Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan named MVP as Chicago Bulls win the 1996 NBA playoffs over the Seattle SuperSonics By Terry Armour Chicago Tribune Jun 17, Hardaway was 3rd in MVP voting and he was also a member of the All-NBA First team. The injury that kept Pippen out at the beginning of The Last Dance season led to him starting only 44 games to Kukocs 52. The 1990's Chicago Bulls are the greatest dynasty in NBA history. In the 1950s, it was the Minneapolis Lakers, the 60s was ruled by the Boston Celtics, the 70s, coincidentally, is the forgotten decade of the league and also had no team or teams that were the signature draws at that time. The Lakers limped into the Finals and lost Hall of Fame 4 James Worthy to injury in Game 4. Two of those were first, four were top-three, and eight were top-five. He was a member of the All-Defensive second team. A total of 14 players have five NBA championships, including NBA legends such as Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant. In the Finals, they were well on their way to capping off a 15-1 playoff record before the SuperSonics ruined the impending coronation by beating the Bulls in games 4 and 5. So we have Jordan winning another title with his best teammate missing the All-Star team and barely making the All-NBA team. Even Rodmans rebounding numbers can be misleading. No way did you just ask that question. Alright, Ill give you a clue: he was born in Brooklyn, won 6 championships, is 5th in all-time scoring and I dont understand what the big deal with this is. 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. Jordan retired from basketball for good when he was 40 years old after two seasons with the Washington Wizards. The Bulls would then meet the Knicks for the third straight time in the Eastern Conference Finals. They were fourth in Opponent points per game and third in Defensive Rating. The Bulls qualified for the playoffs just twice between 1976 and 1984, a period in which the team used eight different head coaches, including former player Jerry Sloan. This is probably the weakest offensively starting PF-Center duo on an NBA championship team. They had to deal with the powerful duo of Malone and Stockton (again). Phoenix had NBA MVP Charles Barkley, but the Bulls won the series in six games behind Jordan, who averaged 41 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists for the series. 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. Michael Jordan went 6-0 in the NBA Finals with the Chicago Bulls and won all six Finals MVPs. Be the first one to comment on this story. MORE:Ranking Michael Jordan's Bulls championship teammates. This team was third in Opponents points per game and first in Defensive Rating. Even with few attempts, he shot 29.4 percent from three-point line in the 1992 playoffs. Michael Jordan and theChicago Bullsenjoyed immense success during the 1990s. Price was a member of the All-NBA first team, and Nance made the All-Defensive second team. But how great were the Bulls? Jordan alone was a singular dominant force, but him, combined with jack of all trades Pippen and head coach Phil Jackson, the team morphed into something the league might never see again. There never was a "Super Bowl hangover" with Jordan's Bulls. In just six years the Bulls defeated ten teams in the playoffs that were either the first, second or third seed in the entire league, including all six of their Finals opponents. Note: Statistics are correct as of the 202021season. The Hawks were also coached by Lenny Wilkins. Utah Jazz (1997 & 1998) Bulls won all series 4-2 except They won 14 of their first 15 games in the playoffs, and the loss to the Knicks came in overtime. So yeah, 3 teams have made it to the finals and have no losses. It was another example of Jordan and the Bulls demonstrating that when it would be easy to relax explicable, even they still discovered the motivation to push through toward greatness. The Cavaliers had won 57 games, which was the second most victories in the NBA. Charles Barkley was 4th in the Most Valuable Player award (MVP) voting. 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. Perhaps they make a deeper run with Jordan and face the Houston Rockets who won back-to-back NBA championships in those two seasons. They were 9th in defensive rating. season was @mark hopkins 3 teams have never lost a finals series (not counting the teams that have never even appeared in the finals). MORE: The key stats you need to know in the MJ vs. LeBron debate. and This team had swept the defending champion Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals. 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. The Pacers, meanwhile, are still waiting to win their first NBA championship. He earned 80 of a possible 96 first-place votes for MVP, 93.8 percent of a perfect score. 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 The starting power forward was Horace Grant. The Heat were also coached by Riley. [6], The Bulls showed signs of improvement after hiring coach Scott Skiles in 2003, reaching the playoffs in 2005, 2006, and 2007. and For the second straight time, the Bulls met the Jazz in the NBA Finals. Jordan averaged 35.8 points per game over the course of the series, which Chicago won in six games. 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. 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. No one can deny that: He didnt win by himself. (In fairness, Jordan was probably still a bit rusty at that point after a long time away from the court). After the season, the team hired a new coach, Vinny Del Negro. Magic Johnson was the runner-up for the MVP award, and was also a member of the All-NBA first team. He was a good shooter in 1993, but before that, he was just like Paxson. Another impressive fact is that since the 1988-89 season, Jordan NEVER had a teammate averaging a double-double in the playoffs, and just once he had a teammate averaging a double-double in the regular season (Horace Grant, 1992). The Bulls won 72 games in the regular season, and they beat Seattle in six games for their fourth NBA championship. Many try to diminish this great accomplishment because they believe the 1990's era was weak and that the Bulls were stacked. In 2022, the Chicago Bulls lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference First Round. ESPN's 10-part documentary, "The Last Dance,"concludes Sunday, chronicling the Chicago Bulls'dynasty in the 1990s and detailing the franchise's NBA championship runs with Michael Jordan. In the Playoffs, they faced one of their toughest challenges in the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Indiana Pacers pushed them to the brink of elimination before the Bulls pulled out a grind it out game 7, 88-83. It depends. In terms of him as a basketball player in the league I would personally say 1988. In terms of him accomplishing his goals I would go wi Dominique Wilkins was 5th in MVP voting. The Bulls ultimately won the series 4-2 to take home their fifth title. Web1995 NBA Eastern Conference SemifinalsBulls vs. Magic. Most basketball fans know that Michael Jordan won six championships with the Chicago Bulls in the 90s and went 6-0 in the Finals. 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 Dan Majerle made the All-Defensive second team and the All-Star team. Michael Jordan on Leadership. They had quite a dynasty in the 1990s, winning the championship They've been in the playoffs a total of 36 times in their 57 seasons. Unfortunately for the Sonics, they couldn't quite keep up with the Bulls, who had won a then-league record 72 games during the regular season. Ultimately, though, they couldn't sustain that success, as the Bulls went on to win the next four games in order to advance to the NBA Finals, where they would win their third straight title. The Blazers were also third in defensive rating. He averaged 5.2 ppg. 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. Answer: Rodman 8. The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors were the first team In an inverse of the 92-93 season, the Bulls maintained their defensive consistency, ranking third in the league, while watching their offensive efficiency dipped to an unheard of ninth. Horace Grant, now with Oralndo, made the All-Defensive Second team. Chicago Bulls Postseason Results Chicago Bulls Pages Chicago Bulls Head To Head Chicago Bulls beat five teams in the NBA Championship: Los Also, teams and players wanted to beat Jordan. The 1998 season also featured ten 50-win teams, including four 60-win teams. Dick Klein founded the Bulls in 1966 after a number of other professional basketball teams in Chicago had failed. 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. The Bulls were two desperate three-point field That Celtics team still had Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. He and Charles Barkley were very good friends at the time, yet as Michael Jordan has done with all of his peers when it mattered most, Charles Barkley also did not win an NBA title. Once there, the Jazz put up a good fight against Chicago, as three of the Bulls' wins in the series were by four points or fewer, including Game 1, which the Bulls won thanks to a Jordan buzzer-beater. They opened the season with a 12-game winning streak, an amazing feat given this was a team that knew very well the championship was not going to be won in November. Average allowed:92.3 (Sixth in NBA) 4. This and the #2 on the list were the toughest decisions to make, as both seasons were basically equally as dominant. In the final two rounds, they faced two formidable opponents, but the series went differently despite winning both 4-2. Forward Charles Smith got the ball inside and had four attempts to make a game-winning layup, but all were challenged and/or blocked by Bulls defenders. Some of those teams had an opportunity to earn a ring before, or after, the Bulls' epic run, while others didn't. won the NBA Finals 6 times, in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998. 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. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was gone, while Johnson and James Worthy had both declined athletically. started the season at 0-9. Provided that it was: 1) still a 50 game season because of the lock out; 2) the starting five along with Kukoc and Kerr; and 3) barring any injurie The Bulls lost the first two games of the series at Madison Square Garden, then blew out the Knicks in the next two games to remind them what they were facing in challenging this dynasty. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls enjoyed immense success during the 1990s. Keep in mind that Majerle was guarding Jordan, and that the Suns were the first seed in the league, yet Jordan averaged 41.0 ppg in this series. This was a great group of players, but as you can see, Jordans supporting cast is overrated. Its not like there werent any dominant big men in the NBA. 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. They won 86.7 percent of all games they played, a ridiculous percentage that places them among the most dominant teams in any major U.S. pro sport. The Bad Boys Pistons of the late 80's and early 90's is considered one of the greatest defensive teams in NBA history. Jordan and James both have lengthy statistical resumes, but that six-championship trump card gets played the most in the debate. But it still wasnt enough, as the Bulls won the Sixth game and their sixth championship in Utah, with Jordan hitting that legendary shot over Bryon Russell. Now theyll seek to add their second Triple-A national championship. Key players during the Motta era included Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, Chet Walker, Norm Van Lier, and Tom Boerwinkle. Steve Kerr was the backup guard. The Bulls had to deal with another powerful duo in Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. He was a 6'10" player, but he wasnt a dominant big man. The Bulls were struggling for a playoff berth. 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. (Won 1 Round), Lost Eastern Conference Finals The second season in the best two year wins total in NBA history and one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history. In the playoffs he averaged 7.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.6 apg. 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. Mookie Blaylock was a member of the All-Defensive Second team and he also led the league in steals. During their inaugural season (196667), the Bulls compiled a 3348 record under coach Johnny "Red" Kerr and reached the playoffs. With Jordan, they finished the season 13-4. The full clip from #LastDance Though the Bulls had the same record as the Phoenix Suns in the Western Division, the Bulls lost the tiebreaker and finished third. 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. 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 Six players from the 199798 Bulls (Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, Jud Buechler,[6] and Scott Burrell[13]) joined other teams through free agency or sign-and-trade deals, and with few established players left on the roster, the Bulls missed the 1999 playoffs. Ewing was an All-Star. 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. His averages in the regular season were 7.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.7 apg. Dennis Rodman was the starting power forward for the Bulls. In the Semifinals the Bulls faced the Atlanta Hawks. Jordan led the series in scoring with 33.5 points a game, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman were their usual defensive stalwarts and Phil Jackson's neutralization of the vaunted Utah Jazz pick and roll with Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone was more the story. The Bulls are the only NBA franchise as of 2022 to have a combination of multiple championships and zero losses in the NBA Finals (the San Antonio Spurs are the closest other franchise to this mark, but the 2013 Finals loss to Miami has given the Spurs an all-time Finals record of 5-1). The East playoffs were not particularly close, as they only lost once in the second round and blitz the defending champ Pistons, sweeping them and outscoring them by 11.5 points per game. Combine all this with the great coaching of Jackson, and you have 55 wins. As we learned in the excellent documentary, The Last Dance, the classic Flu Game was really the Food Poisoning Game. The NBA is ruled by dynasties, teams that come to own a decade and shape the narrative around the league. Chicago WebEarly years. pic.twitter.com/vsQJpCnhfK, MORE:Michael Jordan's six championship Bulls teams, ranked. James had the Lakers at the top of the Western Conference before the season was suspended because of the outbreak of COVID-19. How many championships did Michael Jordan win? Their First round opponent, the Washington Bullets, had an All-Star in Chris Webber. 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. Mourning was an All-Star. The Cavaliers also had three members of the All-Star team (Daugherty, Price and Nance). 1995 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals. This team was fifth in both Opponent points per game and Defensive Rating. So the 1994 Bulls didnt have to carry the burden the 1993 Bulls had to. However, they lost a coin flip to the Los Angeles Lakers, and went on to choose David Greenwood with the second pick. The title was won on a Jordan step-back jumper that has become among the most iconic shots in the games history. 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. They also had a powerful duo in Anfernee Hardaway and Shaquille ONeal. [14] The Bulls' poor record did help them win the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery, which allowed them to select Derrick Rose with the first pick in the NBA Draft. The Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan dominated the 1990's. season was Jones, Jerry Lucas, Quinn Buckner and Magic Johnson. Brand shared Rookie of the Year honors with. Their playoff record against these teams was 40-16 (.714). Pat Riley was also named Coach of the Year. 91 Lakers 92 Trail Blazers 93 Suns 96 Supersonics 97 Jazz 98 Jazz The Bulls first title was 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. 7. The Bulls second round opponent was the Knicks. Who did Michael Jordan play in the playoffs? Jordan, Pippen, and Horace Grant were a perfect offensive big three, all shooting over 52% and helping the Bulls post the highest effective field goal percentage in the league. 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. That list includesSame Jones (10), Tom Heinsohn (9), K.C. Im not saying Jordan had a weak supporting cast, just that its overrated. (Won 1 Round), Lost Western Conference Semifinals started the season with 5 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. against the Lakers. For the Bulls, the '96 series between the two teams was personal, as the Magic had knocked them out of the postseason the previous year, after Jordan returned from his stint as a baseball player, and then advanced to the Finals. Jordan led the Bulls to six NBA championships from 1991-98. Reggie Miller had made the All-NBA Third team. That Knicks team is considered one of the greatest defensive teams in NBA history. The Chicago Bulls have played a total of 57 Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were 6-6 in the NBA Finals The Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan dominated the 1990's. The Knicks were fourth in both Opponent points per game and Defensive Rating. 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. They weren't quite as good record-wise as they were the previous season (62 wins in '97-98 compared to 64 wins in '96-97), but they were virtually the same squad as they were the year before. The focus is on Jordan, whopushed the Bulls to those championship runs. The Jazz owned the second seed in the league when they won 64 games. Jordan averaged 33.5 points,four rebounds and 2.3 assists in the series. The Suns shot the three at every opportunity and bullied teams with Barkley's inside presence. Charles Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns in the offseason from the Philadelphia 76ers, and his dominant play led the Suns to the best record in the NBA, and him winning NBA MVP. be referred to as the Original Six. Average scoring:103.1 (First in NBA) 3. The Los Angeles Lakers and Magic won five titles between 1980 and 1988, and were their own NBA dynasty. When the Bulls won their first title in 1991, Pippen didnt even make the All-Star team. The Heat also had the Most Improved Player award winner (Isaac Austin). He also made the All-NBA second team and the All-Star team. The iconic shot to end Game 6 is what most will remember, yet the hardcore relentlessness of Karl Malone, John Stockton, the Utah Jazz and their erstwhile head coach, Jerry Sloan, made the storybook ending just that more compelling. They have shown they can compete in any era. They were 34-31 before Jordan made his return. Ultimately, they suffered the same fate too, as they lost in the Finals in six games to Jordan and the Bulls. the Brown was a member of the All-Defensive Second team. Fresh off MJ's first playoff loss since 1990 in the previous season, the team added Dennis Rodman and came out with a purpose to reclaim their throne. During these three seasons Cartwright averaged 7.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 0.2 BPG. Jordan scored 35 of his 39 points in Game 1 which is best remembered for"The Shrug." Paxson is not the shooter people claim he was when the Bulls were winning titles. Ron Harper was the other Bulls guard. Or close to it. The 1990s Chicago Bulls won six NBA Championships while they were being led by Michael Jordan. Chicago was swept in the first round by Boston in 1986 and 1987, andthose Celtics teams led by Larry Bird reached the NBAFinals. The Suns had won 62 games during the regular season, which was good for the most wins in the NBA. Before we move on to the second three-peat Bulls team, lets clarify something here. This makes their efficiency stats even more impressive, as the two stars constantly had to adapt and adjust their game to meet who their teammates were on a given night. 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 Hawks were the 4th seed in the East having won 56 games. They had the duo of Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning. After eliminating a tough Hawks team, the Bulls met a tougher team in the Miami Heat during the Eastern Conference Finals. ONeal was a member of the All-NBA Third team. 1 seed in the East. Now that we havelearned the competition Jordan and the Bulls had to face, we can get to some conclusions. However, with wing defenders like Jordan and Pippen, they still had the ability to terrorize opposing offenses when the time came to ramp up the defensive pressure. Though the Chicago Bulls were victorious in their usual NBA Finals 6 games, the Seattle Supersonics seemed like they were fighting for a Supersonics legacy continuum. This was the fourth Bulls championship, earned in the first full season after Michael Jordan returned from his mid-90s retirement. They had winning streaks of 13 and 18 games and only once lost consecutive games, to the Nuggets and Suns on an early February trip West. The Phoenix Suns were a precursor to Chris Webber's Sacramento Kings and eventually Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors. With that said, here's a look at the top 10 teams that the Bulls bested in the postseason during their six championship seasons. They both made the All-Star team. The Bulls had to surmount mental hurdles to at last win a championship with Jordan on their side. The second trio came in 1996, WebHere are brief histories of the Bulls' 6 NBA championship titles: 1. Magic was incredible as usual - posting numbers of 19 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, and his 1991 season is definitely Magic's most underrated and resilient. Which categories does the great Kobe Bryant lead the Lakers? James turns 36 in December. How did the Bulls win 55 games without Jordan? But here again we can see how people overrate Jordans supporting cast. This began a six-year playoff drought, the longest such drought in team history. Pacers coach, Larry Bird had won the Coach of the Year award. (Won 0 Rounds), Chicago Bulls Head To Head Records Against Other Teams, All Time Longest Chicago Bulls Winning Streaks, All Time Longest Chicago Bulls Losing Streaks. No one ever came so close again to eliminating a full-strength Jordan/Bulls team. 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). You may think there was no competition if Jordan won with this group of misfits, but lets see what this team had to go through. In the last round, the NBA Finals, the Bulls faced the Los Angeles 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. John Paxsons 44 percent shooting from 3-poit range and Horace Grants growth into a 34-minute player were essential to the breakthrough. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Bulls faced a tough Indiana Pacers team. [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. Both Kemp and Payton were named to the All-Star Game in 1996 and the Sonics won a franchise-record 64 games, which was good enough for the best record in the West. The 6-foot guard entered the contest averaging 0.5 points per game and was without a made triple all season. section: | slug: ranking-michael-jordans-10-best-playoff-opponents-during-bulls-six-championship-seasons | sport: basketball | route: article_single.us | "Bulls, Suns assistant GM Del Negro agree on deal", "Bulls to pick first in draft; Heat, Wolves round out Top 3", "Derrick Rose: Number 1 Draft Pick By Chicago Bulls", "Celtics avoid overtime, advance past Bulls 109-99 in Game 7", "MVP Rose, Thibodeau, Taj's dunk stand out in Bulls' season", "Let the semi-season begin: Expect injuries, intensity and a new champion in '99", "Bulls' Rose claims Rookie of the Year honors", "Chicago's Derrick Rose Wins 2010-11 Kia NBA MVP Award", "Chicago's Tom Thibodeau named 2010-11 NBA Coach of the Year", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Chicago_Bulls_seasons&oldid=1109066354, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Final position in league or division standings, Games behind first-place team in division, This page was last edited on 7 September 2022, at 19:04. They were clearly the class of the East and it showed come playoff time. The Bulls beat them four times (1991, 1992, 1993 and 1996). In the First round the Bulls played against the Heat. There are only four players in NBA history who didn't play for Boston who have at least six championships. The Chicago Bulls in 1997 had to fly past the Utah Jazz to claim their 5th NBA title of the decade. They had a stretch from late November to early February where they went 31-1. Pippen didnt even make the All-Defensive first team in 1991. The Bulls starting center was Bill Cartwright. The Chicago Bulls were an unstoppable force throughout the 1990s. In the 1991 and 1992 playoffs he averaged only 0.5 three-point shot attempts. Jordan retired after the 1993 season and missed most of the next two seasons, and the Bulls reached the Eastern Conference semifinals each of those two seasons. Fewest losses in a season, regular season and postseason combined. Bulls vs. Magic. 6-keys: media/spln/nba/reg/free/stories, at 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). This Jazz team had swept a Lakers team that won 61 games and featured four players that made the All-Star team that same season (Shaquille ONeal, Kobe Bryant, Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel). The Atlanta Hawks were the first team the Bulls played in the playoffs. The 1993 Finals is the only Finals series in which Jordan had a teammate averaging a double-double. For those who say that this wasnt a competitive era, the 1997 season featured ten 50-win teams, including three 60-win teams. 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.
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