Michael Jordan: Encyclopedia II - Michael Jordan - The First 3-Peat

Michael Jordan - The First 3-Peat

Michael Jordan, motivated by the narrow defeat to the Pistons, bought into the Jackson and assistant coach Tex Winter's triangle offense after years of resistance. He won his second MVP award, posting a 31.5/6.0/5.5 season. The Bulls finished in first place for the first time in 16 years. With Scottie Pippen becoming an All-Star, the Bulls proved too strong for their Eastern Conference competition. After sweeping the New York Knicks and beating the Philadelphia 76ers in five games, the Bulls finally conquered the Pistons, sweeping them in four games. The final game of the series is most famous for the Pistons walking off the court during the final seconds of the game without shaking the hands of the Bulls. The Bulls went on to defeat Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Jordan unanimously won his first NBA Finals MVP award, and famously wept while holding his first NBA Finals trophy.

Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991-1992 season, finishing with a 67-15 record. Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with a 30.1/6.4/6.1 season. After a physical 7 game series over the emerging New York Knicks in the 2nd round and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals with another last second shot, the Bulls faced off against Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trailblazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic-Bird type rivalry in Jordan-Drexler, compared the two throughout the pre-Finals hype. Jordan responded to this by draining six 3-pointers and scoring 35 points in the first half of Game 1. The Bulls would go on to win the game and the series in six games. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the 2nd year in a row

The next season, despite a 32.6/6.7/5.5 season, Jordan failed to win the MVP for the third year in a row, losing the award to his friend, Charles Barkley. Jordan and the Bulls would end up meeting Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals. The Bulls won their 3rd consecutive NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and last-second block by Horace Grant. Jordan, averaging a Finals-record 41 PPG during the six game series, became the first person in NBA history to win 3 straight Finals MVPs.

In October 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, citing a lost desire to play the game. Many speculate that the murder of his father, James Jordan, in July 1993 factored into his decision. Others theorize that a clandestine deal was in effect between Jordan and NBA commissioner David Stern, where Jordan would step away from the NBA to control a supposed escalating gambling addiction without there being much negative publicity sent to the NBA or its biggest superstar; however, there is not much evidence to support this theory. At any rate, Jordan's announcent sent shockwaves throughout the NBA and appeared on front page covers of newspapers around the world.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The First 3-Peat", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki