The Chicago Bulls-Detroit Pistons rivalry at the end of the 80s and early 90s is still one of the best in league history. Although it was one-sided until Michael Jordan and his Bulls got over the hump and eliminated their nemesis in 1991.
That series is memorable for many factors, but the most important happened when some Pistons players refused to shake hands with the Bulls after getting swept in the Eastern Conference Finals. To this day, that remains one of the most infamous moments in NBA history.
Yet, none of these players has shown remorse in all these years. They took pride in that, and nothing is changing for them. For instance, Rick Mahorn recently stated that he didn’t see anything bad in not shaking hands with the Bulls player since he didn’t do that even after losing a championship.
“F— them,” said Mahorn on the Dan Le Batard Show, via Jesse Pantousco of audacy. “I don’t even shake hands when I lose a championship. Man, forget that.”
O.G. Pistons Bad Boy @badboyhorn44 still refuses to apologize to Michael Jordan and/or The Bulls 😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/icZTVuXRr6
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) July 1, 2021
That was a “tradition” for Mahorn, and he always kept it. Not even the Jordan-led Bulls could change that. If you want to talk about a “Bad Boy,” here you have one.
The Pistons earned a reputation around the league thanks to his style of play, getting a lot of enemies along the way. Chicago was one of those, and not shaking hands with Detroit felt like the biggest win of all for Phil Jackson’s squad.
The ‘Bad Boys’ had a good run, but all things come to an end, especially in the NBA. After that series, they couldn’t compete for a spot in the Finals, with Jordan ‘stealing’ the torch and leading his Bulls to six NBA championships in eight years.
