Back in 2014, when ESPN released their 30 for 30 on the Bad Boy Pistons, the documentary as well as the team were celebrated for what they did back in the late 80’s, early 90’s.
Isiah Thomas was a main fixture of the team and rightfully received much of the praise. Things have certainly changed within the last few weeks and Doc Rivers doesn’t like it.
The Los Angeles Clippers head coach has been tuning into the latest episodes of the Chicago Bulls documentary ‘The Last Dance,’ and he does not appreciate the way Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas was depicted in the documentary.
Per David Aldridge in The Athletic:
“I hate the way that Isiah is being presented,” the Clippers bench tactician said. “Isiah was a ruthless winner … he’s no different from any other winner. Being from Chicago, Isiah’s the best player ever to come out of Chicago, in my opinion. Even my ego has to say that, you know? And then having Michael be the greatest player to play in Chicago … that created a competition on its own right. Like, Isiah wasn’t giving Michael Chicago, and Michael was trying to take Chicago, you know?
People don’t even know that part of it. They just see the Detroit part, and the Chicago Bulls part. But the biggest part is that. Isiah still lived in Chicago when he was playing for Detroit. He wanted to come home and be Isiah Thomas; he didn’t want to come home and hear about Michael Jordan. So it had a lot of energy to it.”
Thomas and the Pistons were Jordan’s on-court rival that eliminated them in three straight years before getting over the hump in 1991 en route to winning the NBA title. Thomas and the Pistons infamously walked off the court without shaking the Bulls’ hands after being swept in the Eastern Conference Finals and Thomas contributes that moment as to why he was not considered for a spot on the 1992 U.S. men’s national basketball team.
The rivalry that went on back then still has not died down in 2020.
