He defeated Jordan three times and took the lead in bullying the rookie. He is the person Jordan hates the most and has not yet reconciled!

As the greatest player in NBA history, Michael Jordan has set countless records, many of which have not been broken even today. However, like many players, Jordan did not start his own great path as soon as he entered the NBA, but started step by step from the bottom and finally climbed to the highest peak. In this process, Jordan defeated countless opponents and encountered many strong enemies. But if you ask who Jordan hates the most, there is probably only one person, that is Isaiah Thomas, the greatest star in the Pistons' history, known as the "Smiling Assassin" by fans.

Thomas entered the NBA in 1981. Although he only played 13 seasons in the NBA, his period was the most glorious period for the Pistons. They not only defeated the Celtics and Lakers, ending their dominance in the 1980s, but also defeated Jordan's Bulls in the playoffs many times, and launched the opening of the Bulls dynasty. However, according to common sense, no matter how powerful the opponent is, Jordan focuses on appreciation. Why is the conflict with Thomas getting bigger and bigger? Even in interviews in recent years, he still said he will never forgive him? Let’s review the grudges between these two legendary superstars!

1. Taking the lead in bullying Jordan, the two of them had a rift! The first time the two of them formed a bond was in the NBA All-Star Game in 1985. Jordan was only the first rookie to compete in the NBA, but he could contribute 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.4 steals that season, and performed very well, and he was completely at the MVP level. In addition, his style of play is very gorgeous and can always drive the emotions of fans during the game, so his popularity has also skyrocketed and he has been able to compete with top players such as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Without any doubt, Jordan was directly selected into the All-Star lineup in 1985 and became the starting guard of the Eastern Conference All-Stars, which is a very rare existence in NBA history, and this is precisely a recognition of Jordan's popularity and strength, but during the All-Star period, unpleasant events occurred.

Thomas at that time was only four years old, but he was already a household name top defender. However, Jordan's popularity and traffic had completely overshadowed him. Of course, many legendary stars including Bird and Moses Malone were also a little dissatisfied with this young boy and stole their attention. Although according to a later interview, it was because Jordan ignored their veterans while riding the elevator together, so they wanted to give him some "learning". But the result did make Jordan feel very embarrassed, that is, in the All-Star Game, other players in the East deliberately did not pass the ball to Jordan, and even did not communicate with him in the locker room. This isolation and bullying deeply hurt Jordan, and he only got 9 shots in the whole game and got a pitiful 7 points. So Jordan kept this matter in his heart. Even though other players did this, Thomas, as the initiator, became a thorn in Jordan's side and never refused to forgive Thomas's actions.

2. He used all the best and invented the Jordan law.

By the 87-88 season, Jordan had already begun to display his talents frantically this year. Under his leadership, the Bulls finally broke through the first round curse, but unfortunately, they met the Pistons, the strongest team in the team history. From this season to the 89-90 season, Jordan's Bulls met the Pistons three times. Although his personal ability is excellent, basketball is not a one-person sport after all, and the team's overall lineup strength is quite different from the Pistons, so all these three matches ended with the Bulls' failure. However, it was during this period that Jordan experienced the hardships of failure. From the Eastern Conference semi-finals to the Eastern Conference finals, from 4:1 to 4:2, and then to the last 4:3, the Bulls made progress again and again, and finally completed a sweep in 1991, finally defeating the Lakers in the finals and winning the first championship in team history.

In fact, Jordan never hated powerful enemies. On the contrary, in his eyes, these people are respectable opponents. After all, without their existence, he would not grow up quickly. But the problem is that the Pistons can be said to be doing everything they can in the duel with the Bulls, and actions that exceed the rules of the game have become a habit. Jordan is their target. Not only did there be double-teams and three-teams in the game, but in this process, he would also pull Jordan hard. However, the rules in the NBA were very relaxed at that time. Even Jordan was very dissatisfied, it was useless. The Pistons even named these dirty moves "Jordan's Law". Of course, what made Jordan very angry the most was that he finally crossed this mountain in 1991. The main Pistons led by Thomas actually left the field early before being eliminated, refusing to send blessings and hugs to Jordan and the Bulls. You should know that in the past three defeats, Jordan will give his opponents respect out of the attitude of friendship first. The Pistons' uncharacteristic behavior this time completely extinguished Jordan's reconciliation idea.

3. He fought back fiercely, Jordan's crazy protest.

Of course, as the greatest player in NBA history and also a well-known competitive Jordan will not stop when he continues to suffer losses. Time came to the summer of 1992. In order to win the Olympic gold medal again, the US Basketball Association began to gather a group of experts to go to the Barcelona Olympics together.. As the world's number one basketball player at that time, Jordan was naturally their first choice. However, although Jordan agreed to the invitation from the Basketball Association, he gave his own conditions, that is, if the team recruited Thomas, he would leave the training camp, with him or me, and without him or me.

In fact, the coach of the Dream Team at that time was Thomas' mentor Chuck Daly. If there were no past conflicts, with his personality, he would definitely bring this point guard who was second only to Magic Johnson in the 1980s. The Basketball Association naturally had to compromise, which ultimately caused Thomas to lose the qualification to play for the country. This incident also made Thomas very angry. In an interview later, he said that this was Jordan's revenge on himself, and even believed that this seriously violated the spirit of sports, but after all, it was difficult for the US Basketball Association to make a balance, so abandoning the car to protect the coach is the wisest choice. Since then, the conflict between the two has deepened. Even though they have announced their retirement and are even over 60 years old, they are still unwilling to forgive each other.