Michael Jordan Once Compared Reggie Miller Rivalry to ‘Chicken-Fighting With a Woman’: “He Weighs Only 185 Pounds, so You Have to Be Careful, Don’t Touch Him, or It’s a Foul”

The Michael Jordan-Reggie Miller rivalry was showcased in ‘The Last Dance’ docu-series. Michael Jordan had set his sights on the sixth NBA championship of his career, while Reggie Miller targeted his first in 1998. The 1998 Eastern Conference Finals went into seven games with the Bulls winning against the Pacers 4-3. Jordan later revealed that Reggie Miller irritated him.

Chicago Bulls were a force to reckon with during the 90s. They had already won five championships during the decade and were on their way to completing their 2nd three-peat in 1998.

Indiana Pacers had an incredible season that year and faced the Bulls in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals. The Bulls were the favorites to win it, but the Pacers had an incredible squad as well.

“If I had to pick a team that gave us the toughest time in the East, Indiana was probably the toughest, outside of Detroit,” Jordan said in The Last Dance.

Reggie Miller was one of the toughest players to deal with at that time. He gave a tough time to Jordan during that series. Jordan, in an old interview from 1998, revealed how he was irritated by Miller during the 1998 Conference Finals.

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Michael Jordan reveals how Reggie Miller irritated him

6-time NBA star Michael Jordan appeared for an interview with ESPN in 1998. During the interview, he explained how Reggie Miller drove him nuts and irritate him.

“I don’t really dislike anybody in the league, but playing Reggie Miller drives me nuts,” Jordan told ESPN Magazine. “It’s like chicken-fighting with a woman. His game is all this flopping-type thing. He weighs only 185 pounds, so you have to be careful, don’t touch him, or it’s a foul. On offense, I use all my 215 pounds and just move him out. But he has his hands on you all the time, like a woman holding your waist. I just want to beat his hands off because it’s illegal. It irritates me.”

The Pacers had an insane 1997-98 NBA campaign. They had hired NBA legend Larry Bird as their head coach ahead of the season. They finished 3rd in their conference with a 58-24 record.

Miller-led Pacers managed to beat the Cavaliers and the Knicks in the playoffs before facing the Bulls.

During the series vs the Bulls, the Pacers were 2-0 down in the first two games. However, they managed to square it 3-3 by the sixth game of the series. However, Reggie Miller’s 22 points went in vain as Jordan’s Bulls recorded an 88-83 win in the final game of the series to reach the NBA Finals. The Bulls went on to beat Utah Jazz in six games and lifted their sixth championship.

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