Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas has called LeBron James the GOAT, but he has now surprisingly left the Philadelphia 76ers superstar off his all-time starting five. Thomas recently sat down for a rapid-fire session with Black Enterprise, where he was asked some interesting questions.

Q: “Who’s on your all-time starting five? And you cannot pick yourself.”

Isiah Thomas: “Magic [Johnson], [Larry] Bird, [Michael] Jordan, Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], [Tim] Duncan.”

Q: “Who’s the funniest NBA player you’ve ever met?”

Thomas: “Funniest NBA player I ever met, John Sally.”

Q: “What’s one NBA rule you would change today?”

Thomas: “I would limit the amount of three-point shots you can take during the game. I would have a maximum and a minimum. Each quarter, you could only shoot a certain amount of three-point shots, and total for a game, maybe 25. And I think that would make the game much more interesting. We won’t have so many people taking bad shots. But I would have a maximum and a minimum of three-point shots that you had to shoot each quarter. And you couldn’t go over that.”

Q: “Who would win one-on-one in your prime? You in your prime or Steph Curry?”

Thomas: “The guy who plays defense. Now, I’m just saying.”

That was a spicy answer at the end there. Thomas, who won two NBA titles, one Finals MVP, and one assists title in his career, is one of the greatest point guards of all time, so it’s not surprising that he believes he could beat Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry in a one-on-one contest. What might surprise many, though, is his picking Michael Jordan in his all-time starting five.

Thomas and Jordan haven’t been on good terms for years. The former has taken some shots at the latter, but he has also shown him respect. Earlier this year, in May, Thomas included Jordan in his Dream Team. Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were on there as well. He was allowed to put himself on that team, so there was no spot for Magic Johnson.

There was also no spot for James then as well. This is a little puzzling.

Thomas has made it clear he believes James is the GOAT over Jordan and Kobe Bryant. The 65-year-old said he has never seen a player like him.

James has won four NBA titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, one scoring title, and one assists title. He is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and also ranks fourth in assists. James might be the most complete player we have ever seen, and his stellar resume has made him the closest challenger to Jordan for the GOAT title. A growing number believe he is the greatest.

Jordan remains the more popular pick, though. He won six NBA titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, one DPOY, and 10 scoring titles. He’d have won even more if not for Thomas.

Thomas’ Detroit Pistons eliminated Jordan’s Chicago Bulls from the playoffs in 1988, 1989, and 1990. The Bulls would eventually take them down in 1991 and then went on to dominate. Those four series will live long in memory, but not necessarily for the right reasons.

They were brutal, physical matchups, with the Pistons using the infamous “Jordan Rules” to slow down Jordan. There was some bad blood as a result, and those Pistons players walking away without shaking hands with their Bulls counterparts in 1991 left a bad taste. Jordan still hasn’t gotten over it, and he and Thomas are unlikely to ever be on good terms again.