Thirty-one years ago, back in 1991, NBC Sports analyst Pat Riley had a one-on-one interview with Michael Jordan that feels downright weird to watch now.
To give you a better frame of reference, Riley—Bob Costas’s in-studio partner at the time—had parted ways with the Lakers about one year earlier. He was days away from taking a job to coach the floundering Knicks. Meanwhile, Jordan and the Bulls had been knocked out of the playoffs by the Bad Boys Pistons three consecutive years when this sit-down took place. But the superstar, who enjoyed a 3–0 conference finals lead on Detroit as the conversation unfolded, finally looked ready to exorcise his Jordan Rules demons.
