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From Wondery, this is Sports Wars. I'm Dan Rubenstein.

For this series, we've taken a deep dive into the unique rivalry between Michael Jordan and Isaiah Thomas,

one of, if not, the fiercest and most personal of NBA rivalries, maybe ever.

Basketball rivalries between stars are uniquely suited to get vicious.

There's constant action, offense, defense, aggression, heartbreak. It's all laid bare on a basketball court.

So, to get a better understanding of what went into Isaiah and MJ's rivalry,

plus how NBA rivalries in general have evolved along with the sport itself.

Who better to help us? Deep dive, NBA player and team rivalries than David Aldridge,

longtime reporter, writer, TV presence at places like ESPN, Turner Sports, and now the Athletic.

He's received the Curt Gaudi Award by the basketball hall of fame. His credentials speak for himself.

Tough to think of many better to talk about league rivalries, so David, thanks for joining me.

My pleasure. All right, let's dive in because we've been talking about Isaiah and MJ

and the sort of decade-long tension and heated rivalry between them.

What is unique about their rivalry that perhaps we haven't seen between two other players?

I think the next is Chicago, right, between Isaiah and Michael. Isaiah was from Chicago.

And while that playing in Detroit was a superstar in high school in Chicago,

thought of as one of the greatest players ever to come out of that city to be sure.

And certainly had a following, had a very reverent feeling for the city of Chicago.

Did not, you'll wound up going to Indiana, obviously, and being drafted by the pistons.

And into that mix, into that universe comes Michael Jordan in 1984, who's decidedly not from Chicago.

Growing up in North Carolina.

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