Former Detroit Pistons Bad Boy Bill Laimbeer was one of the central figures involved in the legendary rivalry against the Chicago Bulls in the late 1980's and early 1990's.
Of course, the rivalry was discussed at length in “The Last Dance,” a 10-part documentary on the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls.
Laimbeer joined ESPN's Rachel Nichols on “The Jump” to give some of his perspective, saying that he regrets nothing about the infamous decision to leave the floor following Chicago's 1991 playoff series win, as well as sharing some strong words about Michael Jordan and Co., describing them as “whiners”.
“Why would I regret it now today?” Laimbeer said. “I don’t care what the media says about me. I never did. 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.”
Bill Laimbeer with some *strong* words on Michael Jordan's Bulls – "they were just whiners." Plus some great conversation on the Bad Boys, his own throwback unicorn status, the WNBA, and of course…Sleestaks!! pic.twitter.com/4sG0jn09qu
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 27, 2020
“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.”
