#1
The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls
Regular Season: 72-10 (87.8)
Playoffs: 15-3 (83.3)
Total: 87-13 (87)
Award Winners;
Michael Jordan: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1st Team All-NBA, 1st Team All-Defense, All Star, All Star MVP
Toni Kukoc: Sixth Man of the Year
Scottie Pippen: 1st Team All-NBA, 1st Team All-Defense, All Star
Dennis Rodman: 1st Team All-Defense
Phil Jackson: Coach of the Year, All Star head coach
So this is it, the pinnacle, the peak, the greatest team with the greatest player and the greatest coach and the crown jewel of one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history. The history of the Chicago Bulls was pretty unremarkable though until 1984.
They came into the league as an expansion team in 1966 and enjoyed some good years in the ‘70s with Chet Walker and Bob Love. Then between 1976 and 1984, the Bulls made the playoffs just twice. In the ‘84 draft the Bulls picked Michael Jordan, who surprisingly didn’t go number one. The Houston Rockets grabbed University of Houston star Hakeem Olajuwon 1st overall, and the Portland Trail Blazers picked Sam Bowie at number two. Bowie wasn’t a bad player, but it’s fairly surreal that he was picked ahead of Jordan, considering he retired after only 511 games and averaged about 11 points in his career. Portland passed on MJ because they’d drafted another top shooting guard in Clyde Drexler the year before. I’m glad Jordan went at number three, personally. It’s weird to imagine him playing in Houston or Portland, or really anywhere but Chicago. It’s a huge, proud city with passionate sports fans located in the middle of America, plus they have those cool red uniforms. Somehow it feels like he ended up right where he was supposed to be.
Jordan played like a superstar from day one, but it wasn’t until 1988 that the Bulls made it past the first round. That was the season that Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant arrived, although neither played a major role until the ‘89 season. Chicago made the Conference Finals in 1989 for the first time in the Jordan era. In ’88, they lost to Detroit in the second round in five games, and in ‘89 it took six for the Bad Boy Pistons to bump off the Bulls, and Chicago handed them their only two losses of the playoffs. Phil Jackson joined as head coach in ‘89-90 and introduced a more unselfish style of offense that was extremely effective. Like Wilt Chamberlain in 1967 and ‘72, Jordan had to share more of the offensive load in order to be truly successful. Chicago nearly made it over the “Detroit roadblock” in the 1990 Eastern Finals, but lost in game seven when Scottie Pippen was stricken by a migraine. As someone who’s had those, I don’t know how in the hell you even try to play professional basketball like that. Tough break, Scottie.
In 1991, Chicago finally rose up and crushed Detroit in the ECF, sweeping them in four games. The Pistons weren’t the most gracious in defeat, and most of them walked off the bench and into the locker room in the closing moments of game four in Detroit. In the Pistons’ defense, Michael Jordan had publicly and harshly criticized them for their dirty play earlier in the series, saying their downfall would be good for basketball. The Bulls then moved on to meet Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, beating them in five and closing the book on the “Showtime” era. That core of Jordan, Pippen and Grant won two more championships after that, in 1992 against Clyde Drexler’s Portland Trail Blazers and in 1993 against Charles Barkley’s Phoenix Suns.
Shortly before the beginning of the ‘93-94 season, 30 year old Michael Jordan did the unthinkable and retired from the NBA. He explained that he’d done everything he’d set out to accomplish as a basketball player. The previous July though, Jordan’s father was murdered in a robbery back in North Carolina. Jordan and his father had always been close, and he was devastated by the loss. Michael’s father James Jordan had always wanted him to be a baseball player, and it was a sport Mike played well in high school. Jordan decided to honor his father by taking a crack at professional baseball, and he had the opportunity to do so as Bulls’ owner Jerry Reinsdorf also owned the Chicago White Sox.
Jordan played not for the White Sox but for their Double-A affiliate, the Birmingham Barons, in Birmingham, Alabama. MJ wasn’t as awe-inspiring at his new sport, hitting .202 with three home runs and 51 RBIs. He fared better later that year playing in the Arizona Fall League, hitting .252. For everyone who thinks Michael Jordan “sucked” at baseball, I guess that’s true when compared to how good he was at basketball, but in reality you have to be really, really good at baseball to play professionally at any level. It can’t be any easier when you’re 30 years old and haven’t played it regularly since you were about 18. According to Phil Jackson, the experience was humbling for Jordan and made him a better, more patient and more helpful teammate.
Meanwhile in Chicago, the Bulls fared well in their first season without MJ, winning 55 games, just two less than the year before. They’d added some new talent in Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr and Luc Longley, but despite their strong regular season, they were knocked out in the second round by Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks. People who use Chicago’s 1994 season as proof that Jordan’s overrated never mention what happened in the playoffs. The next season though, the Bulls really struggled without MJ or Horace Grant, going 23-25 before the All Star break. Michael started practicing again with his old Chicago teammates, and soon his appetite for basketball returned. In March of ’95 he officially left baseball, partly due to the ongoing player’s strike, and announced his return to the NBA on March 18th, playing his first game the next night.
Although he wasn’t quite in basketball shape yet, he still had some amazing performances. Jordan famously dropped 55 points in a win against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden in late March. The Bulls went 13-4 after Jordan’s return, and eliminated the 50 win Charlotte Hornets in round one. In the semifinals though, The Bulls lost in six games to a very good Orlando Magic team led by Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway. Horace Grant had also signed with Orlando in 1994 and got revenge on his old team.
1996 was Jordan’s revenge tour, and the 32 year old shooting guard got right back into MVP form, averaging a league-leading 30.4 points, plus 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting 49.5/42.7/83.4. His three point percentage that year was a career best, not counting the 17 games he played in ‘94-95. 30 year old small forward Scottie Pippen adjusted well to Jordan’s return, putting up 19.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting 37.4% from three point range. The only other Bull to average over 10 points was their sixth man, 27 year old small forward Toni Kukoc, who had 13.1 points, 4 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 26 minutes while shooting 49% from the field and 40.3% on threes. Power forward Dennis Rodman was traded to Chicago shortly before the season and was an elite rebounder as always, averaging 14.9 boards a game. Between Jordan, Pippen and Rodman, Chicago could absolutely kill you with their defense. The Bulls ran a big starting five, rounded out by 32 year old 6’6 point guard Ron Harper and 27 year old 7’2 Australian center Luc Longley. 30 year old point guard Steve Kerr provided elite shooting off the bench, averaging 50.6/51.5/92.9. He only took 2.9 three pointers a game, but still, that’s crazy. The team had the best regular season ever, until the Warriors broke their record in 2016, with 72 wins and just 10 losses. Their first half was especially phenomenal, winning 41 of their first 44 games, including 18 straight from late December to early February.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Bulls met the 42-40 Miami Heat, led by Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway. Not surprisingly it wasn’t much of a series, and the Bulls won by between 17 and 31 points. Game two in Chicago was their biggest win at 106-75. Jordan led the scoring with 29 points plus 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal. Pippen probably had the best game though, with 24 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and a block on 10 of 14 shooting, including 3 for 6 on threes. Scottie stayed hot in game three with 22 points on 12 shots, along with 18 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 blocks and a steal for a triple double.
In the next round, the Bulls faced the rival New York Knicks, led by center Patrick Ewing, for the sixth time since 1989. The Bulls had won every meeting until 1994, but this year things went back to the old trend. Still, the Knicks put up a better fight than the Heat. The Bulls won the first two in Chicago by 7 and 11 points before the Knicks took game three as MSG in overtime, 102-99. John Starks led the scoring for New York with 30 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals on 11 of 18 shooting, including 5 of 8 from three. Patrick Ewing played a big role as well, with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jordan scored 46 in the losing effort. The Bulls won game four by three points before having their biggest win of the series in game five at home, 94-81. Jordan put up 35 points, 5 assists and 2 steals, and Pippen had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 5 steals.
In the Eastern Finals, Chicago faced the formidable 60 win Orlando Magic, the same team that’d beaten them the year before. The Bulls were unfazed and eager for revenge. They swept Orlando, and game one was a 121-83 dismantling of the Magic, with six Bulls scoring in double figures. Jordan was the leading scorer with 21 points plus 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Rodman had a big night with 13 points, 21 rebounds and a block on 6 of 10 shooting and Kerr put up an efficient 14 points, plus 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Game three in Orlando was another landslide victory at 86-67. Shaq and Penny combined for only 35 points on about 37% shooting. In game four, Jordan scored an efficient 45 points, plus 5 assists, a steal and a block to close out the Magic and had officially made his point.
In the Finals, the Bulls encountered a tough team in the 64-18 Seattle SuperSonics, who’d swept the two-time defending champion Houston Rockets in the second round. They were led by 27 year old point guard Gary Payton, considered one of the best defensive guards ever, and 6’10 power forward Shawn Kemp. They also featured German forward Detlef Schrempf and shooting guard Hersey Hawkins.
The Bulls won the first game emphatically, 107-90. Jordan put up 28 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a block, and Pippen had 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Kukoc had a good game as well with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal, and Harper put up 15 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. Basically everyone played well. The next game was much tighter, but Chicago won it 92-88. The next three games were played in Seattle, and game three was the biggest blowout of the series at 108-86 Chicago. As Bill Walton put it, it was a “statement game” for Jordan, who had 36 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. Luc Longley had a good night too, with 19 points and 2 blocks on 8 of 13 shooting. With Seattle already down 3-0, the Sonics decided to change things up by deploying Gary Payton to guard Michael Jordan, and it worked. Seattle unexpectedly blew out the Bulls 107-86 in game four. Although Jordan still scored 23 points, 11 of them came at the free throw line and he shot just 6 for 19 from the field. Payton was doing it on both ends that night, putting up 21 points, 11 assists and 2 steals. Shawn Kemp led the Sonics in scoring with 25 points plus 11 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. The SuperSonics extended the series again in game five, 89-78. Jordan did better that night, making 11 of 22 from the field for 26 points, but Pippen, Kukoc and Kerr all had poor shooting nights. Gary Payton led the charge again with 32 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal, and Kemp had 22 points and 10 rebounds. If Seattle had used Payton the same way in the first half of the series, it seems plausible the whole thing could’ve gone the other way. The Bulls closed things out pretty comfortably though in game six back home, 87-75. Jordan did have a very bad shooting night, going just 5 for 19, but still had 22 points, half of them free throws. He also had 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. Pippen had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in the clincher. Rodman had one of his best games of the post-season with 19 rebounds, 9 points, 5 assists, 3 steals and a block in game six.
The win was extremely emotional for Jordan, as it was the first championship he’d won since the death of his father, who’d celebrated with his son’s team after their first three titles. He was barely able to speak to reporters after the final buzzer and sobbed on the floor of the locker room after leaving the court. He later said that winning that ring meant the most to him out of the six. Jordan was the Finals MVP for the fourth time, averaging 27.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals. It was probably Jordan’s weakest Finals performance, as great as those numbers are. He didn’t shoot the ball particularly well thanks to Gary Payton, and it was the only time he averaged less than 30 points a game in a Finals series. To find out the rest of the story on Michael Jordan and the Bulls, check out the entry on the 1997 team.
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