After two consecutive postseason series losses, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls finally beat the Detroit Pistons in 1991 ECF. Jordan averaged 29.8 points in the series, leading his Chicago Bulls to the NBA Finals. However, despite being earmarked by Jordan’s first foray to the Finals, the 1991 ECF series is arguably equally known for the infamous no-hand-shake gesture from the Pistons. After being swept by Chicago, Isaiah Thomas and the Pistons walked away from the court without shaking hands and congratulating the Bulls, a gesture that would forever sour Jordan and Thomas’s relationship.
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After ESPN’s docu-series on MJ and the Bulls, ‘The Last Dance’ was released, Thomas found that their beef runs deeper than he anticipated. He took to Twitter to justify his team’s action through a Larry Bird statement. Addressing the lack of hands shaken between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, the HoF said that he never shook hands with the Lakers after the Pistons won the championship either.
Michael Jordan is still not over Isiah Thomas and the Pistons’ walk-off in the 1991 ECF
A video showing the stark contrast between the Bulls and the Pistons’ sportsmanship attitude recently resurfaced on Reddit. On June 2nd, 1989, Chicago faced a series loss against Detroit in their own building. The very next season, on June 3rd, 1990 in the ECF, another series loss against Detroit.
Despite the cruciating pain, on both occasions, MJ was seen hugging and shaking hands with his. However, when it was their turn in the 1991 ECF, Thomas and the Pistons were seen going into their locker room without shaking hands with the Bulls.
On all those occasions that MJ lost to his opponents, he always shook hands and displayed a level of class. After the 1990 ECF loss, he also said, “All I can do is wish them good luck. I mean you know, we fought hard. They were the better team.” He admitted that he and the Bulls had a lot to improve on and they would come ready next season. As the pages of history tell you, they absolutely did.
They swept the defending champs next season, won their first title, and never looked back. For a decade, the Chicago Bulls were beyond dominant. To this day, some of the rosters from that era are considered to be arguably the best in NBA history.
Jordan put 15 pounds of muscle to face Bad Boy Pistons in the 1991 season
After the Game 7 loss to the Pistons in 1990 ECF, perhaps one thing was clear for MJ, the Pistons could be beaten. After the loss, the team had to skip their summer vacation and start training together. With the knowledge that Pistons had a ‘Jordan Rule’, MJ hired Tim Grover to train him mentally and physically. The six-time NBA champion knew it would take more to withstand the Bad Boys’ beating. Eventually, he put on 15 pounds of muscles in five-pound increments to become muscular and stronger for the next season.
Fast forward a year later, the Bulls embarrassed the defending champs and swept them in the series. It was the start of the dynasty when Michael finally conquered his nemesis, the Bad Boy Pistons. Later the NBA legend said that beating the Pistons was like ‘good overriding evil’. “To sweep them four zip, it was embarrassing. Defending champions, embarrassing. It was like good overriding evil,” remarked His Airness. Jordan and the Bulls went on the win six NBA titles in 8 years, so clearly, the hard work paid off.
