John Starks says Michael Jordan apologized for almost fighting him in a 1993 playoff game: “Tell John I’m sorry for that”
John Starks says Michael Jordan apologized for almost fighting him in a 1993 playoff game: “Tell John I’m sorry for that” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The 1993 Eastern Conference finals were as brutal as they were beautiful, defined by the cold, combative edges that marked the New York Knicks-Chicago Bulls rivalry.
The Bulls were gunning for a three-peat. The Knicks, led by Pat Riley and fueled by the bruising intensity of players like Patrick Ewing, John Starks and Charles Oakley, were desperate to unseat the kings of the hill.
Scuffle with Jordan
At the center of one of the series’ most unforgettable moments stood Starks and Michael Jordan, whose heated exchange during Game 3 nearly escalated into something far more physical.
Officials and teammates intervened just in time. And while the scene didn’t lead to punches, it left behind a trail of tension and a surprising private apology.
“I remember Patrick [Ewing] coming to me the night after that and said that Michael called him and told him that, ‘Tell John I’m sorry for that,” Starks recalled. “He apologized because he appreciated what I said out there.”
Starks didn’t flinch at that moment, nor did he after the game when microphones waited for him to spark the fire. What he offered instead was a perspective grounded in understanding, not escalation. A choice that, surprisingly, seemed to affect Jordan. It was Ewing who delivered the message, a second hand apology from the game’s greatest competitor.
For someone like Jordan, who famously carried slights like fuel and rarely offered olive branches in the heat of battle, that was significant. It revealed something about the undercurrent of respect between rivals who never spared each other on the floor but understood the mutual grind.
Starks, by 1993, was no longer the undrafted guard who bounced between the CBA and overseas courts. He had become the Knicks’ edge, ferocious on defense, willing to challenge anyone at the rim, including Jordan himself. That year, he averaged 17.5 points per game in the regular season and added 15.3 per game in the playoffs, often tasked with shadowing Jordan on defense.
The intensity that defined Starks’ approach wasn’t personal. It was professional. And in that playoff clash, Jordan seemed to recognize it.
External frustration
The apology through Ewing may not have been conventional, but it was revealing. Even amidst one of the fiercest playoff rivalries of the decade, there were moments where pride paused for respect.
Beyond the lines, the 1993 Eastern Conference finals had already started to carry extra weight. The series was not only shaped by what happened on the court but by a media frenzy off it.
Before Game 2, reports broke that Jordan had been spotted at an Atlantic City casino late the night before. The headline-grabbing story set off a media storm, sparking speculation about his focus, his habits, and even his state of mind.
The Bulls had dropped Game 1 in the Garden and now the face of the league was under a microscope. Jordan denied any wrongdoing, insisting the trip was brief and cleared with team personnel. But the pressure was unmistakable.
“That’s just what it was, he was just frustrated about what was going on,” Starks said. “And I wish he would have said it in person, but sending it through the big fella, that was good enough.”
The Bulls responded by winning Game 2 and eventually taking the series in six games. But there was a weight on Jordan that postseason, one that extended beyond just basketball. His father would be murdered just months later, and Jordan would retire abruptly after winning his third straight championship.
Starks’ clash with Jordan became a microcosm of that 1993 playoff chaos. A flashpoint in a series drenched in emotional overload. Starks represented everything the Bulls had to fight through, tough, unrelenting, unafraid. And though Chicago ultimately advanced, the Knicks forced them to feel every minute of it.
