Michael Jordan Was Relieved After Winning First Championship In 1991: ‘At Last I Fit Somewhere In The Category Of Larry Bird And Magic Johnson’

After winning his first NBA title in 1991 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Michael Jordan was relieved. 

Jordan was happy he could finally etch his name next to Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. 

“At last I fit somewhere in the category of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson,” Jordan said in The Last Dance documentary. 

Jordan and Johnson hugged in the hallway after the Chicago Bulls won the 1991 title. An emotional Jordan was so happy that he busted through and became a champion and Johnson was there to comfort him.

You can’t talk about NBA history without mentioning Jordan, Johnson and Bird. The three basketball icons gave everything they had to the game and experienced individual and team success.

Jordan, Johnson and Bird combined to win 14 championships, 11 regular-season MVPs and 11 Finals MVPs. The three friends were on the 1992 Dream Team that won the gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics.

Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks with the Bulls and Washington Wizards. He won 10 scoring titles, three steals titles, one Defenisve Player of the Year Award, five regular-season MVPs, six rings and six Finals MVPs. The 14-time All-Star is the all-time leader in points per game. 

Johnson, who spent his entire career with the Lakers, averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.4 blocks. He won three regular-season MVPs, three Finals MVPs and five championships. Johnson is seventh in NBA history in assists and third in triple-doubles.

Like Johnson, Bird only played for one NBA team. He averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks for the Boston Celtics while winning three regular-season MVPs, three championships and two Finals MVPs. Bird is 11th all-time in triple-doubles.

Jordan, Bird and Johnson were close friends during their playing careers and still keep in touch. It was undoubtedly a treat for basketball fans to watch the three play and achieve success at the highest level in the ’80s and ’90s.

Following his fifth NBA championship in 1997, Jordan was asked by SLAM Magazine where he put himself next to Johnson and Bird.

MJ said he, Bird and Johnson were on parallel ground.

“I don’t put myself above them,” Jordan said. “I think that we’re all on parallel ground here. You know, they educated me about a lot of things about the game from a team standpoint. So I can’t put myself above. I mean, people try to, but we played in different eras.

“I had an opportunity to go against them in the peak of their careers while I was still young. And I went against them when I was at the peak of mine when they was on the other end. So it was a passing of trends there, and we never had the opportunity to play against each other in peak years. You know, so it’s hard to say that I’m above them by no means. I like to consider myself parallel to them.”