Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas squashed their nearly 30-year-beef in an emotional interview on NBA TV's Players Only: Monthly special that released on Tuesday.
It was a heartwarming display of brotherhood as the two talked about the challenges of their past, and immediately pushed them aside to reconcile their friendship.
Johnson and Thomas once reached the peak of stardom with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons, respectively. As the two teams fought each other for the championship, the duo's friendship began to suffer. However, things reportedly took a turn in the early 1990s after Johnson announced that he was HIV-positive.
Johnson said he was told at the time that Thomas questioned his sexuality and disliked him because of it. Johnson, angry at the alleged remarks, froze Thomas out of an opportunity to play on 1992's U.S. Olympic team, according to Sporting News. Thomas denied that he ever expressed such doubts about Johnson in an old interview with Sports Illustrated.
In recent years, the two have tried to explain what happened between them, and have, through several interviews, told their sides of the story. But now, all of that is over.
“Let me apologize to you. If I hurt you. That we haven’t been together.”#PlayersOnlyMonthly pic.twitter.com/nDpfDfZek8— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 20, 2017
"This has been a tremendous day," Johnson said during the interview, facing Thomas as the cameras rolled. "My wife, my mother, my father have been saying, ‘Y’all need to get back together.’ So, when everybody called, I said, ‘No question, we’re going to do this.'
"And just to sit across from you and relive those moments of fun, excellence, working hard, dreaming big, because we were dreaming of moments before we were even — who sits up at 19, 20, 21, dreaming of stuff we wanted to do, and now here we are here doing it? But, you are my brother. Let me apologize to you if I hurt you, that we haven’t been together, and God is good to bring us back together.”
The tears began to roll, and the two were finally able to release the pain and reconcile their friendship.
"I'm still mad that you beat me," quipped Thomas as the two laughed and wept throughout their embrace.
Johnson jokingly shot back, "Well you gon' be mad, we gon' both be mad!"
What a wonderful reminder that it is never too late to ask for forgiveness or to forgive. It's always nice to see men openly expressing and embracing their emotions, especially given the limited views on masculinity many have been conditioned to believe. Props to Thomas and Johnson for showcasing what masculinity and brotherhood can look like.
