(Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
During the Michael Jordan era of the Chicago Bulls, every team in the league was trying to take them down, as Phil Jackson’s squad was about as good as any team the league had seen at that time, with Jordan and company going on to win six NBA titles.
Although Jordan and the Bulls dominated the NBA during the 1990s, Chicago wasn’t without teams that gave them trouble on a regular basis, especially in an era that was extremely physical.
Before the Bulls became the league’s best team for about a decade, Jackson’s squad had to deal with the Detroit Pistons during the tail end of the 80s, when the “Bad Boys” crushed the competition with their physical style of play, which the Bulls couldn’t deal with.
Once the Bulls finally got past the Pistons heading into the 90s, many teams tried to emulate their style as it seemed to work against Chicago, with the New York Knicks embracing that kind of toughness under Pat Riley.
According to former Bulls star Toni Kukoc, the Knicks were the toughest challenge for Chicago, as he told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bally Sports.
New York Knicks with Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason & Charles Smith were the toughest to face up against says Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer Toni Kukoc: “The Knicks were ALWAYS the toughest for me. Everybody knows that era of basketball was so physical and we used to… pic.twitter.com/DYkZe62eS4
— Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) September 4, 2023
Even though the Bulls consistently came out on top against the Knicks, New York made it far from easy for Jordan and company to advance, as Kukoc points out, as their style was tough to endure during the NBA playoffs.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, the Riley era didn’t win any titles, but they were a memorable squad that the Bulls and other great teams in that era will never forget.
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