As a Chicago Bulls writer, Sam Smith had a front-row seat to how Michael Jordan and the team fought their way up against the Detroit Pistons in the late ’80s and early ’90s. He revealed that before finally getting over the hump, Jordan got consumed by frustration to the point where he wanted Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant traded away.
According to Smith, the Bulls seemed to have lost their confidence and thought they would never defeat their rivals in Detroit. As the team leader, Jordan understandably felt at one point that his co-stars Pippen and Grant weren’t giving it all they had. Smith even noted that MJ believed the pair didn’t have what it took to go toe-to-toe with the Bad Boys.
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Smith further divulged that Jordan was already looking for possible replacements for Pippen and Grant in the middle of the 1990-91 season.
“The Bulls, as we saw reiterated in the Last Dance documentary last year, were obsessed with the Pistons,” Smith wrote in 2021. “I remember when the team went into Detroit for the first time that 1990-91 season just before Christmas. They were much more feckless than fearless in a double-digit loss.”
“It did seem like they’d be broken up after that season,” he described. “Jordan was growing more frustrated with Pippen and Grant and their apparently inability to match Detroit’s tenacious tactics. They seemed not to be growing as much as melting in that competitive incubator. Jordan was discussing replacements.”
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The Bulls beat the Pistons
Based on Smith’s revelation, Jordan was looking forward to Pippen and Grant‘s exit. MJ was apparently thinking of that ahead of the Bulls’ visit to Detroit for a road game before the trade deadline.
Fortunately for Pip and Grant, the Bulls ended up beating the Pistons. As Smith described it, the entire atmosphere shifted following the victory.
At last, Jordan was convinced that the Bulls could match up with Detroit. However, Smith suggested that it wasn’t because Pippen and Grant could really take on the Bad Boys. Instead, he believed that Isiah Thomas’ absence that night was the biggest factor.
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“When the team, just before the All-Star break, returned to the Palace at Auburn Hills and won, they talked about it being a breakthrough with their first road win against those Pistons,” Smith recalled. “I didn’t see it that way since Isiah Thomas was out injured. But if it’s your story, you can tell it your way.”
MJ never won until Horace and Scottie came along
The Bulls didn’t trade Pippen and Grant that season. In the playoffs, they crossed paths with the Pistons once again. At that point, MJ was determined to eliminate the Pistons, having been defeated in the last three consecutive postseasons. And they finally did.
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Chicago’s win over Detroit saw them reaching the Finals for the first time. They beat the Los Angeles Lakers and won their first NBA championship in franchise history. The Bulls went on to win two more NBA titles with Pippen and Grant still on the team.
Some say the Bulls achieved a historic three-peat because of Jordan, while others beg to differ. They argued that MJ wouldn’t have ever won those championships without Pippen and Grant. The truth is somewhere in the middle, as basketball is a team sport, and you need more than one great player to win the coveted Larry O’Brien trophy.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 2, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.