Today marks the 31-year anniversary of Karl Malone’s elbow to the head of Isiah Thomas, which gave the Detroit Pistons Hall-of-Famer a reported 40-plus stitches. It’s a storyline with multiple plot points — including the 1985 All-Star Game, the selection of the 1992 “Dream Team” and a regular-season matchup in Detroit between the Jazz and Pistons. And it was given renewed life with the release of the Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance” in 2020.
Thomas later called it the “dirtiest” play he had experienced and the “cheapest” foul “in the history of the game” during an interview with Terry Foster of the Detroit News in 2014.
But has the Mailman apologized? And what does Michael Jordan have to do with all of this?
In September, Thomas joined veteran sportswriter Peter Vecsey on the Hoop Du Jour podcast (warning: language) and spoke at length about his history with Jordan and fallout from “The Last Dance” — including a phone call from Malone.
What happened between Isiah Thomas and Karl Malone?
On Dec. 14, 1991, in Salt Lake City, at about the 7:30 mark of the first quarter of a game tied at 6-6, Thomas brought the ball up the court, drove around a screen from Bill Laimbeer and past his defender, Jazz point guard John Stockton. He then got past Jazz center Mark Eaton and elevated. That’s when Malone came in from the baseline to contest the shot. Malone swung down with his elbow and caught Thomas on the forehead.
“Isiah’s eye is cut badly,” Jazz announcer “Hot Rod” Hundley said during the broadcast. “Oh, he took a blow to the head — blood all over his forehead”
Pistons reserve Darrell Walker charged at Malone and was forced off the court by an official. Pistons coach Chuck Daly was livid.
Thomas says he received 42 stitches — a few more than most reports about the incident. Malone was ejected, suspended one game and fined $10,000.
Was Karl Malone’s elbow to Isiah Thomas intentional?
The Jazz forward denied intending to cause harm in the aftermath of the incident.
“I never went at anyone intentionally,” Malone told KSL-TV. “I’m not going to get into one of those things where (we’re) going back and forth. Like I said, I hope Isiah’s OK. When you play in the NBA, you do get bumped. You get bumped hard. It’s just one of those things where I have to go along with my career and my life.”
But the immediate speculation — which continues to this day — is that the elbow was payback for Thomas scoring 44 points on Stockton in a 123-115 Pistons win over the Jazz in Detroit on Nov. 15, 1991.
The game took place as “rumors about Isiah’s dodgy relationship with some of the other players on the USA Men’s Basketball team swirled,” according to Yahoo!
That performance, in which Thomas shot 15-of-22, was ostensibly a statement game for the two-time NBA champion and 1990 Finals MVP, who had been passed over in favor of Stockton for the 1992 U.S. men’s basketball team that would compete in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
What did Michael Jordan have to do with this?
To this day, that “Dream Team” roster decision — and how much Jordan played a role — is still being discussed.
“Thomas should have been on that team instead of Stockton,” Foster wrote in 2016. “However, rivals Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, who both played for the Chicago Bulls shut the door on him.”
Vescey and Thomas spoke about it at length on the September podcast. It was a headline-grabbing moment from the nine-part “The Last Dance,” where Jordan had some harsh words for Thomas, who said the most “disheartening” thing was hearing that Jordan “hates” him.
“I had never heard that from him,” Thomas told Vescey.
The Thomas-Jordan bad blood talk goes back even further to 1985, when it was reported by Vescey himself, in a story he now calls “ludicrous,” that Thomas was responsible for “freezing out” the Bulls rookie — a claim Thomas has repeatedly denied.
Did Karl Malone apologize?
Thomas told Vescey that he heard from most members of the 1992 Olympic team after “The Last Dance” aired, including Malone. He said the two are now “good.”
“This is what Karl Malone said to me after ‘The Last Dance’ stuff,” Thomas said. “He called me up and said ... ‘I’m a man.’ He said, ‘I never had anything against you.’ He said, ‘Isiah, I’ve been wanting to say this to you for so long.’ He goes, ‘Man, I apologize’, and I said, ‘Karl, I accept your apology’. He almost started crying on the phone. He said because, ‘I see this on YouTube ... It just bothers me.’”
Thomas, saying that this is why he “respects” the longtime Jazz All-Star, said Malone told him: “Now, I meant to hit you, but I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Because that’s how we played,” Thomas said. “You come down the lane and everyone gets hit. The only people who cried were the Bulls.”
As for his relationship with Stockton, Thomas says the two communicated recently.
“I like John Stockton,” Thomas said.
In 2009, Stockton chose Thomas to introduce him during his enshrinement speech at the Basketball Hall of Fame.