90's Rivalry Revisited: Bulls/Knicks

Tonight the Bulls square off against the Knicks in the United Center as part of a doubleheader on TNT. While this is really not a marquee matchup like it used to be, it does mark the first time since the Jordan era that both teams look like they are on the way up. Hopefully a new rivalry will bring back some of the excitement of the intense games of the 90's.



The Bulls and Knicks squared off in the playoffs 6 times between 1989-1996 with the Bulls winning every series but the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals, when Michael Jordan was off playing baseball. While it may have been a one-sided rivalry in terms of wins and championships, the battles in every game were anything but. Every series, particularly from 92-94, was filled with hard fouls, trash talking, and signature moments for both teams. Whether it was Starks dunking over Grant, Jordan dunking over Ewing, Charles Smith getting blocked or Jordan's Double Nickel in 95, epic basketball moments always came when these two iconic franchises squared off.

The players involved were all the type of people you loved if they were on your team and hated if they were your opponent. Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Grant and the other marquee Bulls were dominant and loathed by the Knicks fans. The Knicks, who were filled with tough-nosed guys like John Starks, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, Doc Rivers, Xavier McDaniel and countless others did everything they could to get under Jordan's skin and unravel the champion Bulls.

For any fan of basketball in that era, you could certainly appreciate the great, inspired basketball that came out of this rivalry. Since Jordan's retirement and the subsequent breaking up of both teams through free agency and retirement, a Bulls/Knicks game is just a blip on the radar of the NBA season. Hopefully with guys like Derrick Rose, Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer, we will one day soon see a return to it being a marquee matchups of years past. Check below for one of my favorite memories from one of the many Bulls/Knicks games.


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