Isiah Thomas said that he believes LeBron James is a better basketball player than Michael Jordan, who he is currently on bad terms with.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan is not the GOAT according to Isiah Thomas (Image: Getty)

Isiah Thomas has provided his two cents on the “Greatest of All Time” debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan – and his answer should hardly come as a surprise. On Thursday, the 63-year-old described the active NBA star as “the best ever,” showing there’s still no love lost between him and his biggest rival.

While speaking to MLive’s Kory Woods, Thomas had nothing but good things to say about James, who recently secured the third Olympic gold medal of his decorated career with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I think when you look at, like I say, he’s touched and he leads in almost every statistical category,” Thomas said. “He’s passed Kareem in scoring. I think he’s got the most playoff points. Not only that, when you look at the assist column, I know where I stand on the assist record. I think he’s passed me; I think he’s passed Magic on the assist record.

“I mean, so when you talk about passing, scoring, rebounding, we’ve never had a player in the NBA that has touched every statistical category and leads in some of these statistical categories that we’re talking about. There’s never been another player like him. Now, everyone has their favorites, but if the numbers don’t lie, the numbers don’t lie. And he definitely passes the eye test. So to me, he’s the best that I’ve ever seen from a team standpoint and also as a basketball player.”

LeBron James

LeBron James is the best basketball player ever according to Isiah Thomas (Image: Getty)

Thomas’ unsubtle dig at Jordan marks just the latest incident in the pair’s longtime rivalry that’s spanned multiple decades. The Hall of Famers’ bitter feud was reignited four years ago by “The Last Dance” documentary, in which Jordan portrays Thomas in an unflattering light.

During the 10-part series, Jordan described Thomas as an “a——” while reliving the frequent playoff clashes between the Bulls and Pistons. Chicago fell to Detroit in the second round of the 1988 playoffs, the 1989 Eastern Conference Finals and the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals.

The comments clearly didn’t sit well with Thomas, who expressed no interest in rekindling a relationship with Jordan unless he issues a public apology. “No. This dude got on international television and called me an ——-. Somebody who’s been really good to him,” he said on The Draymond Green Show back in March.

“Until he apologizes on international television, ain’t no conversation. You can’t apologize and have a private dinner when you embarrassed me publicly. If you didn’t mean it, say it publicly. Now, if you meant it, let it stand. I’m good with that.

“I never knew this dude felt the way he felt until ‘The Last Dance,’” he continued. “All these years you’ve been standing behind a tree throwing stones and letting someone else take the fall for it. Had I known you felt that way, I definitely would have treated you differently.”