You wouldn’t have thought Deion Sanders would get caught in the middle of a basketball beef, but here we are. The legendary cornerback and baseball player has been indirectly dragged into the long-standing feud between Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas.
This rivalry is like an old soap opera. There are a million theories about how it started, but one popular one is the 1985 All-Star Game. People say Isiah “froze out” Jordan, limiting him to just 7 points. Though Isiah swears it’s not true, the damage was already done. Their battles on the court, especially in the Eastern Conference, only made things worse. And then there was the 1992 Dream Team drama, with Isiah claiming Jordan kept him off the team.
Fast forward to now, and Isiah is still at it. On July 26th, the NBA star wrote on his X handle, “Bo Jackson and @DeionSanders may be the two best athletes I’ve ever seen in any sport.” Maybe it’s because both Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson are two-sport athletes excelling in both baseball and football. Interestingly, Jordan himself was a two-sport star, playing both basketball and baseball. But Isiah seems determined to ignore that fact.
It’s no secret that Isiah loves to throw shade at Jordan, even going to the extent of calling LeBron James the GOAT and now even bringing Deion Sanders into the mix. But let’s be real, Jordan is the benchmark for legend in basketball. With six championships, and excelling in both offense and defense, that’s a pretty tough fact to deny. Even Deion himself might accept the fact and he always speaks highly of his NBA friend.
Deion Sanders’ bond with Michael Jordan
There’s no doubt that Deion Sanders is a living legend, too. He dominated MLB, the NFL, and now he’s killing it as a NCAA football coach. But did you know he might owe a big part of his success to Michael Jordan?
These two icons were at the peak of their careers around the same time in the ’90s and became pretty good friends over time. Last year, Deion even shared a story about cruising around in Jordan’s Porsche in a heartfelt interview. But their relationship goes deeper than just hanging out. There was a point in the early 2000s when Deion was unsure about his future after football. That’s when Jordan stepped in with some tough love. Deion recalled Jordan telling him, “When you think you’re in shape, whatever level you think you are at, you gotta go even harder because you’re not there.”
Now, those words were a wake-up call for Deion. He then got back into the NFL, played for the Ravens, and now attained his Coach Prime status. So, while Isiah Thomas might be busy trying to dim Jordan’s shine, it’s clear that his impact extends far beyond the basketball court.