Michael Jordan had ascended to the summit of the NBA by the early 1990s, experiencing a level of success never seen before in the NBA. After years of playoff heartbreak, he finally led the Chicago Bulls to their first championship, capturing the franchise’s maiden Larry O’Brien Trophy while also securing his second league MVP award and first Finals MVP honor.
Yet even as his reputation grew, controversy followed him and the Bulls. That same season was chronicled in Sam Smith‘s controversial book, “Jordan Rules,” which detailed the Bulls’ 1990-91 championship campaign.
While the team’s success marked a turning point for the organization, the book portrayed Jordan as a demanding and sometimes difficult teammate.
One particular episode centered on a late-season game against the Brooklyn Nets on March 28, 1991, at the Meadowlands Arena.
In that contest, Jordan erupted for 42 points through three quarters and looked on course to record a special performance.
With the Bulls holding an 18-point lead entering the fourth, head coach Phil Jackson opted to rest his superstar for the remainder of the game.
According to Smith‘s account, Jordan was upset because he wanted to reach the 50-point mark.
Bill Cartwright’s gripe with Michael Jordan
The situation reportedly caused tension with center Bill Cartwright, who was said to be frustrated that Jordan appeared focused on personal scoring despite already dominating a struggling Nets team.
In that game, Scottie Pippen scored 14 points, Horace Grant added 13, and Cartwright finished with 12. The implication was that others might have posted bigger numbers had the offense flowed differently.
However, Jordan forcefully rejected the narrative during his Playboy interview back in 1992.
“Sam Smith says Cartwright said I was bitching about not getting fifty points and that everyone could have scored twenty instead. That’s the biggest lie in America,” Jordan said at the time.
“The whole offense is set for Cartwright to score as many points as he can. If he can’t score, that’s his damn problem. All I can do is throw him the ball. I can’t make him move.”
He continued his defense of his playing style: “I don’t go out and just try to score,” Jordan added. “I score because there is an opportunity to score.
“It doesn’t matter who scores. If you have an opportunity to score, you score. And we win. Smith made it seem like I was selfish in that sense, that all I thought about was getting my points when actually I wasn’t worried about that. I was worried about winning. Who cares what happens with the points?”
Longstanding tension bubbles over
The friction between Jordan and Cartwright had deeper roots. The Bulls had traded Charles Oakley, one of Jordan‘s closest friends and on-court enforcers, to acquire Cartwright.
Initially, Jordan questioned the big man’s hands and fit within the offense. But as championships followed, relationships evolved.
The 1990-91 season ended with a franchise-best 61-21 regular-season record and the first of six NBA titles.
It shattered the lingering criticism that Jordan could not win because he was too focused on scoring. Over 15 NBA seasons, he would claim 10 scoring titles, but his legacy ultimately transcended individual numbers.
Driven by an obsessive competitive streak, Jordan demanded excellence from teammates and coaches alike.
That intensity sometimes ruffled feathers, yet it forged a dynasty. The Bulls went 6-0 in six NBA Finals appearances – a testament not just to scoring brilliance, but to an uncompromising commitment to victory.
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