After Larry Bird‘s Celtics defeated his Pistons in the 1987 Eastern Conference finals, Isiah Thomas told reporters Bird “would be just another good guy” if he were black.
Now, 24 years later, in a FOX Sports interview, Thomas throws another jab in Bird’s direction — tossing Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson under the bus along the way.
“I have no problem saying this at all,” he says. “They’re all 6-(feet)-9 and Jordan was 6-6 and a half. If they were all 6-1, it wouldn’t even be a question. They wouldn’t even f—ing rate. If they were all my size, s—, they wouldn’t even be talked about.
“I beat the s— out of them when they were that big. If we were all the same size, f—.” He stops to laugh good-naturedly. “Make them 6-1 and let’s go on the court.”
For the record, Thomas retired with two NBA titles as a player. Jordan (6), Magic (5) and Bird (3) all finished their careers with more, but who’s counting?
Thomas has been accused of freezing out Jordan at the 1985 All-Star Game, questioning Magic’s sexuality in the wake of his former friend’s HIV diagnosis, bankrupting the Continental Basketball Association and sexually harrassing a coworker as Knicks GM.
And he wonders why he’s been exiled from the NBA. Hmm, I wonder …