1991 NBA Championship: Jordan’s Magic
1991 NBA Finals — Jordan’s First Ring (Bulls 4–1 Lakers)
There are first steps and there are first rings. Michael Jordan’s first NBA championship in June 1991 wasn’t just the end of a climb; it was a hand-off of the era. The Lakers still had Magic Johnson, the Forum’s spotlights, and the final echoes of Showtime. The Bulls brought a sharper triangle, a star in full bloom, and an identity forged by years of Detroit bruises. Five games later, the league’s center of gravity shifted for good. Chicago won the series 4–1, clinching at the Forum on June 12, 1991, 108–101. Wikipedia
Setting the stage: Game 1’s reminder
Game 1 in Chicago was a gut check. The Bulls had the crowd, the momentum, and a red-hot Jordan, but the final shot belonged to the Lakers. With the clock winding down, Sam Perkins trailed the play and buried a calm, high-arching three from the top to put L.A. ahead, 92–91. Chicago’s last looks missed, and the afternoon ended with the Lakers up 1–0, 93–91, and Magic logging yet another triple-double in a Finals opener. It was the perfect jolt of realism: the dynasty Jordan wanted to topple wasn’t going to step aside politely. Wikipedia
The adjustment that flipped the series
Phil Jackson’s counter in Game 2 felt simple but seismic. Scottie Pippen took the primary assignment on Magic—picking him up early, disrupting entry points, and using length to turn half-court decisions into rushed reads. The effect was immediate: fewer easy advances into L.A.’s pet actions, more taxed possessions, and Magic spending more time feeling Pippen’s hips and arms than orchestrating. The headline change—“Pippen on Magic”—has been echoed through the years for a reason; it rerouted the series’ flow. Chicago even experimented with Jordan cross-matching on Vlade Divac to preserve energy and keep length on the ball. The Bulls knotted the series with a 107–86 win, and with it, they seized the tempo and the terms of engagement. UPIWikipedia
The masterpiece in motion: Jordan’s Game 2
If Pippen’s defense bent the series, Jordan’s offense in Game 2 broke it open. After a quiet start, he caught rhythm and never let go, ripping off a stretch of 13 straight made field goals, toggling between pull-ups, post spins, and lobs that made coaching clips for a generation. The capstone was the moment everyone knows—the mid-air switch-hands layup: he rose right-handed for what looked like a dunk, twisted around airborne traffic, and softly banked it left. It wasn’t just a highlight; it was an exclamation that Chicago’s best could be both ruthless and inventive, the kill and the art in one take. NBAWikipedia
To L.A.: surviving the Forum and winning the margins
Game 3 at the Forum went to overtime—Chicago’s first road test of the series, and the place where you find out if a team’s confidence travels. By then, the Bulls’ defensive shape—Pippen’s length at the point of attack, Jordan’s playmaking pressure, and Horace Grant’s coverage—had crowded L.A.’s passing lanes. Chicago won it in OT, 104–96, and the series started to feel like it belonged to the hungrier, fresher legs. Game 4 tightened the vice: the Bulls’ rotations looked synchronized, the Lakers’ spacing looked heavy, and Chicago rolled, 97–82, to go up 3–1. The scoreboard lines are easy; what mattered more was the feel—the Bulls now dictated where the ball moved, when it stalled, and which shots L.A. had to settle for. Wikipedia
the clincher: Paxson’s daggers and Jordan’s control (Game 5)
Game 5 is where first-rings are won and reputations are sealed. It was also where attrition finally hit L.A.: James Worthy and Byron Scott were out, and Magic had to create nearly everything, spraying passes to keep the Lakers in it. He finished with 20 assists and 11 rebounds—a stubborn, great-player performance—but the fourth quarter belonged to Chicago’s composure. With the Lakers up 93–90, Chicago strung together a 9–0 run fueled by stops and a simple recognition: John Paxson was shooting without a conscience and without a defender close enough. The Bulls fed him from the elbows and wings, five straight makes late, including 10 of the Bulls’ last 15 points. Final: 108–101. Confetti, champagne, and the first Larry O’Brien Trophy of the Jordan era.
What Jordan did—beyond the box score
Stats definitely sing—31.2 points, 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds per game for the series, with elite efficiency—but the more interesting thing is how he got those numbers. He toggled roles on command: initiating from the pinch post to collapse help and kick, pushing in transition to create early seals for Grant or easy trail looks for shooters, and then, when possessions stalled, isolating with the shot clock burning and converting tough twos that the league still credits as “bad” until the best players make them good. He set the table, then ate, then passed dessert to Paxson. That duality—primary scorer and primary organizer—was the difference between a great scorer and a champion.
The shoe story (because this is The KickStream)
All series long, Jordan wore the Air Jordan 6 “Black/Infrared”—a Tinker Hatfield design with that unmistakable heel spoiler and cut-outs that gave the VI a quick-strike look on TV. Beyond the aesthetics, the AJ6 will always be “first-ring” coded: when Jordan finally held the trophy, it was an AJ6 on his feet. That iconography is why photos of the Forum clincher still get reposted every June and why collectors talk about the 6 like a milestone instead of just a model. The black/Infrared colorway in particular is the one most fans attach to this Finals—modern retros and auction stories keep that association alive. Nike.comSothebys.com
Key plays that still matter (and why)
- Perkins’ Game 1 three wasn’t just a shot; it was a scouting report. L.A. made Chicago guard the second wave in transition, not just the initial drive. It reminded everyone that you can out-execute Jordan for 48 minutes if you win the last 20 seconds. It also sharpened Chicago’s late-clock calls going forward—fewer hero pull-ups, more reads into the triangle’s strong-side options. Wikipedia
- The switch-hands layup in Game 2 is a looped clip for the style, but the substance is spacing. Chicago kept the weak-side occupied enough that the help came from a half-step late position. Jordan did the spectacular part, but the geometry—Pippen parked deep corner, the big lifting, the slot filled—gave him the runway to improvise in the air. Once that play hit, the building detonated and L.A. never really recovered its poise the rest of the night. NBA
- Pippen’s point-of-attack defense changed the emotional math. Magic is a rhythm passer; bump him early and the whole possession hesitates. Pippen’s willingness to absorb that assignment freed Jordan to conserve energy, jump passing lanes, and turbo the break. That redistribution of load is a championship trait—your best scorer doesn’t have to carry every chore if your No. 2 can moonlight as the best defender on earth. UPI
- Paxson’s fourth-quarter heater in Game 5 is exactly how great teams close: with the right shot, even if it’s the role player taking it. The triangle’s beauty is that it always has a pressure release—on this night, it was the short corner and the two-man game with Jordan as decision-maker. L.A. trapped the star; the ball found the stripes on Paxson’s shooter’s sleeves; the net made that happy, flat-snap sound. Title secured. Los Angeles Times
Legacy: the moment the crown moved
When Jordan cradled the trophy at the Forum, it read as a coronation and a closure. Beating Magic wasn’t symbolic—it was deliberate. Jordan had wanted to win the first one while Magic and Bird were still active, to take the crown in the open rather than inherit it by default. After this series, the league’s best player was also the champion, and the Bulls weren’t a promising project anymore—they were the standard. The numbers ended up historic—six titles, six Finals MVPs—but that mythology begins here, with five games that modernized how a superstar can score and run a team at the same time. Wikipedia
Why sneakerheads still talk about this specific Finals
Because it’s the perfect convergence of performance and product. The AJ6 “Infrared” isn’t just tied to Jordan; it’s tied to the exact night the throne changed hands. That makes it more than a retro—it’s a receipt. Auction houses still chase photo-matches of game-worn pairs from this series, retros keep the color alive for a new generation, and every recap of Chicago’s dynasty starts with a black-and-infrared silhouette gliding under the Forum’s lights. For collectors and fans, that’s provenance you can see in a single frame. AP News