While the Chicago Bulls reigned supreme in the 90s, there was one team that rivalled them more than the others. The Bad Boys from the city of Detroit had a difficult time witnessing their grip on the NBA getting loose by the day. This animosity created a rivalry between the two teams, but more than that, between their star players.

The blame-game between Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan has gone on for a long time. But it saw its peak following the release of the 2020 Netflix docuseries The Last Dance. Recently, Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas revealed unheard information about Jordan’s phone call to him before The Last Dance, exposing the six-time NBA champion of embarrassing him in front of millions.

How Michael Jordan deceived his biggest rival into embarrassing himself in front of millions

The rivalry between Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan is one for the history books. The intensity of it can be imagined by the fact that even decades later their feud is still far from over. The 14x NBA All-Star had the hunger which enabled him to go against anyone who was at the top of their game.

Having won back-to-back championships, Thomas was considered to be the best in the league. The legendary rivalry between him and Jordan stemmed from the several clashes between the Bulls and the Pistons in the NBA playoffs. The Bulls-Jordan documentary The Last Dance recounted the events in a certain light, almost blindsiding Thomas to some extent.

Isiah Thomas recalled getting a call from Jordan’s management and the man himself regarding the documentary, during his recent conversation with Showtime Basketball. He said, “Other thing I gotta say about Mike. His producer and him-they called me, hey, we need you in the video. Can’t tell my story without you. You’re so important.”

“I’m thinking we all cool,” Thomas took it as the eventual rekindling of their relationship. But the showrunners had different plans as they cut most of the 12x NBA All-Star’s inputs from his “2 hours” long conversation. He was left embarrassed in front of millions of viewers for his negative portrayal.

To add insult to injury, Jordan didn’t very nice things about Thomas in the docuseries. “Last Dance come out and that’s it?…I’m giving you[Jordan] respect…And that’s what you do to me!” the now 61-year-old added. The Pistons legend was also turned into a meme after the show.

Thomas also talked about becoming a meme, referring to his clip from the documentary. Although he did sound happy about it, he did not like being blindsided by another great of the game.

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Isiah Thomas on becoming a meme

Even though Thomas was not portrayed in the documentary in the way he assumed he would be, he has one positive take from the whole thing. The NBA legend was asked about what he thinks of his meme which came out from the documentary. His words, “I met the criteria to be selected…but I wasn’t” became a hit on social media and were used as a meme.

Thomas said, “I kinda like that meme”, as he laughed.

Watch This Story: “I Never Heard It From Michael Jordan”: Hurt By ‘The Last Dance’ Betrayal, Isiah Thomas Still Seeks An Apology