Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls had a couple of rival teams during their peak. One of them was the New York Knicks, who pushed “Air Jordan” to the limit during their matchups, even though Mike was able to overcome the challenge in the end.

It was the combination of the Knicks’ great players that prompted MJ to play at his best. The Knicks also had coaches who liked to taunt the Bulls’ shooting guard during the game, and the “Black Cat” didn’t need much extra motivation.

Jordan vs the Knicks

In his book “For the Love of the Game: My Story,” Jordan recalled two instances of Knicks coaches talking smack to him. The first one was Rick Pitino, who claimed MJ was feigning his injury.

“There were a couple games against the Knicks when their coaches made a statement I didn’t agree with,” Mike wrote, per the Chicago Tribune. “During the 1989 playoffs, I turned my ankle, and Rick Pitino, who was the Knicks’ coach, went on TV and said he really didn’t think I was hurt. I made sure it didn’t look like I was hurt the next day and dropped 47 on him.”

Numbers reveal that the ace shooting guard did score 47 points and shot 66.7% from the field. He also collected 11 rebounds and six assists. MJ’s performance powered the Bulls to a 106-93 victory, and a commanding 3-1 series lead. They eventually closed it out in six games.

Jordan droped 44 on Jeff Van Gundy

Another New York coach that fell victim to no. 23’s wrath was Jeff Van Gundy. The head coach, who helmed the Knicks from 1996 to 2001, said some harsh words towards Jordan. Just like what he did to Pitino, Michael made sure Van Gundy ate his words.

“Jeff Van Gundy did the same thing during the 1997 season,” MJ wrote. “He called me a con man and said I lulled opposing players to sleep by befriending them. That really irritated me. I gave him 44 points the next day and said, ‘Con that, little man.’ Everyone asked me what I said to Van Gundy after the game. And that’s about as nice a translation as I can give you.”

Mike was likely referring to the Bulls vs Knicks duel in Madison Square Garden on January 9, 1998. The North Carolina native dropped 44 points on 51.5% shooting from the field, including 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.

He also guided the Bulls to a 90-89 victory. But more importantly, he humbled Van Gundy and taught him never to talk smack to “Black Jesus” ever again.