The Los Angeles Lakers and Magic won five titles between 1980 and 1988, and were their own NBA dynasty. All of Chicago Bulls championships are won in the Jordan era. Also, guarding Jordan was one All-Defensive First team member (Payton), three All-Defensive Second team members (Dumars, Starks and Majerle) and one DPOY (Payton). was the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls, who Those are the numbers from an average shooter. With Jordan, they finished the season 13-4. The Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan dominated the 1990's. Finals, Lost Eastern Conference First Round 1985-2022 Barry's Tickets All rights reserved. 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. Unfortunately, the Lakers upset the Portland Trail Blazer in the West playoffs, robbing us of watching the Bulls take on the team with the best record in the league that season. When the Bulls eliminated the Knicks, they met the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals. This and the #2 on the list were the toughest decisions to make, as both seasons were basically equally as dominant. We can see Jordan had a good supporting cast that helped him win six NBA Championships. Arguably the greatest season of all time. This was the best record achieved by an NBA expansion team in its first year of play, a feat which earned Kerr the NBA Coach of the Year Award. The two worst starts to a Bulls P.J. Price was a member of the All-NBA first team, and Nance made the All-Defensive second team. He wasnt even an All-Star during this time, nor was he a player that could dominate the post, but he was a good rebounder. He made the All-NBA first team to go along with an All-Star team selection. The Phoenix Suns were a precursor to Chris Webber's Sacramento Kings and eventually Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors. John Starks was a member of the All-Defensive second team. Charles Barkley, who was now playing for the Suns, was the leagues MVP. 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. So the 1994 Bulls didnt have to carry the burden the 1993 Bulls had to. They defeated two of the top three teams in the league in four of their six championship runs: 1992 (Cavaliers and Blazers), 1993 (Knicks and Suns), 1996 (Magic and Sonics), and 1997 (Heat and Jazz). What are the 4 major sources of law in Zimbabwe? They reached the Finals six times during the decade and came away with six NBA He was a 6'10" player, but he wasnt a dominant big man. The 1998 NBA Finals was a repeat of 1997 - where the Chicago Bulls also dispatched the Utah Jazz. Penny and Shaq defeated Jordans Bulls in the second round of the 1995 playoffs, and back-to-back Finals appearances was certainly in play entering the 1996 Eastern Conference finals. Hes really the only good shooter the Bulls had for more than 1 season during the championship years, but even his shooting gets overrated. He was the runner-up for the MVP award. The Heat won just 42 games but they were fifth in opponent points per game and sixth in Defensive Rating. 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. started the season with 5 The Chicago Bulls in 1997 had to fly past the Utah Jazz to claim their 5th NBA title of the decade. Peter Pan The Musical Tickets Los Angeles at Pantages Theatre. The full clip from #LastDance Not only the Bulls were able to keep their head coach, second best player, and all of the role players, but they also added THREE role players that would later become important in the second three-peat. Answer: Rodman 8. Pacers coach, Larry Bird had won the Coach of the Year award. Hardaway and ONeal were teammates on the All-Star team. 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. 1987-88 Chicago Bulls, who both Average scoring:103.1 (First in NBA) 3. The Bulls' luck turned for the better after selecting Michael Jordan with the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. Be the first one to comment on this story. Boston's Bill Russell has 11 championships, the most of any player in NBA history. The Bulls still had Pippen, Grant, Cartwright, Paxson, Armstrong, Williams, King and head coach Phil Jackson PLUS newcomers Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr and Luc Longley. To the people that say Jordan never faced a defensive team like the 2004 Pistons or the 2008 Celtics, let me tell you that he did. 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. This is the supporting cast Jordan had in his first three championships. 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. No one can deny that: He didnt win by himself. What about the 1995 season? This series featured the famous"Flu Game"in Game 5 where Jordan scored 38 points despite battling flu-like symptoms. Ewing was an All-Star. Here is the list of Chicago Bulls Eastern Conference championships: Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. 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. [6], The Bulls showed signs of improvement after hiring coach Scott Skiles in 2003, reaching the playoffs in 2005, 2006, and 2007. 1991 - beat the Lakers 4-1 1992 - beat the Trail Blazers 4-2 1993 - beat the Suns 4-2 1996 - beat the Supersonics 4-2 1997 - beat the Jazz 4-2 1998 Jordan could not lead the Bulls past the first round of the playoffs by himself losing to the champion Celtics and in 1987 general manager Jerry Krause acquired Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant at that summer's draft. Furney continued to play fine basketball all evening as he notched 11 points off an efficient shooting performance. [7] They had a chance to win the first pick of the 1979 NBA Draft, which would have allowed them to select future Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. The 90's Knicks is another team that is considered as one of the greatest defensive teams ever. From 1985 onwards, the Bulls reached the playoffs every season he was on the team's roster despite having had a losing record in each of his first three years. Their offense was fully operational, finishing first in offensive efficiency while their defense was a more than serviceable seventh. Who did Michael Jordan play in the playoffs? 91 Lakers 92 Trail Blazers 93 Suns 96 Supersonics 97 Jazz 98 Jazz Dominique Wilkins was 5th in MVP voting. Web1995 NBA Eastern Conference SemifinalsBulls vs. Magic. Rookie Richard Dumas was a jumping gym all by himself; Cedric Ceballos was a baseline killer; Kevin Johnson was a super athletic scoring point guard in Barkley's support and the Thunder's Dan Majerle hit the three from deep and played above-average defense. With Jordan on the roster the Bulls faced seven 60-win teams and twelve 55-win teams in the playoffs since the 1991 season (1995 excluded) and defeated all of them. Its not like there werent any dominant big men in the NBA. Chicago beat the Los Angeles Lakers led by Magic Johnson in five games. None of themexcept for Armstrongwere any better than the starters. Heat coach Pat Riley had won the Coach of the Year award. They won two Finals series without home-court advantage (1993 & 1998) and three of their six titles have been clinched on the road (1991, 1993 & 1998). In his path to 6 titles, Jordan beat the likes of Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Dominique Wilkins, Charles Barkley (twice), Patrick Ewing (four times), Reggie Miller, Dikembe Mutombo, as well as the duos of Shaquille ONeal and Anfernee Hardaway, Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning (twice), and John Stockton and Karl Malone (twice). It was a scrappy series -- evident in the personality of Supersonics guard and current Atlanta Hawks head coach Nate McMillan. 1967-68 Chicago Bulls, who both The Bad Boys Pistons of the late 80's and early 90's is considered one of the greatest defensive teams in NBA history. Of the 15 postseason victories necessary to claim the NBA title, 10 came by double-digit margins. Dick Motta replaced Kerr in 1969, and under his leadership, the Bulls appeared in the playoffs every year from 1970 to 1975. This was the best record The Bulls initially competed in the NBA's Western Division. 1995 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals. Now lets take a look at the second three-peat Bulls team. The first team to ever lead the league in offensive and defensive efficiency. The Pacers, meanwhile, are still waiting to win their first NBA championship. Jordan was the NBA Finals MVP in all six NBA championship runs. But the Bulls are the only team to do this with MULTIPLE appearances. The Bulls didnt even win the NBA championship after they had won it the previous three seasons with Jordan on the roster. Some of those teams had an opportunity to earn a ring before, or after, the Bulls' epic run, while others didn't. Reggie Miller had made the All-NBA Third team. This Cavaliers team was fourth in opponent points per game and sixth in defensive rating. Angeles Lakers (1991). This was the year of Jordans famous shrug, a gesture during Game 1 of the Finals series with the Blazers that underscored not only a moment, but an era. Even with few attempts, he shot 29.4 percent from three-point line in the 1992 playoffs. Although the Bulls had won 62 games too, the Jazz held the tiebreaker. the He made the All-NBA Second team during the 1997 and 1998 seasons, but he failed to make the All-Star team (again), but he was selected to the All-NBA third team. Just like the Cavaliers, the Blazers had won 57 games. Coach Phil Jackson, an assistant since 1987, succeeded Doug Collins as head coach after that season and in 1991, the team won their first of three consecutive NBA championships by defeating Magic Johnson and the Lakers. The closest the Bulls came to losing a championship arrived then, with each having won two games and the Bulls ahead by a point with 20 seconds remaining. Here is a reminder who did the Chicago Bulls beat in the NBA Finals. One thing you will notice as a hallmark of the Bulls three-peats is they did not make major changes to their lineups, generally employing the same starting lineup for each run. The Chicago Bulls last made the playoffs in 2022, when they lost the Eastern Conference First Round. You can see the domination the Bulls had against the tough competition. Jordan averaged 35.8 points per game over the course of the series, which Chicago won in six games. Chicago Bulls beat five teams in the NBA Championship: Los 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. The Bulls had to deal with another powerful duo in Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. There was a shaky moment in the conference finals against the blossoming Knicks, who rode the tough-guy front line Ewing, Anthony Mason and Charles Oakley to 60 victories and the No.