LeBron James was ejected in the Los Angeles Lakers match against the Detroit Pistons after a nasty scuffle with Isaiah Stewart, and fans have added that to their armory in the debate for who the GOAT is. The argument this time was that Michael Jordan has never been ejected from a game while LeBron has.
The internet never forgets, and even as there was no widespread use of social networking sites in the MJ era, a video has surfaced of His Airness throwing a right cross to Bill Laimbeer, who eventually runs away.
Based on the footage, there was not enough to cause a ruckus as both players just bumped into each other, but Jordan was not having it after the Pistons big man attempted to land a cheap shot. A fight broke out, but they were quickly separated, as Laimbeer did not want that smoke either.
Laimbeer cheap shots MJ, MJ squares up & throws right cross. Laimbeer runs away. #MJMondays pic.twitter.com/qLe17epIKH
— Jerry Hairston, Jr. (@TheRealJHair) November 22, 2021
The Detroit Pistons were Jordan’s worst opponents in the early stages of his career. They denied him and the Chicago Bulls severally in the playoffs before the 1990s, and he felt they were undeserving of those championships. Perhaps, that was the cause of his frustration at that time.
It is surprising to see MJ go up against the Pistons Bad Boys, who were notorious for their physicality. But in that footage, the Pistons were not exactly spoiling for a fight.
Jordan never minced his words when speaking about how much he disliked the Pistons. Apparently, they had a formula that was used to disrupt MJ’s rhythm when they faced each other.
On his way to his first-ever championship, he swept the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. Knowing how much Jordan took things personally, that victory over the Pistons might have been more fulfilling than the championship itself. Regardless, that was the first of six titles that the bulls won from 1991-1998.
