Over the years, both Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas have given their sides of what led to the end of their friendship. It appears that the intense rivalry between their respective teams during the 1989 playoffs caused their friendship to fizzle out. “[Thomas] was getting in the way of my championship,” shared Johnson with Jimmy Kimmel via Sports Keeda. “So, you know, listen Jimmy, you can’t get in the way of winning for me because I hurt you, just that way. Sometimes you tried me and I had to remind you, I played in the NBA and you playing wreck ball.”
According to Thomas, who spoke with the Pivot Podcast in 2022, Johnson showed off his shady side after the NBA finals kicked off. “Now, I get to the NBA Finals … Magic’s like … I used to stay at the house… we used to have dinner,” remarked Thomas, via Fadeaway World. “First game: ‘Nah, you can’t come to the house.’ ‘What do you mean I can’t come to the house?’ ‘See you at the game.'” Ultimately, Thomas revealed that he believed Pat Riley, former coach of the Lakers, didn’t approve of his friendship with Johnson.
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However, playoff woes wouldn’t be their only source of tension. As revealed in the book, “When The Game Was Ours,” Johnson, who announced that he was HIV positive in 1996, suspected that Thomas was spreading lies about his sexuality, via Bleacher Report.
