Nov 18, 1993; Portland, OR, USA: FILE PHOTO; Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan (23) reacts during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports

By 1991, Michael Jordan had already proven himself a superstar and was easily one of the very best in the NBA. However, the Chicago Bulls player still lacked that elusive championship ring. After losing to the Detroit Pistons in the Playoffs for three consecutive years, the player went on a rant about the Chicago Bulls front office. As mentioned in the book ‘The Jordan Rules‘, the player used teammate John Paxon’s $800,000 salary to prove his point.

Advertisement

The Bulls hadn’t made any significant moves to help Jordan in the past few years, and as the 1991 trade deadline approached, the story still remained the same. This frustrated the now-Bulls legend, who was looking to win championships for the franchise. He was aware of the expiring contracts his teammates were on and believed the organization would ‘screw them over’ in the off-season.

Michael Jordan uses teammate’s salary to rant about the Bulls

In the book – ‘The Jordan Rules‘ by Sam Smith, the author delves into the NBA legend’s life and his illustrious career in the NBA. While Michael Jordan went on to achieve greatness in the game, there were times when he was agitated by the lack of success. After being drafted by the Bulls in 1984, Jordan had nothing to show for it for the first seven years of his career. This resulted in him speaking his mind about the lack of moves made by the front office. Here is an excerpt from the book explaining his stance on the matter.

“Can Pip [Scottie Pippen] keep it up? And that guy over there [Jordan pointed toward Paxson]. He’s loyal. He doesn’t say anything and what does he want, maybe seven hundred thousand, eight hundred thousand dollars, and they’re going to screw him. I just hate that. This is going to be out last chance to win. I just know it. We’ll wait until the last minute and then they’ll say something like they couldn’t get a deal done because of the cap or somebody pulled out at the last minute. It happens here all the time. I don’t know why I’m surprised every year.”

The 1991 trade deadline was approaching, and the Bulls organization had not made any trades to bolster their roster. Despite losing to the Pistons during the playoffs in 1988, 89 and 90, the management showed a flippant attitude towards winning. This did not sit well with Jordan. He was fuming and used teammate, John Paxson, as an example to prove his point.

The Bulls organization was likely in favor of building from the draft. However, they did not respect Jordan’s timeline. The greatest player of all time was hungry for success and believed 1991 was the team’s last opportunity to get the job done. He felt the front office would ‘screw’ his teammates, as they had done on previous occasions. As fate would have it, 1991 was the year fortunes changed for the franchise.

Jordan and the Bulls cross the hurdle despite his rant

Despite Michael Jordan’s pessimism and growing frustration towards the front office, his team would go on to win the NBA championship. The year 1991 would mark the beginning of a dynasty that won six rings in the span of eight years while three-peating twice. This historic run, in many ways, finally validated the NBA legend’s career and solidified his place in the history books.

The Chicago Bulls showcased a dominant performance in the 1991 Playoffs as they ran through opponents. Their first series victory came against the New York Knicks, beating them 3-0. They then ran through the Philadelphia Sixers in five games (4-1) before demolishing their rivals in the Eastern Conference Finals.

After losing to them on three consecutive occasions, the Bulls finally had their revenge as they swept the Pistons to march their way to the NBA Finals. The Finals would also prove to be an easy affair for the Jordan-led team. They would beat the Western Conference champions – the Los Angeles Lakers, 4-1 to claim the NBA title.