“Magic Said, ‘He Got Up and Swung on Me’..”: 34 Years After Intense Fight During NBA Finals, Pistons Legend Issues Stern Clarification

2x NBA champion and Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas of the ‘Bad Boys’ Detroit Pistons had a storied career in the NBA. Thomas and his squad posed as the league’s villains in the 80s and 90s. Consequently, Thomas wasn’t the most likable superstar of the era. However, of the few relationships Thomas maintained throughout his career, his relationship with Magic Johnson stands out.?

Over the years, Thomas and Johnson’s relationship went through its fair share of ups and downs. However, during the 1988 NBA Finals, from Thomas’s perspective, their relationship hit rock bottom. The HOF point guard harps on the same in his recent appearance on the Pivot Podcast.?

According to Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas once ‘swung on him’

Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas knew each other before Thomas entered the league. Thomas idolized Johnson. He studied the game like a student with a close POV of the legendary Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers Finals of the 80s. Moreover, the Hall of Fame point guards normalized African-American athletes publically, showing admiration for each other. However, love was lost between the two when they faced each other in the 1988 NBA Finals.?

In the Pivot Podcast, Isiah Thomas reflected on the cold shoulder Johnson was giving him in the 1988 NBA Finals. Thomas found it difficult to digest the sudden fallout in their relationship. Moreover, in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the two almost got into a physical altercation on the back of intense emotions.?

In the final minutes of the game, when Thomas was coming down the lane for a layup, Johnson knocked him out of the air. Following this, Thomas, filled with emotions, shoved his best friend with all his might. Moreover, Thomas also hurled some abusive words at Johnson. However, Magic Johnson’s description of the incident was far from reality, which Thomas alluded to in the podcast. He said,?“When you hear Magic Describe that, Magic says, ‘Oh, he got up and swung on him.’ That’s a big difference between swinging on somebody and pushing around.”?

Read More -??You Can?t Come to the House?: Lakers Legend Magic Johnson, Who Cried on Live TV With IT, Slammed the Door to His House on the 12X NBA All Star in 1988

But to the surprise of Thomas, Pat Riley, the then head coach of the Lakers, was behind Johnson’s antics in the series. Apparently, Riley had instructed Johnson to keep his friendship with Thomas out of the series.

Johnson’s forced reclusion with his best friend undoubtedly hampered their relationship. The two reconciled decades after their retirement.

The storied relationship of two Hall of Fame point guards

Johnson and Thomas were the best of friends. However, the cut-throat competition and harsh environment of the league turned the best friends into enemies. Their relationship further broke down after the 1988 NBA Finals, which also kicked off the rivalry between Thomas’s Pistons and Johnson’s Lakers.

Watch the Story – Magic Johnson drops the hammer on a former teammate as Lebron James nears iconic NBA scoring record

Moreover, Their relationship hit its true rock bottom when Thomas was left out of the 1992 Men’s Basketball Olympic team.

But the two Hall of Fame point guards sat down with each other decades after retirement and finally reconciled.?The emotional reconciliation left the two legends in tears.