The SHOCKING Reason Why Michael Jordan Was Once Called a Con Man by Knicks Former Coach

Yes. He is known as extremely competitive. He is known as a beast on the court. But Michael Jordan being called a ‘Con Man’? Who doesn’t remember the blame game by Van Gundy! Being the finest, one is bound to attract criticism. Chicago Bulls’ rivalry against the New York Knicks in the 90s was a live war on the court. But amidst the competition between the two prolific teams, Knicks coach blamed Jordan for befriending his opponents to take advantage.

Knicks-Bulls locking horns

As Rashad would like to say it, “It was a real rivalry!” Michael Jordan had a lot to share about the Bulls-Knicks rivalry on the ‘One on One with Ahmad Rashad’ show. “Every game was like a proving ground, trying to gain that extra edge.” These lines said by MJ in the interview define the historic rivalry.

Mainly predominant during the 90s, this rivalry took over for various reasons. One of them being the frequency with which the two teams competed against each other. Between 1981-96 that the Bulls and Knicks went against each other 7 times in the playoffs. Bulls won 6 out of those series. Jordan was drafted by the Bulls in 1984 with Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman as his co-members. The likes of Patrick Ewing and John Starks made the contest quite dominating from both sides.

In 1991 Bulls recorded the best season in their franchise history with 61 wins. Knicks pushed themselves and just managed to get into playoffs. The same year Chicago Bulls won their first NBA championship title but Knicks grabbed the advantage of MJ’s absence from 1993-94. Bulls recorded their worst loss of 102-74 against the Knicks in the 1995-96 season.

Michael Jordan accused of being a ‘Con Man’

Jordan’s comeback was a huge threat to the Knicks and equally to all other potential contenders. Van Gundy accused Jordan of being a ‘Con Man’ in a radio interview, few days before their match against Bulls in 1997. He blamed him for building relationships with opposing teammates for competitive advantage. This was clearly indicative of Jordan’s rapport with Patrick and Oakley off the court.

Jordan was quite offended by the statement made by the then-Knicks coach. He mentioned in the interview saying that he did take it personally. “I felt like it was inappropriate to say something like that.”, were MJ’s views on the incident. It was a different kind of friendship with Charles Oakley is what Jordan mentioned. After a tough on-court relation filled with a competitive spirit, they both went out for dinner together later in the day.

MJ slams his haters with top performance

The immediate match after that was a war without words. MJ thrashed Knicks with 51 points in the game and cursed Gundy throughout the match. It was a match that Jordan’s fans will never forget and will remember it for the bashing comeback by the star.

“I do not regret it. I told the truth. He had a great game. He is a great player. At the same time, I believe in everything I said.” With the end of the match, this is what Van Gundy had to say about whether he regretted his words against Jordan. He continued by saying, “He uses all weapons to gain an advantage. Some physical, some mental.”

Whatever the haters had to say was aside, but Michael’s performance shut everybody. Though this incident does remain as a scar in the Knicks-Bulls rivalry, it’s considered a significant moment of Jordan’s career with the wave of criticism he had to face for the same.

Read: The One thing that bothered Michael Jordan the most