In the world of sports, few names carry as much weight as that of Michael Jordan. Yet, even as Jordan’s legacy continues to cast a long shadow over the sport, his former rival Isiah Thomas has found a new arena different from the basketball court to re-ignite their decades-long feud.

Thomas recently shocked fans by revealing his Super Bowl pick for the 2024-2025 NFL season. In a recent tweet, the former point guard revealed that the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and the Las Vegas Raiders are his favorite teams. Along with this, he has also added that Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos is his favorite coach. This seemed to be a surprising bit of information. Why?

The reason is the teams mentioned by the former Pistons player have never won a Super Bowl championship after 2000. The Bears last won the Super Bowl in 1986 and the Raiders won it in 1984, whereas the Lions have never gone to the Super Bowl, let alone win it.

The reason Isiah Thomas chose these teams is quite understandable. The Bears have a chance of a Super Bowl run with Kyler Gordon, who has shown good performance in the offseason. The team, on the other hand, has the 53rd overall draft pick Gervon Dexter Sr. who has become the top 5 unit. Additionally, the Lions, are coming from a 12-5 season in which they have dominated the NFC North.

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We can see the former point guard snubbing a bit on the Chicago Bulls legend. The reason is that the Bulls legend has a different favorite in the NFL category, and no, it is not his previously-owned team, the Charlotte Hornets. But it is the Minnesota Vikings. His liking for the same stems from his best friend Ahmad Rashad, who was the former wide receiver for the Vikings. “I have turned Michael Jordan into a Vikings fan,” Rashad once told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. However, on the downside, this team has also never won the Super Bowl but has become three-time Conference champions. 

The feud between the two legends has been going on for decades. The first signs of this feud were seen during the 1985 All-Star game when Thomas was accused of freezing out Jordan while playing. Isiah Thomas belonged to the ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons era. They were known for their physical and abusive style of playing. The feud even became strong when there were allegations that Thomas was not selected for the 1992 Dream Team at the request of Jordan.

Even though this feud between the two NBA stars has been going on for a long time, did you know that Isiah Thomas didn’t know Jordan had a beef with him until this incident?

The Last Dance documentary shocked Isiah Thomas

In a startling revelation in the basketball world in 2023, NBA legend Isiah Thomas claimed he was unaware of Michael Jordan’s animosity towards him until the release of the hit Michael Jordan documentary series The Last Dance in 2020.

Thomas, the Detroit Pistons icon who led the ‘Bad Boys’ to back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990, has long been portrayed as Jordan’s nemesis. The Pistons’ physical play and infamous walk-off before the Bulls’ 1991 Eastern Conference Finals victory were seen as defining moments in their feud.

Moreover, during the ForbesBLK Summit in Atlanta, Thomas admitted that he had always viewed his relationship with Jordan as simply a competitive rivalry. “I don’t hate anybody. If the brother came here and sat down today and wanted to have an honest conversation — key word, honest — I’m down for it,” said Thomas during the summit.

As fans and analysts digest this information about the documentary revelation and NFL team selection, it’s clear that the Jordan-Thomas saga continues to evolve, even years after their playing days have ended.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger