Isiah Thomas: Up until 1991, when the Detroit Pistons lost to the Chicago Bulls, nobody expected a handshake. Tell me if I’m wrong, Mark. After 1991, when they said, “Oh, Isaiah didn’t shake Michael Jordan’s hand,” and Michael Jordan cried about it—that’s when everyone started shaking hands.
That’s when it became a thing. Before that, when you lost in the playoffs, the winning team or the losing team would leave the floor. Later, they might come into the locker room to shake hands and say, “Good luck.” It wasn’t some public passing of the torch.
by Hoops Hype