Soon-to-be Hall of Famer Rudy Tomjanovich has heard all the doubts about the legitimacy of his back-to-back titles with the Houston Rockets, earned during Michael Jordan's first retirement. Yet the Chicago Bulls legend never underestimated how good the Rockets were during that era.
Despite all the hearsay throughout the years, “Rudy T” isn't putting Jordan among all the others who want to invalidate his team's accomplishments:
“He gave our team great respect,” Tomjanovich said of Jordan, according to Michael Lee of The Athletic. “He didn’t feel that they could contain Hakeem. They just didn’t have the personnel to do it. And he said he thought we were the team that gave them the most trouble.”
Coming off a 17-month hiatus after choosing to pursue baseball in the minor leagues, Jordan had the chance to knock the defending champions off their victory tour but lost to the Orlando Magic in the second round of the playoffs.
Many have claimed the Rockets were able to nab some hardware in the midst of a Jordan-less NBA, but Jordan did have his chance upon returning late in the 1994-95 season.
Jordan was aware that the team needed help to get through the East, let alone reach the NBA Finals again. The Bulls bolstered their roster the next season and the Rockets took a step back from their glory days.
These two teams wouldn't get the meeting they'd hoped for in a battle of titans, but Jordan never denied how formidable Tomjanovich's team was during his era.
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