with their significant others. Magic Johnson added a post with the caption, “The fellas and ladies of the 2022 Showtime Reunion!” So, why would it bring out the emotion of jealousy in Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas? Since both of them were part of groups that defined the NBA. For the former, it was his Bulls dynasty that won 6 titles. For the latter, it was the Bad Boys who not only won two championships but gained popularity for their physical domination.
Magic Johnson wants to end the feud that last
“I decided not to do the Boston documentary because of what Jordan and The Last Dance did.” This was Zeke’s recent comments on the decline of playing a part in another documentary via Sirius XM NBA Radio. So a quick recap of what transpired was that In Episode 4, Michael Jordan discussed the Bulls’ rivalry with the Pistons. It was about the Bad Boys’ infamous walkout during the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, as they refused to shake the Bulls’ hands after the game. His Airness went on to call Zeke an “a**hole.”
The 2x NBA champion took offense to that and that’s why still today, he is upset with the Bulls legend. However, once Magic Johnson vowed to end this bitter feeling amongst two of the NBA icons. “I don’t like it, I think they should be done with that. Listen, we played when we played; we all had to dislike each other to win a championship. We all had to do what we had to do.”
The 5x NBA champion said since both the HOFers are successful, they should end the beef. “I’m definitely going to try and fix them, I’m going to have to be the one that brings them together.” This was back in 2023, but the beef is yet to die down. For this, Magic Johnson will probably have to organize a trip just for Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas to solve the issue.
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