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Throwback: When Michael Jordan Revealed Who He Wanted to Face in 1991 Finals Besides Magic Johnson & Lakers
Michael Jordan won 6 NBA titles in his career but His Airness confessed to not wanting Magic Johnson and LA Lakers in 1991 Finals.
The year was 1991 and after facing the heartache from the Detroit Pistons for the last three years, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls made it to the NBA Finals for the first time in 1991. The 'Bad Boys' were destroyed by the Bulls, who ended their run as back-to-back champions with a four-game sweep.
In NBC's exclusive one-on-one interview with Pat Riley before this momentous shift in events, Michael was asked which of the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers he would prefer to play as their final opponent to win his first championship. Even though MJ has always been competitive, choosing the latter showed an interesting turn of events.
What did Michael Jordan say?
Michael Jordan said, “I’d much rather face Portland. Being that, the Lakers got all that experience. They’ve been there many times, they got the [solid] players, Magic is so smart in those situations. Portland hasn’t won like we haven’t. Certainly, they have mistakes, they have a little bit more flaws, and they still probably have a little more doubt than what the Lakers would have.”
Why did Michael Jordan want to avoid the Lakers?
Given that Magic and the Showtime Lakers have a history of success thanks to their dynasty from the 1980s, Michael's arguments make sense. The Lakers have repeatedly dominated the league and are primed for these occasions, having won five titles in eight Finals trips over the past ten years.
With Johnson as their showrunner and James Worthy as his reliable co-star, they stayed in serious contention even though Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was already nonexistent in their lineup when he retired from the sport two years ago.
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