The real stars now wear red and 1991 NBA Champion Bulls rings. Furthermore, in just 6 postseasons the Bulls had to face 14 top-ten teams in Defensive Ratings. All Rights Reserved. We already know he wasnt the best small forward of his generation. Though the Bulls ultimately won the series in six games, it took a herculean effort from Jordan, who averaged 41 points per game over the course of the series, and dropped 55 points in a Game 4 victory. They also posted double digits in scoring margin and net efficiency, the mark of an all-time great team, and led the league with a whopping 68 expected wins. After the season, the team hired a new coach, Vinny Del Negro. They were in the midst of completing the best three-year run, record-wise, of any team in NBA history, and by the end, they were hanging on by a thread. Armstrong, Stacey King, Craig Hodges, Will Perdue and Scott Williams, among others. 1997, and 1998. Jordan averaged 35.8 points, 6.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds for the series. (Won 2 Rounds), Lost Western Conference First Round The Bulls first opponent in the playoffs was the New York Knicks. The Knicks were able to advance past the Pacers and Hornets with relative ease in the first two rounds of the postseason, and they even took a 2-0 lead over the Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals. His teammate, Rick Smits, joined him on the All-Star team. Owner of the largest margin of victory of all time. Chicago Bulls beat five teams in the NBA Championship: Los In fact, they were the only team (out of the 24 that the Bulls faced in the playoffs during their six championship seasons) that forced a seventh game against Chicago; which they did in the '98 Eastern Conference finals. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. For the second time during the postseason the Bulls didnt have home-court advantage. In the playoffs he had 7.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 1.0 bpg. Brown was a member of the All-Defensive Second team. Payton was a member of the All-Defensive First team. Jordan is one of seven basketball players to win a NCAA championship, gold medal and NBA championship.The others are Clyde Lovellette, Bill Russell, K.C. Things went well for the Knicks during the regular season as they tied a franchise record with 60 wins and finished with the best record in the East. Be the first one to comment on this story. 1971: Milwaukee Bucks beat the Baltimore Bullets (now Washington Wizards) 4-0 1972: Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 4-1 1973: New York Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 1974: Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 4-3 1975: Golden State Warriors beat the Washington Bullets 4-0 1976: Boston Celtics beat the The Bulls were the third seed in the NBA, and in their path to their third straight championship, they beat the first (Suns) and second (Knicks) seeds, making one of the greatest championship runs in NBA history. They were 9th in defensive rating. Jordan led the Bulls to six NBA championships from 1991-98. Michael Jordan was Finals MVP in each of the six title runs. In 1989, the Bulls played in their first conference finals series since 1975, losing to the Detroit Pistons. Game 5 was a game in which Scottie Pippen became an NBA superstar with a flurry of offensive and defensive plays in the clutch, and suddenly the Chicago Bulls were more than simply Air Jordan. This is a simple encyclopedia that explains numerous frequently asked questions on different topics. Almost any way you measure team success over a season, this team tops the chart. Dick Motta replaced Kerr in 1969, and under his leadership, the Bulls appeared in the playoffs every year from 1970 to 1975. Pippen was no longer in his prime. six times. In Fridays sectional semifinal, Boatright logged eight Bob Cousy won six championships with Boston. After losing to Chicago in consecutive postseasons in 1991 and 1992, the Knicks finally felt like they had a team that could beat the Bulls in 1992-93. The Bulls starting center was Bill Cartwright. Although the Bulls signed European standout Toni Kuko to help alleviate the loss, despite only two less wins from the year before, they could not extend their championship streak, falling short in hard fought 7 games battle to the New York Knicks in the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals. The NBA is ruled by dynasties, teams that come to own a decade and shape the narrative around the league. [5] The only three NBA franchises that have won more championships than the Bulls are the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers (17 Championships each), and the Golden State Warriors with 7. in 1991, 1992, 1993, and then in 1996, 1997 and 1998-- a total of 91 Lakers 92 Trail Blazers 93 Suns 96 Supersonics 97 Jazz 98 Jazz after that the Airness retires ..to play baseball..are you kidding me imagevRussell,Karrem,Magic,Bird,DrJ,and all the other greats,AKA Kobe ,Lebron,Shaq,Duncan,played till the wheels fell off played every play till they couldnt do it no more..he will never be the greatest (Mike)if it werent for commisioner to step in and stop the trade for Chris Paul coming to LA this would be a Kobe conversation. The Knicks would get another shot at a title the following year after Jordan retired for the first time, but they fell to the Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals in seven games. Michael Jordan hit an NBA Finals record six three-pointers in the first half of Game 1 to essentially alert the world that this series would not be much of a problem for the Chicago Bulls. Those are the teams that stood in the way the most against Jordan in the postseason. The Chicago Bulls The Bulls second round opponent was the Knicks. The Chicago Bulls won their 6th title of the decade in 1998. Most notable among those was getting past the Pistons, but they also had to conquer a Lakers team accustomed to winning titles (but not used to doing it without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). He again made the All-Defensive First team in 1993, but he proved that he wasnt the best at his position when he barely made the All-NBA team when he was selected to the third team. All of Chicago Bulls championships are won in the Jordan era. The Bulls had to surmount mental hurdles to at last win a championship with Jordan on their side. His Airness three-peated twice and won all six Finals MVPs for the Bulls. After losing to the Bulls in the 1997 NBA Finals, the Jazz got another shot in 1998. The first In the Finals, they would only win one home game and actually get outscored by the Suns, but they had the ultimate trump card in Jordan, who averaged 41 points for the series and found John Paxson for the series-clinching jumper on the Suns home floor. Armstrong also missed a lot of games during this time. This season was no different, as their top four started no less than 79 games. Behind Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Phil Jackson, the Bulls defeated the LA Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics, and Utah Jazz (twice) The Bulls played in the Midwest Division until 1980, when they moved to the Central Division of the Eastern Conference.[4]. Chicago jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the series over the Sonics, and eventually took the series 4-2 in order to claim their fourth title. By the time they Bulls were back to the playoffs, they were again using the rotation similar to what worked so beautifully the previous two years, albeit with Kukoc frequently filling Rodmans spot as a starter. and WebThe Chicago Bulls won the NBA Finals 6 times, in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998. The Chicago Bulls have played a total of 57 That Celtics team still had Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. This is probably the weakest offensively starting PF-Center duo on an NBA championship team. was the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who The 1990s Chicago Bulls won six NBA Championships while they were being led by Michael Jordan. The regular season was a dominant run, as they built on the previous year's title and synced their offense and defense into a dominant force, ranking first and fourth respectively. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Bulls met the Cleveland Cavaliers. Angeles Lakers (1991). Many try to diminish this great accomplishment because In the regular season he averaged 6.9 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 3.1 APG and in the playoffs he averaged 7.0 PPG, 1.1 RPG and 2.5 APG. After several appearances in the Western Conference finals, and over a decade straight of playoff appearances, the Jazz finally broke through and made it to the NBA Finals in 1997. Cartwright missed 18 games because of injury but was back for a strong run in the playoffs, when he averaged 28 minutes, including a challenging matchup with Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing in which Ewing shot 8-of-19 from the field in the decisive game. Central Division Mourning was an All-Star. MORE: The key stats you need to know in the MJ vs. LeBron debate. [10] The 199596 Bulls won a then-record 72 regular season games (out of 82)[11] and are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Rebounding leader:De The Heat also had the Most Improved Player award winner (Isaac Austin). Average allowed:92.3 (Sixth in NBA) 4. Jordan comparisons alwayslead to LeBron James, who has nine NBA Finals appearances and three NBA championships. I'm probably going to get grilled for my answer by Jordan fans but if were talking about this modern era, I'm taking Golden State. If were talkin 1990-91 Season. The Chicago Bulls, in claiming those six NBA titles, were never tested in a seventh Game. Here's what they said about the Blazers: "Making their second Finals appearance in three years, the Blazers faced a juggernaut Bulls team in the midst of their first three-peat. The third title of the second three-peat title comes in fifth as, once again, fatigue played a huge factor in the Bulls season. Not only do I think Jordan and the Bulls would have won the two championships that the Rockets won because Jordan retired early and played Baseball Scoring leader:Michael Jordan, 29.6 ppg (First in NBA) 6. P.J. Peter Pan The Musical Tickets Los Angeles at Pantages Theatre. Record:69-13 2. Jones (8),SatchSanders (8),John Havlicek (8), Jim Loscutoff (7) and Frank Ramsey (7). 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and Jordan averaged 31.2 points per game, 11.4 assists and 6.6 rebounds in the series which he highlighted with the iconic"switch hands"layup. It got even tougher for the Bulls in the NBA Finals when they faced the Utah Jazz. The full clip from #LastDance The Bulls were a great team and Jordan had a great supporting cast. Detroits Bad Boys were showing wear and won only 50 games. The feud between theDetroit Pistonsand theChicago Bullsin the late 1980s and early '90shas been well-documented, and it was rehashed again in ESPN's new documentary series about Michael Jordan and the Bulls, "The Last Dance". Episodes three and four of the series focused on the playoff battles between the two teams, and how the Bulls needed to overcome the Pistons in order to develop into champions. The point of the All-Star argument is not to prove that Pippen wasnt a great sidekick, but merely to prove that Jordan didnt have the best small forward of his generationas many people claim. 7. This was a year where the Chicago Bulls were simply much better defensively, and though the Suns' Oliver Miller provided sparks here and there, Michael, Scottie and Phil Jackson's team of three point shooters were just too much. the The Los Angeles Lakers and Magic won five titles between 1980 and 1988, and were their own NBA dynasty. He had won the DPOY and he led the league in steals. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were 6-6 in the NBA Finals The Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan dominated the 1990's. In the playoffs it was more of the same, they ripped through the East only losing one game by a total of three points and avenging their loss to the Magic the year early with a resounding sweep. Horace Grant, now with Oralndo, made the All-Defensive Second team. First of all, the only important piece that was missing from the championship team was Jordan. Who were the models in Van Halen's finish what you started video? Teams always want to beat the defending champions, so they would throw everything at the Bulls. 1987-88 Chicago Bulls, who both Just like the Cavaliers, the Blazers had won 57 games. Jordan averaged 32.6 ppg while shooting 46.1 % from the field against top three teams. Every other team in NBA history has won the NBA championship with the help of a dominant big man, and some of them had a point guard too. Steve Kerr was the backup guard. Although they were old and not the same players they were in the 1980s, the Celtics were still good enough to win 56 games, securing the second seed in the East, and the 4th seed in the league. It's tough to talk about the '95-96 Magic without thinking about what could have been, as it was the last season that Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway played together in Orlando. Jordan and Pippen ranked among the top 20 in the league in minutes, even though each already had four championship rings. How many nieces and nephew luther vandross have? Arguably the greatest season of all time. Payton and Kemp were teammates on the All-Star team. This was the only Bulls title team that didnt reach the 60-win plateau, with the offense fading and more reliant on Jordan than at any point during the teams championship run. The team with the best record in the league, the Trail Blazers, proved not ready for the spotlight and fell easily to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. They were clearly the class of the East and it showed come playoff time. They reached the Finals six times during the decade and came away with sixNBAtitles -- including two separate three-peats -- becoming arguably one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history in the process. With that said, here's a look at the top 10 teams that the Bulls bested in the postseason during their six championship seasons. The focus is on Jordan, whopushed the Bulls to those championship runs. Clyde Drexler, a prominent mixture of Hall of Famer Julius Erving, elite versatility and athleticism of the 1990's was often compared to Michael Jordan. The Bulls won 72 games in the regular season, and they beat Seattle in six games for their fourth NBA championship. The Blazers were also third in defensive rating. The Jazz owned the second seed in the league when they won 64 games. Heat coach Pat Riley had won the Coach of the Year award. Jordan and Pippen were the only mainstays in the starting lineup, as no other Bull started over 59 games this season, forcing the Bulls to constantly adjust. 1991 - 1st Round - Defeated the New York Knicks in a 3-game sweep, 2nd round - defeated Philadelphia 4 games to 1, Eastern conference finals - defe The Knicks, already considered one of the greatest defensive teams in NBA history, were first in both opponent points per game and defensive rating. the NBA, has won six championships in their history. The Bulls first title was the culmination of a climb that started in the 1984-85 season when they drafted Jordan with the #2 pick in the draft and saw them lose to the Detroit Pistons in back-to-back season in the Eastern Conference Finals before this year. The Bulls were struggling for a playoff berth. While Drexler was a great player and a future Hall-of-Famer, Jordan didn't like being compared to Drexler, and he used the comparisons as motivation during the '92 Finals. They were finally the best team in the East and finished with the second overall record. New York rangers, and the Chicago blackhawks. Scottie Pippen, the small forward, was in his prime during this time, butpeople overrate him. Jordan and James both have lengthy statistical resumes, but that six-championship trump card gets played the most in the debate. (Won 1 Round), Lost Eastern Conference Finals They were 2nd in the East behind the New York Knicks and 3rd in the league overall, while having "just" the 4th best-expected win total. pic.twitter.com/vsQJpCnhfK, MORE:Michael Jordan's six championship Bulls teams, ranked. So this group of Bulls stands as not only the best Bulls team of the Jordan era but the greatest team of all time. the 1990-91 61-21 record, 15-2 in the playoffs, defeated Los Angeles 4-1. The reason the Bulls were blowing out the Blazers is that MJ had to show the world he was vastly superior to Clyde Drexler, the second best two guard in the league who the media hyped up as a worthy opponent to MJ. The Jordan shrug has become a social media fixture since social media platforms exploded across the internet, and the meme originated in Game 1. Even Rodmans rebounding numbers can be misleading. Once the playoffs started, you could see the boredom wear off as they ratcheted up the intensity and proceed to rip off a 15-4 record en route to the title. It was an acknowledgment that, indeed, even he could not believe hed gotten so good. Luckily for them, they still boasted the best player in the game, the best coach, and another top 10 player, who had been together for five years at this point. The Heat had a member of the All-Rookie First team (Steve Smith). The Suns shot the three at every opportunity and bullied teams with Barkley's inside presence. Although there is no question the 1996 team was superior, coming back a year later and nearly matching that performance might was, at its essence, even more impressive. They were still solid though, as they had the Defensive Player of the Year in Dennis Rodman, won 50 regular season games, and advanced all the way to the conference finals before they ran into a Bulls squad primed for their first championship run. The Bulls had to deal with another powerful duo in Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. (Won 0 Rounds), Lost Western Conference Finals He was a 6'10" player, but he wasnt a dominant big man. 1. This team had swept the defending champion Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals. The 90's Knicks is another team that is considered as one of the greatest defensive teams ever. [6] The Bulls' new playoff streak ended in 2008, when the team finished fourth in their division with a 3349 record. Toni Kukoc was the backup forward. Breaking down his NBA Finals runs, Michael Jordan's six championship Bulls teams, ranked, Ranking Michael Jordan's Bulls championship teammates, NCAA championship, gold medal and NBA championship, The key stats you need to know in the MJ vs. LeBron debate. Offensive rating: 110.0 | Defensive rating: 105.2 Regular-season record: 61-21 | Playoff record: 15-2 NBA Finals: Won (4-1) vs. Los Angeles Lakers The Bulls' first title