Michael Jordan may have won six NBA Championship in his career with the Chicago Bulls, but His Airness didn’t really have a good playoff run until the 1990-91 NBA season. Prior to that, MJ and the Bulls were constantly stopped by the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons in the postseason.
But in the 1991 playoffs, Jordan put on a lot of muscle to counter the physicality of the Pistons. He finally got past them, but in the 1991 NBA Finals, another juggernaut was waiting for the Bulls. It was none other than Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers.
Throughout the 1980s, the Lakers were unarguably the best team in the league. They won five NBA Championships and made winning look easy. However, in the 1991 NBA Finals, MJ dethroned the Lakers as the dynasty as he led the Bulls to the NBA title.
Michael Jordan’s Honest Reaction On Playing Against Magic Johnson In The 1991 NBA Finals
The series lasted five games as the Lakers won Game 1 of the series. But after that, it was the Michael Jordan show. MJ led the Bulls to four straight wins and truly dominated the Lakers. In five games, Jordan averaged 31.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 11.4 APG while shooting 55.8% from the field.
In an old interview, MJ once shared his thoughts on playing against Magic on the biggest stage in the league.
(Starts at 10:20):
This is all I have been working up for, it’s an opportunity to play against what everybody considers to be the best, it was Magic Johnson. The mighty, mighty Lakers at the time were one of the powerhouses in the 80s, and now we’re starting the 90s, so if you are gonna make a statement, you have to make a statement against the best.
MJ wanted to make a statement against the best, and he did just that by defeating Magic and the Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals. Following that win, MJ completed the first three-peat of his career. By the end of his stint with the Bulls, Jordan had won six NBA titles along with many other accolades and established himself as the GOAT of the NBA.
