It took years of failure before Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls finally made it in 1991. They had to go through a brick wall in the form of the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the “Bad Boys” controversially walked off the court after getting embarrassed in front of the home crowd at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Much has been said about the Pistons’ lack of sportsmanship. For MJ, however, he said he didn’t expect anything less.
“Typical. We figured the “Bad Boys,” their whole image,” said His Airness in 1997 via Slam Magazine. “You know, we just felt…well, they didn’t have to shake my hand to know we just whipped they ass. Oh, it didn’t bother me because it didn’t surprise us at all because of the camaraderie and the rivalry that we had against each other.”
Mike had to endure a beating against the Pistons, making the 1991 ECF sweep even sweeter. Detroit showed them the door for three straight years, relying on the so-called ” Jordan rules ” to contain the league’s most dynamic scorer.