We can’t stress it enough: ‘The Last Dance’ has been a huge success. Fans can’t get enough of it as it gives an interesting deeper look into the Chicago Bulls’ journey, the players’ mindsets, and some really interesting stories from back in the day.

It’s also helping hoop fans get through this rough period. In case you lost count, it’s been 53 days since the NBA took an indefinite hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two new episodes of the documentary dropped yesterday, and you can bet that there are dozens of talking points that opened up.

Aside from team insights, there was another tidbit on the long-running beef between Michael Jordan-Isiah Thomas. It’s a silent-but-strong type of beef, which started in their playoff battles during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and carried on thanks to the infamous walk out.

Nevertheless, Episode 6 of ‘The Last Dance’ saw MJ give high praise for Thomas, while also assuring that he had nothing to do with Thomas being left off the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.

As you know, the team was built using the NBA’s biggest and best upcoming stars at that time. Thomas, who led the Detroit Pistons to two championships (1989 and 1990) and was an All-Star for 12 consecutive seasons (1982-1993), was the one notable figure that got snubbed.

“I respect Isiah Thomas’ talent. To me, the best point guard of all time is Magic Johnson and right behind him is Isiah Thomas. No matter how much I hate him, I respect his game … It was insinuated that I was asking about him (being left off in the Dream Team) but I never threw his name in there.”

The remarks hit many points really well. For one, it aired at the perfect time since Thomas is fresh-off making a statement that MJ was the fourth-best player he has ever faced – his list is 1) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2) Larry Bird 3) Magic Johnson 4) Michael Jordan, and 5) Julius Erving.

It also supported the previous claims that MJ was not involved in Thomas’s exclusion in the Dream Team. Rod Thorn, who headed the selection process, has always said Jordan never asked anyone to be left off in the team.

One key word in that MJ quote, though, is “hate.” It’s probably an expected follow-up when you consider that in one of the episodes last week, he called Thomas an “a**hole.

Thomas is not one to back down from anyone, especially in this scenario since it’s making him the most hated villain in basketball yet again, so he gave a response to the burning saga:

“I’m really surprised that he has that kind of hate and anger … I’ve never experienced that being around him. My son was wearing Michael Jordan jerseys and shoes. They have Jordan jerseys on from the Olympics and the Bulls jerseys that I bought for them.”

On the surface, Thomas had a simple response. It sounded like he’s just pointing out that MJ wasn’t as intense when they’re face-to-face. However, the talk about his sons wearing MJ apparel is actually an intriguing factor. John Salley, who played with Thomas and Jordan, once claimed that Thomas’s dislike actually started when he saw his nephew wearing an MJ jersey:

We’ll see if the beef gets explored further in the upcoming episodes, although it might be safe to say that the back-and-forth may continue even after the docuseries ends.