Michael did not want to lose. In the regular season, he had often waited for his teammates to come back down to earth. But this was the playoffs. He couldn’t afford to wait.
Michael Jordan took over. In game one, he scored 50 of the Bulls’ 104 points in a 104–93 win. In the second quarter, he personally outscored Cleveland, 21–19.
In game two, he was even better. This time, he scored 55 points, and the Bulls won again, 106–101.
Yet even Michael Jordan couldn’t score 50 points in every game. In game three, he scored “only” 28 points, and the Bulls lost, 110–102. In the fourth game, Michael hit for 40, but the Bulls lost again, 97–91.
Although Michael could win the occasional game by himself, he couldn’t win the whole series. If the Bulls were going to advance in the playoffs, Michael Jordan needed the kind of help the younger players had provided in the regular season.
He finally got it. His young teammates settled down in game five. Shots that had rolled around the hoop and out finally started dropping in. Michael scored 39, but Scottie Pippen helped out with 24 points and some important steals. The Bulls won, 108–101, and earned the right to play the Detroit Pistons in the next round.
The Pistons had forged a well-deserved reputation as the roughest, toughest defensive team in the league. Nicknamed “the Bad Boys,” they saw what Michael Jordan had done to Cleveland and set out to stop him. The Pistons thought that if they shut him down, none of the other Bulls could hurt them.
The Pistons installed a complex, special defense they called “the Jordan Rules.” Throughout the series, All-Star guard Joe Dumars hounded Michael from one end of the court to the other. As soon as Michael got the ball, he was harassed by a second player who tried to block his way to the basket and cut down his passing lanes. If Michael did break free, center Bill Laimbeer, forward Dennis Rodman, and the Pistons’ other big men knocked him to the floor.
Some of the younger Bulls were intimidated by Detroit’s rough play. The Pistons slowed Michael down, and none of his teammates picked up the slack. The Bulls simply couldn’t match Detroit’s intensity, and the Pistons won the series in five games.
The Bulls’ 1987–88 season was over. Michael again led the league in scoring, averaging 35 points per game and improving his shooting percentage from 48 percent to over 53 percent. But the championship ring he had hoped for was still missing from his finger.
Over the next two years, the Bulls’ starting lineup grew considerably stronger. Veteran center Bill Cartwright joined the team, replacing the aging Corzine in the starting lineup, and both Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant were beginning to play like All-Stars.
Then, in 1989, the Bulls replaced coach Doug Collins with Phil Jackson. Jackson tinkered with the Bulls offense and installed a half-court game to complement the Bulls fast break. While it took the team most of the 1989–90 season to learn the new setup, the benefits were clear. Michael Jordan still led the league in scoring in both 1988–89 and 1989–90, but for the first time since he had joined the team, everyone in the starting lineup averaged in double figures. The Bulls were becoming more than a one-man team.
But nothing the Bulls did in the regular season made much of a difference when they reached the playoffs. Each year, they had to play the Pistons. The Bulls just couldn’t figure out a way to beat Detroit.
Yet Chicago improved ever so slightly each year. The Pistons defeated the Bulls in four straight games in the 1988–89 playoffs, but in the 1989–90 matchup, Chicago pushed Detroit to a full seven games. Detroit won the NBA championship each time — but the Bulls were drawing closer.
Winning an NBA championship was important to Michael Jordan. That was all that separated him from Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Observers had noted many times that while Michael was the best individual player in the game, he didn’t seem to be the best team player. He knew that until the Bulls won a championship, he would always be criticized.
Out on the asphalt and concrete courts of public opinion, Michael was already the champion. He was easily the most popular player in the game, particularly with kids. From the glass-strewn outdoor courts of the inner city, to the polished wood surfaces of suburban high school gyms, to dirt-packed backyard courts like his own Rack, Michael Jordan was the most popular player of all time. Young and old, black and white, male and female, everyone with even a passing interest in basketball loved Michael Jordan.
Yet his widespread popularity was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, doing what he loved best made him wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. Michael Jordan basketball shoes, Air Jordans, are the best-selling sneakers of all time. His contract with Nike, the manufacturer, is worth over $20 million. In 1989, the Bulls renegotiated his contract and gave Michael an eight-year contract worth $25 million. At the time, it was the biggest contract in the history of professional basketball. The Bulls set a new attendance record nearly every season and they were the most popular team on the road. Michael formed his own corporations and employed his parents and other members of his family. He was able to build James and Deloris a new house and give them new cars. He contributed thousands of dollars to charities and met presidents and world-famous entertainers.
But as Michael Jordan became more and more famous, it became difficult for him to live like other people. When the Bulls arrived in a city, Michael had to check in to the hotel under an assumed name. Usually, the team even had to post a guard at his door to keep fans from breaking in. If he tried to leave his room to go shopping, he was mobbed by autograph-seeking fans. It was almost impossible for Michael to do the things the rest of us take for granted, like take a walk on a nice spring day, sit in a restaurant and eat a meal, or even go down to the park on the corner and shoot some hoops. He was just too popular.
All that attention might make people bigheaded. But not Michael Jordan. His old friends and family say that despite his fame and wealth, he is the same person. Whenever possible, he goes out of his way to help others. Michael is friendly with his teammates off the court. He doesn’t act as if he’s better than they are. And once in a while, Michael will sneak out of a hotel and duck into a fast-food restaurant for a quick bite, or walk onto a court at a busy city park and start talking with the kids, usually leaving them with his sneakers and jersey when he is through.
By the beginning of the 1990–91 season, basketball had helped Michael Jordan acquire just about everything a person could want: wealth, fame, a loving family, and the opportunity to do what he loved best for a living. Yet by the time the season started, what Michael wanted more than anything else still eluded him. When he looked at his hands, something was missing. An NBA championship ring.
CHAPTER SIX
1990–1991
Champions!
The Bulls started the 1990–91 season losing three of their first four games. But they did not panic. This time, Michael Jordan’s teammates didn’t look to Air Jordan to shoot the team out of a slump by scoring 40 or 50 points. They simply went to work and started playing better basketball.
The Bulls defense was much improved. While everyone still considered the Pistons the best defensive team in the league, the Bulls were starting to earn a reputation of their own.
On Christmas Day, the Bulls and Pistons faced off in a nationally televised game many thought would be a preview of the playoffs.
The Bulls were ready to play from the opening whistle. After a close first half, Chicago slowly pulled away. They buckled down on defense. They challenged every shot, and when Detroit missed, the Bulls didn’t let the Pistons get the rebound. The Detroit players were intimidated by the aggressive Bulls and shot only 26 percent in the second half, scoring only 36 points. Michael scored 37 in the game to lead the Bulls to a 98–86 win.
The victory set the tone for the remainder of the season. Chicago stormed through the league and finished with a record of 61–21, second best in the NBA and a franchise record. The Bulls won the Central Division, and the defending champion Pistons finished in second place, 11
games back.
Entering the playoffs, Michael Jordan was cautiously optimistic. “We’re good enough to win it,” he told a reporter. “We know we can beat the teams we’re going to meet in the playoffs. My job is to take on the leadership role and take us to the next level.”
In the first round, the Bulls faced the New York Knicks. Despite the presence of star center Patrick Ewing, the Knicks just couldn’t keep up with Chicago. The Bulls won three straight and the right to play Philadelphia in the second round. Meanwhile, the Pistons beat Atlanta and also advanced.
The Philadelphia 76ers, led by an All-Star forward Charles Barkley, matched up well against the Bulls. During the regular season, they had defeated Chicago in three out of four games.
But once the series began, the Bulls were unstoppable. They played almost perfect basketball, and Pippen and Grant both turned in nearly flawless performances. In game four, with the Bulls up two games to one, Scottie Pippen scored 20, Horace Grant hit for 22, and Michael Jordan chipped in a quiet 25. The Bulls won, 101–85. Then they dumped the 76ers in game five to take the series four games to one. After the final game, all anyone could talk about was how well the Bulls played together as a team.
Meanwhile, the Pistons defeated the Celtics in six games. Once again, Chicago would battle Detroit for the Eastern Conference championship. The winner would go to the finals. If the Bulls hoped to win the championship, they had to beat Detroit.
The Pistons weren’t quite the same team that had beaten the Bulls in the playoffs for three years in a row. They were getting older, and several players were hobbled by injuries. Still, there was a reason the Pistons were the defending champions. Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars were two of the best guards in the league, and Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer were fearless underneath the basket. Although the Bulls were narrow favorites, everyone expected the best-of-seven-game series to be a war.
Before game one, Michael reassured his younger teammates. “They’re beatable,” he told them. “We just have to find a way.” The way to beat Detroit, the Bulls now knew, was through teamwork and defense.
Game one was a typical Chicago-Detroit matchup — rough, tough, and low scoring. After three periods, the Bulls led, 68–65.
In previous years, this was the time of the game when Detroit’s defense had always taken control. They had swarmed over Michael Jordan and watched as the other Bulls made mistakes and committed turnovers, leading to easy baskets for the Pistons.
But this year was different. The Bulls were a different team. While the Pistons focused on Michael, a couple of Bull reserves, Craig Hodges and Cliff Levingston, keyed a fourth-quarter run that put the Bulls ahead to stay. Although Michael Jordan scored only 22 points in the game, the Bulls won, 94–83.
The big loss shattered Detroit’s confidence. The Bulls defense was intimidating the Pistons, while the offense spread points up and down the lineup. Chicago swept Detroit in four games and earned the right to play the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
The Lakers, led by guard Magic Johnson, had won the NBA championship three times in the last decade and were known as the “Team of the 80s.” Even though the 1980s were over, they were still a formidable opponent.
Magic Johnson rivaled Michael Jordan for the title of best player in the league. He deserved much of the credit for L.A.’s performance. The unselfish point guard made everyone on his team a better player and keyed L.A.’s vaunted fast break, known as “Showtime.” He had plenty of help from teammates James Worthy and Sam Perkins, Michael Jordan’s former teammates at North Carolina. The Lakers, with previous championship experience, were favored to win.
The finals opened in Chicago. In game one, the Lakers taught the Bulls a lesson and demonstrated why they were champions. Los Angeles out-thought and out-hustled the Bulls for a full 48 minutes.
Instead of running their fast break, the Lakers slowed down and played a patient half-court offense. The strategy shook up the Bulls and allowed the Lakers to control the pace of the game. The Bulls’ fast break never got on track. In the final seconds, Sam Perkins hit a three-pointer to put L.A. up by two, and when Michael Jordan’s desperation 18-footer rattled out of the basket, L.A. escaped with a 93–91 win.
Michael took matters into his own hands in game two. But instead of turning the game into a demonstration of Team Jordan, he acted as playmaker. Throughout the first quarter, he passed up shots of his own to set up his teammates for easy baskets. By involving everyone in the game, he was able to disrupt the Lakers’ slow-down strategy. At halftime, the Bulls led, 48–43.
By the third quarter, the Bulls offense was working on all cylinders. Michael Jordan had pulled a Magic Johnson and made everyone on the team better. The Lakers didn’t know who to guard anymore. In the third quarter, the Bulls scored 38 points to turn the game into a rout. Michael Jordan even got into the act. Over the last part of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, he hit 13 straight shots in one of the most remarkable performances ever in the NBA Finals.
One play in particular left fans talking for days. Early in the fourth quarter, Michael took a pass on the break and charged down the lane to the hoop. As he rose for a shot, he lifted the ball high in the air with his right hand and appeared poised for a dunk.
But his old Tar Heel teammate Sam Perkins had other ideas. Perkins, who was six foot ten and had the longest arms in the league, moved in front of Michael. In perfect position, Perkins jumped up to swat the ball away.
His hand found only air. The ball was gone. When Michael saw Perkins reach out, he calmly pulled the ball down, switched it to his left hand, then twisted under and around the shocked Perkins to flip in an underhand scoop shot off the glass. After the ball went in, Michael seemed surprised. He raced down the court with an “even-I-can’t-believe-it” look on his face while the crowd went crazy. The Bulls roared to victory, 107–86, and tied the series at one game each.
The Bulls traveled to Los Angeles for game three. The Lakers made the most of their home-court advantage and carved out a comfortable lead. But near the end of the third quarter, the Bulls reserves keyed another big run. Chicago won going away, 104–96.
Game four was a given. Both James Worthy and Laker guard Byron Scott were injured, and the demoralized Lakers missed both players. L.A. never got untracked. Michael Jordan scored 28 points and dished out 13 assists. The Bulls won, 97–83, to take a commanding three-games-to-one lead in the series.
Still the Lakers hadn’t won three championships in the 1980s by giving up without a fight. In game five, before their home crowd, they played like champions. But the Bulls played better.
With a little more than six minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, L.A. nursed a three-point lead. Then the Bulls stepped up. First, Scottie Pippen hit a three-pointer to tie the game. Then, on the Bulls’ next four possessions, John Paxson went unconscious, hitting three consecutive jumpers and a layup. All of a sudden, the Bulls led by ten.
Then Sam Perkins countered for the Lakers. He scored eight straight points to draw Los Angeles to within two points of the Bulls, 103–101.
In earlier seasons, with such a critical game on the line, the Bulls would have looked for Michael Jordan to take the ball one-on-one to the hoop. This year, the Bulls were a team.
As the clock ticked off the last seconds of the game, Michael got the ball. As soon as the Lakers started to collapse on him, he calmly fired a pass to a wide-open John Paxson. Paxson threw up a jump shot. The ball hit nothing but net. The Bulls led by four points. A few moments later, as a shocked L.A. audience looked on, the game ended. The Bulls had won, 108–101. They were champions of the NBA!
As soon as the buzzer sounded, Michael Jordan began embracing his teammates. Then they dashed through the fans beginning to swarm over the court and headed toward the locker room. When Michael reached the locker room, he was overcome with emotion. He collapsed to his knees and started to cry.
In a locker-room ceremony, NBA commissioner David Stern awarded the
championship trophy to Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Reinsdorf held it for a moment, then passed the trophy to Michael. Michael sat in front of his locker, holding the trophy as gently as if it were a newborn baby, tears of joy running down his face. On one side of him sat his father, James Jordan. On the other side was his wife, Juanita.
“I never thought I’d be this emotional,” he said to a television announcer, “but this is a great feeling.”
“It was a seven-year struggle,” he added. “When I first got to Chicago, we started at the bottom and every year worked harder and harder ’til we got to it. I’ve appreciated so much in my life from my family, from my kids, everything, but this is the most proud day I’ve ever had.
“Now we can get rid of the stigma of the one-man team. We did it as a team all season long.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
1991–1992
A Couple of Scars
Michael Jordan could at last add “NBA champion” to his list of outstanding accomplishments. But he still wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to win another championship. He knew that to be considered a really great player, a team player like Magic Johnson or Larry Bird, he’d have to win more than one title.
Michael soon learned that winning a second championship would be harder than winning the first one. With a championship ring on his finger, he was under more scrutiny and more pressure than ever. Long before he had a chance to add another ring, Michael Jordan confronted a series of troubles unlike any he had ever faced.
The first problem surfaced in early October, just as the Bulls were ready to begin training camp. Like many other championship teams, the Bulls were invited to the White House to meet the president. Michael, who had already met President Bush, decided to skip the visit and spend the day with his family.
The press was shocked when Michael failed to turn up. Some writers wrote that his decision to spend the day with his family was an example of the way the Bulls gave Michael Jordan special treatment. Teammate Horace Grant made the same charges.
Michael Jordan: Legends in Sports Page 5