Pat Riley and the New York Knicks didn’t bother Michael Jordan to become the face of the NBA in the 1990s.
Today, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player in the eyes of most NBA fans and former players. He earned the position due to his incredible career with the Chicago Bulls.
MJ won praise early in his NBA career, but it wasn’t until the 1990s that he became a real winner in the 1990s.
After all, he led the Bulls to six NBA championships from 1991 to 1998, putting a 6-0 record in the NBA Finals. But what about the team that locked the bull and horn? Many believe they are afraid of facing bulls, but former NBA player Greg Anthony recently uncovered the theory.
Before becoming president of the Miami Heat, Pat Riley enjoyed some great spells in his coaching career. Of course, his best was seen alongside the Showtime La Lakers as his coaching helped the team win four NBA titles.
After leaving the Lakers, Riley became the head coach of the New York Knicks, instilling killer mentality in his team. Greg Anthony, a member of Riley’s Knicks, recently shed light on the same.
“We didn’t see anyone differently. Frankly, we thought we could beat them that way. It’s fair and that has nothing to do with whether the guy is great or not.
“About the (Boston) Celtics, if they were really good, they’d thought the (Larry) birds were healthy,” Anthony said.
He added: “It had something to do with our coach. It was Pat Riley. It’s always about us, and it wasn’t about what we did, Michael Jordan.”
MJ and the Bulls dominated the Eastern Conference, but Riley never allowed players to feel inferior to their rivals.
Jordan did not become the overnight superstar in the 1990s. In fact, Anthony believes that the important reason behind the Knicks mentality is the fact that Jordan was “still ascended” in that era.
“To be fair, for the people who are listening, like when we are having these conversations, their perspective is that Michael Jordan has already become someone who knows he is today.
“Our perspective is that he was still rising. At that point he was the face of the league and in our minds we never saw him that way,” he continued.
Instead, the Knicks dealt with Jordan as they handled the other best players on their team.
“We didn’t talk, ‘Oh, we’re against the face of the league.” We’re against the Bulls. He’s their best player. This is what we have to do to succeed against them.
To this day, many believe that the Jordanian enemies of his time were scared to face him. So much so they lose sleep on it.
However, Anthony also revealed the story when he appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show.”
“The players really don’t have any adoration to anyone. We didn’t see him.
“We knew he was a great player, but they are all great players and when you are one of the top dogs in the league, we respect that, but we are trying to beat your team.
“We got one of those guys too. Patrick (Ewing) is one of those guys. Michael didn’t see him as head and shoulders above our best,” he concluded.
Either way, the franchise won East only once in the four years when Riley coached the Knicks. Given that it happened during MJ’s first retirement, fans will always believe the story of the Bulls legend capturing the East in the 1990s.
