Beating Lakers in the 1991 Finals Became the Stepping Stone of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson’s Friendship: “Saw Tears in His Eyes”

The 1991 NBA Finals was a landmark event in the history of the league. The event marked the moment when Magic Johnson passed the torch to Michael Jordan, as the 90’s would belong to the Bulls. Game 5 was a hard-fought battle between the Lakers and the Bulls. After the buzzer sounded, Jordan and the Bulls emerged victorious as Magic and the Lakers fell to the floor. Jordan would silence the nay-sayers, as he broke the stereotype of “just a scorer, not a winner“.

Recalling the incident in his book, ‘Michael Jordan: The Life’, Ronald Lazenby wrote,

“On the floor in the quiet aftermath, Laker superfan Jack Nicholson hugged Jackson, and Magic Johnson sought out Jordan to offer his congratulations. The two had become closer during the series after Johnson approached Jordan and told him that they needed to forget their differences. The event was the true beginning of their friendship, Jordan would say later. ‘I saw tears in his eyes,’ Johnson said of their conversation after the final buzzer.”

Magic and Jordan would embrace, as the Bulls legend was teary-eyed on winning the finals. Johnson congratulated Jordan, and told him,

“You proved everyone wrong. You’re a winner as well as a great individual basketball player.”

Even though Johnson wasn’t in his prime, he was still an exceptional player when he faced off against Jordan in 1991. The match-up between Jordan and Magic was mostly one-sided, as the Bulls kept Magic under 20 points on two different occasions in the finals.

The relationship between MJ and Magic Johnson

Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson have shared a very tumultuous relationship. Early in Jordan’s career, Magic was the top dog in the league. So when Jordan was coming up, Magic was the man to beat. Fans often pitted Jordan and Magic against each other, as their match-up was anticipated to be one of the biggest showdowns in sports.

In his book, ‘When The Game Was Ours’, Magic revisited his relationship with Jordan,

“We never got a chance to talk about it,’ Magic said. ‘It was Magic against Michael. That’s why we never became friends. It’s too bad we never spent any time together. People ask me all the time why I didn’t do more projects with Michael. I don’t even know what to tell them. It [the freeze-out] was a misunderstanding, and neither one of us ever reached out and tried to smooth things over.”

The 1985 Magic, during Jordan’s first All-Star appearance, would be involved in what many call the “Freeze-Out”. It was reported that the veterans on the team decided to ‘not pass’ the ball to Jordan. No 23 would leave the game with only 8 points, resulting in a rift between Jordan and the veterans.

Years later, both Magic and Jordan would sort out their differences, as the duo was even seen partying in Europe together. The two superstars were also seen engaging in banter during the NBA-75 ceremony, as they speculated on who would win during a 1v1.