Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls “were just whiners,” according to former Pistons enforcer Bill Laimbeer.
There’s zero regret on Laimbeer’s part for leading the decision to not shake hands with MJ and company after being swept in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals.
Laimbeer adds that Detroit was only vanquished after they “got old.”
Per ESPN:
“Why would I regret it now today? I don’t care what the media says about me. I never did,” Laimbeer said. “If I did, I’d be a basket case, especially back then.
“I was about winning basketball games and winning championships and did whatever I had to do to get the most out of my ability and our team — and we did. At the end of the day, we’re called world champions.”
[Isiah] Thomas took a much more conciliatory tone in his interview Monday morning, saying he is “personally hurt” by his portrayal in [“The Last Dance”] docuseries and apologizing to the city of Detroit.
“They whined and cried for a year and a half about how bad we were for the game, but more importantly, they said we were bad people,” Laimbeer said. “We weren’t bad people. We were just basketball players winning, and that really stuck with me because they didn’t know who we were or what we were about as individuals and our family life.
“But all that whining they did, I didn’t want to shake their hand. They were just whiners. They won the series. Give him credit: We got old, they got past us. But OK, move on.”
Related Michael Jordan: Pistons Hatred ‘Carries Even to This Day’
