Michael Jordan: Legends in Sports (7 page)

Keyed by the addition of Pippen and Grant, the Bulls surprised everyone and finished the first half of the 1987–88 season
27–18. When the NBA elite
gathered in Chicago for the All-Star weekend, the Bulls were the talk of the league.

The Bulls’ impressive first-half performance gave Michael added stature in the eyes of his peers at the All-Star game. For
the first time, they accorded him the respect his talent deserved.

Michael easily won the slam-dunk competition, and during the game the next day, his All-Star teammates deferred to him in
front of his hometown crowd, feeding him the ball time after time. Michael responded with a spectacular day, hitting 17 of
23 shots, finishing with 40 points — only two short of the All-Star game record — and being named Most Valuable Player (MVP).

After the game, a reporter asked Magic Johnson how he ranked the best players in the league. Johnson looked at the reporter
and smiled. “There’s Michael Jordan,” he said, “and then everybody else.”

Yet in the second half of the season, the Bulls started to struggle. Their youngest players, particularly rookies Grant and
Pippen, hit “the wall,” a slump that most players face in their first NBA season. For a while, it was “Team Jordan” again.

Then the Bulls traded for Seattle guard Sam
Vincent. Vincent gave Chicago a true point guard and some additional firepower. He sparked the club, Pippen and Grant got
their second wind, and the Bulls roared to the finish line, winning 17 of their last 23 games to end the season 50–32. They
were tied for second in the Central Division, only four games behind first-place Detroit. While the Bulls were still long
shots to win the championship, for the first time since Michael Jordan had joined the team, they entered the playoffs expecting
to succeed.

The Bulls played Cleveland in the first round. Chicago was favored to win the best-of-five series.

But many of the younger Bulls had never been in the playoffs before. When the first game started, they were nearly frozen
with fear.

Michael did not want to lose. In the regular season, he had often waited for his teammates to come back down to earth. But
this was the playoffs. He couldn’t afford to wait.

Michael Jordan took over. In game one, he scored 50 of the Bulls’ 104 points in a 104–93 win. In the second quarter, he personally
outscored Cleveland, 21–19.

In game two, he was even better. This time, he scored 55 points, and the Bulls won again, 106–101.

Yet even Michael Jordan couldn’t score 50 points in every game. In game three, he scored “only” 28 points, and the Bulls lost,
110–102. In the fourth game, Michael hit for 40, but the Bulls lost again, 97–91.

Although Michael could win the occasional game by himself, he couldn’t win the whole series. If the Bulls were going to advance
in the playoffs, Michael Jordan needed the kind of help the younger players had provided in the regular season.

He finally got it. His young teammates settled down in game five. Shots that had rolled around the hoop and out finally started
dropping in. Michael scored 39, but Scottie Pippen helped out with 24 points and some important steals. The Bulls won, 108–101,
and earned the right to play the Detroit Pistons in the next round.

The Pistons had forged a well-deserved reputation as the roughest, toughest defensive team in the league. Nicknamed “the Bad
Boys,” they saw what Michael Jordan had done to Cleveland and set out to
stop him. The Pistons thought that if they shut him down, none of the other Bulls could hurt them.

The Pistons installed a complex, special defense they called “the Jordan Rules.” Throughout the series, All-Star guard Joe
Dumars hounded Michael from one end of the court to the other. As soon as Michael got the ball, he was harassed by a second
player who tried to block his way to the basket and cut down his passing lanes. If Michael did break free, center Bill Laimbeer,
forward Dennis Rodman, and the Pistons’ other big men knocked him to the floor.

Some of the younger Bulls were intimidated by Detroit’s rough play. The Pistons slowed Michael down, and none of his teammates
picked up the slack. The Bulls simply couldn’t match Detroit’s intensity, and the Pistons won the series in five games.

The Bulls’ 1987–88 season was over. Michael again led the league in scoring, averaging 35 points per game and improving his
shooting percentage from 48 percent to over 53 percent. But the championship ring he had hoped for was still missing from
his finger.

Over the next two years, the Bulls’ starting lineup grew considerably stronger. Veteran center Bill Cartwright joined the
team, replacing the aging Corzine in the starting lineup, and both Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant were beginning to play
like All-Stars.

Then, in 1989, the Bulls replaced coach Doug Collins with Phil Jackson. Jackson tinkered with the Bulls offense and installed
a half-court game to complement the Bulls fast break. While it took the team most of the 1989–90 season to learn the new setup,
the benefits were clear. Michael Jordan still led the league in scoring in both 1988–89 and 1989–90, but for the first time
since he had joined the team, everyone in the starting lineup averaged in double figures. The Bulls were becoming more than
a one-man team.

But nothing the Bulls did in the regular season made much of a difference when they reached the playoffs. Each year, they
had to play the Pistons. The Bulls just couldn’t figure out a way to beat Detroit.

Yet Chicago improved ever so slightly each year. The Pistons defeated the Bulls in four straight games in the 1988–89 playoffs,
but in the 1989–90
matchup, Chicago pushed Detroit to a full seven games. Detroit won the NBA championship each time — but the Bulls were drawing
closer.

Winning an NBA championship was important to Michael Jordan. That was all that separated him from Magic Johnson and Larry
Bird. Observers had noted many times that while Michael was the best individual player in the game, he didn’t seem to be the
best
team
player. He knew that until the Bulls won a championship, he would always be criticized.

Out on the asphalt and concrete courts of public opinion, Michael was already the champion. He was easily the most popular
player in the game, particularly with kids. From the glass-strewn outdoor courts of the inner city, to the polished wood surfaces
of suburban high school gyms, to dirt-packed backyard courts like his own Rack, Michael Jordan was the most popular player
of all time. Young and old, black and white, male and female, everyone with even a passing interest in basketball loved Michael
Jordan.

Yet his widespread popularity was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, doing what he loved best made him wealthy beyond
his wildest dreams. Michael Jordan basketball shoes, Air Jordans, are
the best-selling sneakers of all time. His contract with Nike, the manufacturer, is worth over $20 million. In 1989, the Bulls
renegotiated his contract and gave Michael an eight-year contract worth $25 million. At the time, it was the biggest contract
in the history of professional basketball. The Bulls set a new attendance record nearly every season and they were the most
popular team on the road. Michael formed his own corporations and employed his parents and other members of his family. He
was able to build James and Deloris a new house and give them new cars. He contributed thousands of dollars to charities and
met presidents and world-famous entertainers.

But as Michael Jordan became more and more famous, it became difficult for him to live like other people. When the Bulls arrived
in a city, Michael had to check in to the hotel under an assumed name. Usually, the team even had to post a guard at his door
to keep fans from breaking in. If he tried to leave his room to go shopping, he was mobbed by autograph-seeking fans. It was
almost impossible for Michael to do the things the rest of us take for granted, like take a walk on a nice spring day, sit
in a
restaurant and eat a meal, or even go down to the park on the corner and shoot some hoops. He was just too popular.

All that attention might make people bigheaded. But not Michael Jordan. His old friends and family say that despite his fame
and wealth, he is the same person. Whenever possible, he goes out of his way to help others. Michael is friendly with his
teammates off the court. He doesn’t act as if he’s better than they are. And once in a while, Michael will sneak out of a
hotel and duck into a fast-food restaurant for a quick bite, or walk onto a court at a busy city park and start talking with
the kids, usually leaving them with his sneakers and jersey when he is through.

By the beginning of the 1990–91 season, basketball had helped Michael Jordan acquire just about everything a person could
want: wealth, fame, a loving family, and the opportunity to do what he loved best for a living. Yet by the time the season
started, what Michael wanted more than anything else still eluded him. When he looked at his hands, something was missing.
An NBA championship ring.

CHAPTER SIX
1990–1991

The Bulls started the 1990–91 season losing three of their first four games. But they did not panic. This time, Michael Jordan’s
teammates didn’t look to Air Jordan to shoot the team out of a slump by scoring 40 or 50 points. They simply went to work
and started playing better basketball.

The Bulls defense was much improved. While everyone still considered the Pistons the best defensive team in the league, the
Bulls were starting to earn a reputation of their own.

On Christmas Day, the Bulls and Pistons faced off in a nationally televised game many thought would be a preview of the playoffs.

The Bulls were ready to play from the opening whistle. After a close first half, Chicago slowly pulled away. They buckled
down on defense. They
challenged every shot, and when Detroit missed, the Bulls didn’t let the Pistons get the rebound. The Detroit players were
intimidated by the aggressive Bulls and shot only 26 percent in the second half, scoring only 36 points. Michael scored 37
in the game to lead the Bulls to a 98–86 win.

The victory set the tone for the remainder of the season. Chicago stormed through the league and finished with a record of
61–21, second best in the NBA and a franchise record. The Bulls won the Central Division, and the defending champion Pistons
finished in second place, 11 games back.

Entering the playoffs, Michael Jordan was cautiously optimistic. “We’re good enough to win it,” he told a reporter. “We know
we can beat the teams we’re going to meet in the playoffs. My job is to take on the leadership role and take us to the next
level.”

In the first round, the Bulls faced the New York Knicks. Despite the presence of star center Patrick Ewing, the Knicks just
couldn’t keep up with Chicago. The Bulls won three straight and the right to play Philadelphia in the second round. Meanwhile,
the Pistons beat Atlanta and also advanced.

The Philadelphia 76ers, led by an All-Star forward Charles Barkley, matched up well against the Bulls. During the regular
season, they had defeated Chicago in three out of four games.

But once the series began, the Bulls were unstoppable. They played almost perfect basketball, and Pippen and Grant both turned
in nearly flawless performances. In game four, with the Bulls up two games to one, Scottie Pippen scored 20, Horace Grant
hit for 22, and Michael Jordan chipped in a quiet 25. The Bulls won, 101–85. Then they dumped the 76ers in game five to take
the series four games to one. After the final game, all anyone could talk about was how well the Bulls played together as
a team.

Meanwhile, the Pistons defeated the Celtics in six games. Once again, Chicago would battle Detroit for the Eastern Conference
championship. The winner would go to the finals. If the Bulls hoped to win the championship, they had to beat Detroit.

The Pistons weren’t quite the same team that had beaten the Bulls in the playoffs for three years in a row. They were getting
older, and several players were hobbled by injuries. Still, there was a reason
the Pistons were the defending champions. Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars were two of the best guards in the league, and Dennis
Rodman and Bill Laimbeer were fearless underneath the basket. Although the Bulls were narrow favorites, everyone expected
the best-of-seven-game series to be a war.