Michael Jordan Wasn’t Surprised Pistons Walked Off Court Without Shaking Bulls Hands After Getting Swept In ’91 Conference Finals: ‘They Didn’t Have To Shake My Hand To Know We Just Whipped They A*s’

The Bulls and Pistons were fierce rivals, so Jordan wasn’t surprised by what Detroit did. 

“Typical,” Michael Jordan told SLAM Magazine in 1997. “We figured the ‘Bad Boys,’ their whole image. 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.

“I’ll shake their hands. I shook [Detroit’s] hands when they beat us. I hated to do it, but out of sportsmanship, you have to pay your respects. And if someone beats us, I’ll do the same.”

The Pistons beat the Bulls in the second round of the 1988 playoffs and the 1989 and 1990 conference finals. Detroit constructed “The Jordan Rules,” a four-step method to prevent Jordan from scoring and the tactics worked. 

Former Pistons coach Brendan Malone explained what “The Jordan Rules” were in “The Last Dance” docuseries. Detroit didn’t want Jordan to go baseline and wanted him to go left instead of right. The Pistons were also going to trap Jordan every time he got the ball in the post and knock him to the ground when he got into the paint.

“The Jordan Rules” forced Jordan to hit the weights and get stronger. The NBA legend put on nearly 15 pounds of muscle in the summer of 1990 with the help of well-known trainer Tim Grover and Jordan ready to dish out pain to the Pistons instead of receiving it.

Chicago swept Detroit in the 1991 conference finals behind Jordan, who averaged 29.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists. The Bulls never reacted to any of the Pistons’ dirty fouls and remained focused on playing basketball.

In the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the 1991 conference finals when Dennis Rodman pushed Scottie Pippen to the ground and tried to hurt him on a drive to the hoop, Pippen didn’t retaliate and Jordan loved it.

“When Pippen didn’t respond to that abuse, there was nothing they could do to beat us then,” Michael Jordan said in “The Last Dance” doc. 

After finally getting past the Pistons, the Bulls became a dynasty. They won three straight titles in 1991, 1992 and 1993 and three more in 1996, 1997 and 1998. 

Jordan won five MVPs, six rings, six Finals MVPs and 10 scoring titles with the Bulls. He’s universally recognized as the greatest player in NBA history.