Kendrick Lamar has been on fire in 2024. His highly publicized lyrical war with Drake didn’t just shake up the rap game—it also helped him sweep up five Grammy Awards, solidifying his place at the top of the hip-hop food chain. But while fans and artists alike were buzzing, NBA legend Isiah Thomas saw something deeper—something personal.
On Saturday, Thomas took to Instagram with a caption that read, “Let it be known,” alongside a powerful photo of himself and Kendrick. “Both are the most threatening in their profession,” the former Detroit Pistons star wrote, nodding to Lamar’s scathing bars on tracks like Not Like Us, which many view as the final blow in his feud with Drake.
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Thomas’s comparison isn’t just fan talk—it holds weight. He knows what it means to go head-to-head with giants and still come out on top. In the late ’80s, Thomas led the “Bad Boys” Pistons through arguably the most brutal era in NBA history. He took down titans like Larry Bird’s Celtics, Michael Jordan’s Bulls, and Magic Johnson’s Lakers—all while earning two NBA championships and cementing his name among the greats.
In 1988, he finally conquered the Celtics, and by 1989, he swept Magic’s Lakers in the Finals. He also famously blocked Jordan’s early attempts at dominance until the Bulls finally broke through in the ’90s. Like Lamar, Thomas didn’t just win—he did it in an era filled with icons.
Yet, despite his accolades, Thomas has often been left out of GOAT conversations—largely due to his icy relationship with Jordan. Any time he comments on MJ or brings up LeBron James, critics are quick to slap him with the “bitter” label. But his stats and accomplishments do the talking: two titles, a Finals MVP, 12 All-Star nods, and two All-Star Game MVPs.
Isiah Thomas chose to be careful, begs off being part of Celtics docuseries
Learning from his experience on Michael Jordan’s The Last Dance on Netflix, Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas turned down an offer to appear in Boston’s Celtics City. Thomas spoke on SiriusXM NBA Radio last month and explained why he’s not going to be part of a documentary featuring his former rival teams.
“I decided not to do the Boston documentary because of what (Michael) Jordan and ‘The Last Dance’ did,” Thomas said. “They totally set me up and blindsided me. I wasn’t gonna get fooled twice. I just decided not to participate in the documentary and be able to talk about it. I wasn’t gonna go on film and sit there and potentially be set up again like I was set up in ‘The Last Dance.'”
“I wasn’t going to go on film and sit there, and potentially be set up again”
Hall of Famer, Isiah Thomas, on why he chose not to participate in new doc #CelticsCity@TermineRadio | @JumpShot8 pic.twitter.com/aZkHA8EcW7
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) March 8, 2025
The friction between Thomas and Jordan still lingers. In The Last Dance, Jordan famously called Thomas an “a**hole”—a comment that reignited old tensions and led Thomas to publicly demand an apology.
For more basketball content, click on Hardwood Heroics. Sabel Reyes can be reached through [email protected]. Other websites under the Sports Heroics umbrella are Gridiron Heroics and Wisconsin Heroics.
Sabel has been working as a field reporter for People’s Television Network (PTV), mainly about the Philippine Basketball Association since 2016 and has been elevated to Executive Producer for sports in 2022. Aside from being on top of the Philippine sports scene, she is also a running enthusiast. You can also follow her on X at @SabelReyes2 and Instagram at @msabelreyes.
