Michael Jordan had a few hurdles to clear before he took the NBA by storm. It wasn’t until the 1990-91 season that MJ’s Chicago Bulls finally got over the hump and beat the Detroit Pistons en route to their first-ever NBA championship. But before he dethroned Isiah Thomas and the “Bad Boys,” Jordan’s initial postseason roadblock was the Larry Bird-led Boston Celtics.
When Larry Legend announced his retirement in 1992, Jordan paid the ultimate respect to his former Team USA teammate. However, Michael wasn’t sad about his rival calling it quits.
Bird vs. Jordan
His Airness averaged 39.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists against Bird. Larry, meanwhile, averaged 27.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 8.5 assists against Jordan.
Michael’s Bulls never eliminated Bird’s Celtics in a playoff series. However, Jordan did have the greatest individual performance of their head-to-head matchups.