The decades-old feud between Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan is far from over, and the ‘Bad Boys’ legend has just fired his latest shot at MJ’s legacy.

While MJ has long since moved on from his feud with Zeke, it is not the same for the Pistons legend. He continues to demean Jordan at every opportunity that he gets. Recently, he made a questionable comment downplaying Jordan’s six titles with the Bulls.

Recently, in his appearance on the ‘Run it Back’ podcast, Isiah Thomas surprisingly compared Kevin Durant to Michael Jordan and feels that the Chicago Bulls would have won six titles even with Durant. “I said this to Kevin Durant, and I’m gonna say this to all of you sitting on the panel and I said to Kevin Durant. Hey, ‘If you would have played back in our era and they put you in the triple post at the mid-post area and they took Michael Jordan out and you played with Pippen and you played with Kukoc and you got to run into the mid-post? Shoot,” Thomas said.

“Would he have won six championships? Absolutely,” Zeke added. “With Rodman and Pippen and Kukoc and BJ and Craig Hodges and all those around him, and he gets to post up in the mid-range, and that ball is, you know, targeted to him every night, and he’s getting up 25, 30 attempts? Yeah, he can do the same thing.”

Thomas believes that the six titles that the Bulls won during the Jordan era were mostly because of legendary coach Phil Jackson. He also highlighted that MJ played with Hall of Famers like Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc, Scottie Pippen, and others, something that even Durant can achieve.

This comparison becomes more significant because the Slim Reaper recently crossed Jordan in the all-time scoring list in the NBA and now holds the fifth spot in the leaderboard, further reinstating his legacy as one of the greatest scorers to play in the league. Considering his elite scoring capabilities, Thomas believes that KD would have thrived in the Bulls outfit under Phil Jackson, who used to prefer the triangle offense, which was designed to unlock mid-range scorers by putting them in great positions night after night.

Jackson mastered the triangle offense strategy, which guided him to 11 championships with the Bulls and later with the Los Angeles Lakers. In Chicago, his central figure in the system was Jordan, while in Los Angeles, it was Kobe Bryant. In the modern era, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has come closest to replicating that system.

Coincidentally, Durant’s best seasons in the NBA came when he represented the Warriors and won two Championships and reached three straight NBA Finals while playing alongside Stephen Curry. Not only that, but he also bagged two consecutive Finals MVP titles in 2017 and 2018. Collectively, he averaged 32.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.9 blocks, while shooting 54.3% from the field, 45% from beyond the arc, and 94.1% from the charity stripe. It was easily one of the most dominant Finals performances across two series.

So we can see what Thomas means by bringing up statistics around Kevin Durant to justify his take on Jordan. However, Durant surpassed His Airness despite taking close to 2,200 fewer shots than the Bulls legend.

Despite the hypothetical, Durant’s legacy as an all-time great scorer is secure. However, Jordan’s impact on the Bulls involved more than just scoring. While it is true that he played with some exceptional role players, who had their own legacy, MJ still brought a different level of efficiency on offense and defense. He was a proper leader, and that is why he is so well respected across generations, even by Durant, with whom Zeke is comparing him.

Kevin Durant gets brutally honest about Michael Jordan’s legacy after surpassing him on points

The Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant surpassed Michael Jordan on points on Saturday when he dropped 27 points in a dramatic 123-122 win over the Miami Heat. The Slim Reaper is no stranger to these comparisons with Jordan.

The 37-year-old forward understands the gravity of the situation, as surpassing any statistic of MJ is an achievement in itself, but the Rockets star is not ready to place himself anywhere near ‘His Airness’. “MJ is in a world of his own,” Durant said to the media following the game. “He’s on a planet, a galaxy of his own. He’s somebody that I look up to and respect, who basically shaped the game for me.”

“MJ is just bigger than the game. I mean, no matter who passes him in stats or who wins more, it’s going to be hard to win. Go 6-0. Even if you were to pass him in anything, just his impact on the sport and just culture in general is just too big,” he added.

Durant has left an indelible legacy in the NBA with his scoring efficiency, but Jordan’s impact and aura transcend everything. The Bulls legend played a huge role in making the NBA a global product through his dominance, and also left a long-lasting mark on popular culture with Air Jordan. His legacy was so huge that decades after his retirement, players like Isiah Thomas keep talking about him. But it is certainly nice to see Durant giving his flowers to MJ as he chases Kobe Bryant for the fourth spot in the leaderboard.