In the 1990s, Michael Jordan and the Bulls had a myriad of challenges. The Pistons are the most well-known. However, after Detroit fell off, it was Patrick Ewing and the Knicks that stepped off as their new rivals in the East. Being similarly gritty, New York gave Chicago many problems on their way to a championship. However, the most interesting instance is inarguably the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals. Since here, not only did the Bulls go down 0-2 in the series, but also earned a harsh $25,000 fine from the NBA.Jordan was a lot of things during his time in the league. Unfortunately, ‘a kind man’ wasn’t one of them. Despite being good friends with Ewing, he once called him a ‘black hole’. He did this, regardless of the fact that the Knicks superstar was the best option on his team during the big man era, something that he was. Simply put, ‘His Airness’ seldom had any limits for how he’d try to get in anyone’s head.
The Bulls-Knicks rivalryThe legendary Pat Riles was head coach of the New York Knicks during the Bulls-Knicks rivalry, and he suffered for it.
The only time the Knicks did win, was in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, back when Jordan was retired. So, as great as he was, Riley could never get one over on MJ’s Bulls sides.