Magic Johnson reveals that Michael Jordan’s foul trouble was a blessing for the Chicago Bulls’ disguise.
In the 1980s, the Los Angeles Lakers were the most dominant team in the NBA. After all, they won five NBA championships during the “Showtime” era.
The Lakers, led by the unprecedented magical Johnson and the brilliant Kareem Abdul Jabber, were the strength to consider.
However, during the 1991 NBA Finals, the Lakers met the game in the form of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
At the time, the Lakers were still considered strong competitors, despite Abdul Jabbar already retiring and Johnson entering his 30s.
As for the Bulls, they finally overcome like their bows – “Bad Boys” Detroit Piston. According to Magic, the 1991 NBA Finals had already been resolved in Game 1 of the series.
how? Now, legendary head coach Phil Jackson was given a blessing in disguise in the form of early Jordanian foul trouble.
“(Scotty) Pippen did an amazing job on me. After Michael got into early foul trouble (MJ committed five fouls in total), you had to expect them to make that switch,” Johnson said via the New York Times.
“They were trying to polish me or take the ball out of their hands. I’ll take your pick. Scotty is more physical than Michael, so the matchup was a little different,” he added.
Johnson finished Game 1 with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, but Scotty Pippen’s physical defense certainly did a lot for him as he shot four-quarters off the field and relied more on free throws.
Despite struggling with a 93-91 defeat in Game 1, coach Jackson knew that the Pippen Defending Magic was the key to winning the Lakers.
It was supposed to be a secret at first, but in the next four games, the Bulls used strategy to register the Lakers for a 4-1 series victory.
The 1991 NBA Finals victory officially marked the end of the Lakers dynasty as the Bulls won five more titles in the 1990s.