Weekly Countdown: Making sense of the feud between Magic, Isiah

5 steps to understanding the Magic-Isiah feud

Though their fight for the NBA title began with affection, it ended with Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas trading phyiscal shots. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images Ian Thomsen's Mailbag Ian Thomsen will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

• Their friendship declined on the court. In his upcoming book, When The Game Was Ours, co-written with Larry Bird and author Jackie MacMullan, Magic Johnson admits that his close friendship with Isiah Thomas began to suffer when the two met in the 1988 NBA Finals.

"I saw things differently," said Magic in the book. "Our relationship was changing."

When Isiah and Magic kissed each other on the cheek before each game of that series, it was a gesture meant to suggest that their friendship dwarfed the competition between them. But that turned out to be false. By Game 5 Magic was resorting to a cheap-shot elbow to the kidney of Isiah as he drove to the basket; Isiah responded by throwing the ball at his best friend and lunging at his throat.

"I did target Isiah," acknowledges Magic now. "[Coach] Pat Riley had questioned me in front of the guys whether I'd take him out. I needed to show them I was willing to do it."

The big news from the book (to be released Nov. 4) has been Magic's accusation that Isiah was spreading rumors about his sexuality after Magic was diagnosed with HIV in 1991. But that happened three years after those NBA Finals. The mistrust between them -- the failure of their friendship that enabled the disagreements to come -- developed first of all because they both wanted to win the championship more than anything else.

• The competition among the best players is paramount. Of course there are all kinds of reasons to doubt this -- players from rival teams openly hug before each game and vacation together in the summer, while the biggest names pursue marketing endorsements or other entertainment deals that sometimes appear to blight their devotion to basketball. It has always been this way: Bill Russell has told me that he and Wilt Chamberlain were such good friends that they used to have dinner together on the eve of their games.

But at the highest levels of the NBA, the desire to win devours all else. For a couple of hours on the floor Russell would respect Chamberlain as an enemy, as opposed to the friend Chamberlain was at all other times. The brotherhood between Magic and Isiah has turned into a backbiting rivalry.

In recent decades the NBA has grown to look more and more like some kind of Hollywood show in which the players appear interested mainly in exploiting their celebrity and riches. That cynical dynamic exists among the lesser players, without a doubt. But the elite NBA stars have achieved their status because they want to win above all else.

• LeBron James refused to congratulate the Magic last season. Here is a guy who wants to become the most beloved and celebrated athlete around the world. He should be more concerned about his image than anyone. But when his Cavaliers were upset in the Eastern finals last May, LeBron was so angry that he walked off the floor without shaking hands with the Magic, and he left the arena without giving his customary interview to the press.

It's not the first time we've seen that kind of behavior. Isiah's Pistons walked off the court without shaking hands with Michael Jordan's triumphant Bulls in the 1991 Eastern finals, just as Bird's Celtics left the floor with time still remaining on the clock when Isiah's Pistons knocked them off in the 1988 Eastern finals.

LeBron was criticized for poor sportsmanship last spring, but I viewed his exit as a healthy and impulsive display of what matters most to him. As much as he may want everyone to like him, his priority is to win championships. Without that bottom line there would be no larger interest in him or the NBA.

• Shaq and Kobe lost their way. They stand as a timeless example of teammates who couldn't put aside their personal differences. To this day they should be playing together, with at least twice as many championships as the three they shared with the Lakers.

But they understand better than anyone the mistakes they made. Look what happened after they broke up. Each instantly began to chase more championships, whether it was Shaquille O'Neal in Miami with Dwyane Wade or Kobe Bryant in L.A. with Pau Gasol or now Shaq in Cleveland with LeBron. After they were divorced and they came to their senses, each went back to the basics of trying to win.

Imagine the triangle of emotions if Kobe should arrive at the NBA Finals to defend his championship against former partner Shaq and newfound rival LeBron. As much as the marketeers will be spewing millions of dollars out of that showdown, their work will be of secondary importance in relation to the all-out battles on the court.

• Michael Jordan told the truth. When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Jordan gave an edgy speech that came off as petty and vindictive. As much as I respect that view, my perspective was that he was finally being honest.

Throughout his career Jordan profited as the NBA, corporations and even Hollywood reinvented his character so it could be sold to the public. He was cast as a kind of athletic superhero, an inoffensive gentleman who could be seen as all things to all people. When he entered the Hall of Fame he finally let people know what he was all about, and to me it was refreshing to see him reading from his own script as opposed to one written for him.

The truth that drove him to his six championships against bigger and stronger rivals is that he carried grudges, invented enemies and took great joy in punishing his victims. All of the great winners have those qualities to some extent. Kobe has been criticized for his ruthlessness over the years, but that's in part because he hasn't been as adept at hiding that ruthlessness as his peers.

Eventually Magic and Isiah may resolve their issues and have a heart-to-heart conversation as the friends they once were. Maybe their differences can't be fixed. But if they trace their breakdown all the way back, they'll probably realize that all of their problems began because they both wanted the same thing: To win a game.

4 questions rescued from the spam

• Do you think LeBron James will be the Defensive Player of the Year? Looking at his game [on opening night against the Celtics] and how he can take away baskets with his shot-blocking, it's hard to say anyone else makes a bigger impact.
-- Max, New York

While it's a no-brainer to go with LeBron as league MVP for the second straight year, it's going to be difficult for him to win the defensive award this season. First of all he must displace Dwight Howard, who dominated statistically in defensive rebounds (9.6 per game last year, second only to Troy Murphy) and blocked shots (a league-best 2.9). Kevin Garnett will also be in the running provided he is healthy all year long.

Michael Jordan won the defensive player award one time, in 1987-88, when he led the league with 3.2 steals per game and his Bulls were No. 1 in scoring defense overall. James isn't likely to lead the league in steals, and it is an overrated stat anyway -- a lot of the steals leaders are actually unreliable teammates who gamble too often on defense.

But if the Cavs should win the championship with LeBron making big defensive plays along the way, that could vault him into position to be recognized as the league's most important defensive player the following season.

• The Mavs didn't look good opening night against a Wizards team minus Antawn Jamison. Do they have the pieces to realistically compete with the Spurs and Lakers?
-- George, Austin, Texas

I don't think so. The Lakers and Spurs have as much firepower offensively, and both teams are better up front than Dallas. It's not impossible -- Orlando made the NBA Finals last year after Garnett was injured -- but something will have to go wrong for the Lakers and the Spurs to make room for Dallas at the top of the West.