SteemSports Presenter:
SteemSports Editor:
The 1991 NBA Finals that pitted LA vs. Chicago was a transitional series between the heroes of the 1980's versus the new kids on the block of the 90's. Magic Johnson - the king of the 80's who won 5 championships in the decade - led the Lakers there for the last NBA Finals appearance of his career. Kareem retired a couple years before so he wasn't there to help the Lakeshow. On the other hand, MJ, Pippen, and the Chicago Bulls were out there with everything to prove while trying to bring the first championship to the city of Chicago
It was a war for Michael to even get there. The Bulls just could not get beyond the Bad Boy Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals the preceding years. That Pistons team was an underrated championship squad, winning two in a row led by their star Isaiah Thomas, and coach Chuck Daly. The Bulls and Pistons hated each other's guts. It was largely instigated by the Pistons who would always foul Michael Jordan and other driving Bulls unnecessarily hard to send a message that they wouldn't get the better of them. It was harder for the Bulls to win in the ECF than in the actual Championship because of that bad blood. The Pistons didn't even shake their hands after the Bulls finally did it after 3 straight tries. That spawned a lasting legacy of negativity between MJ and Isaiah Thomas, which resulted in Isaiah not being included on the 1992 Dream Team even though they were coached by his own man, Chuck Daly!
Magic already had 5 championships to his name, and he came into the final round with Hall of Fame teammate James Worthy by his side. The Lakers had the third best record in the West that year and were coached by Mike Dunleavy Sr. The Lakers suffered an embarrassing early exit to the Phoenix the previous year's playoffs, and Pat Riley was the fall man. Magic and his teammates were growing tired of his intensity even though he was one of the greatest coaches of all-time. This year, they faced the Portland Trailblazers in the Western Conference Finals who were just in the NBA Finals the previous season, and the Lakers emerged victorious in 6 games. Mike Dunleavy's approach seemed to be working for Magic and co. and they made it back to the championship round for a date with Michael.
The Bulls had home court advantage since they earned the top record in the East and a better regular season record than the Lakers that year. Teams that are hungry for a 'ship often channel that energy into great regular seasons. Michael Jordan was ready to dominate from the very tip-off of Game 1 - he already accumulated 15 points, 3 boards and 5 dimes in the first freaking quarter. Magic wasn't playing too well but his teammates kept the game close. Sam Perkins and James Worthy led the Lakeshow to a Game 1 victory in a close contest with 22 points apiece. It was the only game the Lakers would get in this series.
Phil Jackson decided to have his best defender, Scottie Pippen, hound Magic like a dog in Game 2 which kept the Showtime legend in check. Michael was in a shooting slump, but he bounced back and had 33 points by the final buzzer. Game 2 also spawned one of the most iconic moments for Michael Jordan, and for the NBA in Finals History - the hand switch layup at the rim. He got so high up he had enough hang time to switch hands even on the way down. He didn't even need to switch when you look back at it, but that play just encapsulates the level of greatness that Michael was playing on.
Game 3 went back to the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles and we saw the Bulls prevail in overtime behind Michael's 29 points and 9 assists. Game 4 was another convincing victory for the Bulls with 28 points and 13 assists for MJ. It was all up to Magic Johnson to save his team in Game 5 without crucial teammates James Worthy and Byron Scott. He left it all out on the floor with 20 assists and 11 rebounds but they couldn't stop Scottie (32 pts, 13 rebs 7 assists) and Michael (30 pts, 4 rebs, 10 assists). Time expired and the Bulls were the new champions of the NBA.
This series was totally symbolic of a peaceful transfer of power for the league. Out with the old legends of the Lakers and Pistons, and in with the new. It was the first championship of the Chicago Bulls era of 90's dominance, that saw the league grow to new heights and levels of mass-appeal behind Michael's star power. This championship kick started Michael's vice-grip on the league - tons of players and franchises missed their window to win a championship because Michael wouldn't let them get past him. Right now, nobody in the modern NBA can touch Michael Jordan's overall body of work: 6 championships, 5 MVP's, lifetime scoring average in the playoffs (33.45 ppg) and regular season (30.12 ppg) - but for the sake of making it interesting I hope another superhuman comes along and beats all his records one day.
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