Top 5 opponents of Michael Jordan

#2 Indiana Pacers

Reggie Miller and Michael Jordan had classic battles

Before Michael Jordan and the Bulls faced Reggie Miller and the Pacers in the playoffs for the first time in 1998, Jordan played in 166 playoff games. In all that time he had never faced the Pacers. But once the teams played, Chicago and Indiana did not disappoint.

Hall of Famer forward Larry Bird was Indiana's head coach, and his fire showed when the Bulls and Pacers played. Reggie Miller averaged 19.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 49 games vs. Michael Jordan, and in many of those affairs the teams didn't crack 90 points, so every possession was tight.

Michael Jordan owns a 32-17 record vs. Miller and the Pacers, yet the competitiveness between the two teams smacked of a true rivalry as seen below. In the 1998 series, the Bulls went on to defeat the Pacers in 7 games, and boy was it a classic.

#1 New York Knicks

#OTD (1991) Michael Jordan had 33 PTS, 7 ASTS, 6 STLS & 1 epic poster dunk on Patrick Ewing. The Bulls swept the Knicks in this series, which started off with a 126-85 beatdown in GM1 pic.twitter.com/2X5M5KTi4o
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 30, 2018

Expand Tweet

Michael Jordan scored 50 points vs. the New York Knicks 4 times -- including the double nickel game at Madison Square Garden in 1995. He scored 40 points in the playoffs vs. New York 7 times. One of those scoring efforts was a 54 point performance in Game 4 of the 1992-93 Eastern Conference Finals.

Another was a 40 point, 15 rebound, 9 dime, 6 steal monster game in 1989 2nd round vs. the Knicks. Jordan had a 43-17 record vs. New York, and from 1988-1996, Chicago and New York went at it in the playoffs 6 of those 8 years, and Michael Jordan and the Bulls were victorious in 5 of those series.

Jordan wasn't a part of the Bulls the one time they lost to the Knicks.