John Salley was one of the most prominent stars of his era, and his potential was reflected in his achievements. According to records, John Salley remains the first player in NBA history to win championships with three different teams and also the first player to win championships in different decades.
The NBA big man, who was drafted in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft, had stints with five different teams before retiring in 2000. Recently, he has shed light on one of the NBA’s long-term beef stories between two legends.
John Salley revealed the origin of MJ, Isiah Thomas beef
Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas were not only famous for their iconic careers but also for the most intense beef in NBA history. In explaining the real cause of the beef which many anticipated, John Salley, another legend, who shared the stage with the duo, has disclosed the reasons during his interview on VLAD TV.
John Salley clarified that there were no personal issues between Thomas and Jordan. He emphasized the involvement of Thomas’ nephew in the ongoing feud and said, “Isiah goes home, and his nephew is wearing a Bulls jersey”.
John Salley added, “Michael Jordan Bulls jersey. He said, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ (His nephew replied), ‘We in Chicago, this is my team. This is his [Isiah’s] nephew. He not really understanding that the great Isiah Thomas plays for Detroit. We don’t wear that, we wear this. ‘But I’m from Chicago,’ (said Thomas’ nephew)”.
The Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls met four times in the playoffs in that era, the Pistons won thrice, and the Bulls had the last series, which eventually changed the NBA landscape, propelling the Bulls to dominance and establishing Jordan as a dominant force over Isiah.
John Salley stands with modern-day NBA
The NBA’s action both in the early days and in the current days has remained exciting, there has been recent debate about which generation is better. Many share the sentiment that the new generation couldn’t perform at the top level in the older generation’s atmosphere.
In the wake of this lingering debate, a former four-time NBA champion, who had a dominant time in the NBA, John Salley, has openly stated that he is fed up with hearing retired NBA players stating that current players couldn’t perform well in the league back in the day. He said, “We couldn’t play in this day. No Way.” According to a post by Legion Hoops on X.
Salley’s view has certainly lent support to current NBA stars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, and others, who are highly prolific on the court but were considered unfit for top-level basketball performance back in the day. As the debate lingers, more NBA legends and active players might add their two cents to this controversial issue.
