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 Be as it is, fans tend to forget who Jordan had to play and beat to get his six championships. Yes,he was an All-Star in the 1990 season, but his stats were actually better in 1991. Their first season was in 1967, and their most recent season was in 2023. That list includesSame Jones (10), Tom Heinsohn (9), K.C. was the 1999-00 Chicago Bulls, who Against these 14 teams, Jordan averaged 30.3 while shooting 47.0 % from the field. He was also a member of the All-NBA second team and the All-Star team. 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. The 1990s Chicago Bulls won six NBA Championships while they were being led by Michael Jordan. The first 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. His Airness three-peated twice and won all six Finals MVPs for the Bulls. This is the supporting cast Jordan had in his first three championships. Magic Johnson was the runner-up for the MVP award, and was also a member of the All-NBA first team. Note: Statistics are correct as of the 202021season. Seven of Russell's teammates in Boston have seven or more championships. [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. Their center position was particularly weak, as they toggled between an old Bill Cartwright and statuesque Will Perdue, who no doubt contributed to their drop in defensive efficiency. The best start to a Bulls season Winning in six was the constant, and that teams were able to take the Chicago Bulls to six games is merely a testament to either how talented the teams the Chicago Bulls faced or the supreme talent of the individuals the Chicago Bulls had to go up against. Joe Dumars made the All-NBA third team and the All-Defensive second team. In one single playoff run, Jordan beat four all-time greats: Ewing, Barkley, Thomas, and Johnson. the NBA, has won six championships in their history. Heat coach Pat Riley had won the Coach of the Year award. They also acquired four-time All-Star Rolando Blackman from the Mavericks. [17] In 2010, Del Negro was replaced by Tom Thibodeau, and the Bulls reached the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the Miami Heat in five games.[18]. six teams and they operated that way until six new teams were added Pippen was no longer in his prime. 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. 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. During their inaugural season (196667), the Bulls compiled a 3348 record under coach Johnny "Red" Kerr and reached the playoffs. Ultimately, they suffered the same fate too, as they lost in the Finals in six games to Jordan and the Bulls. Dennis Rodman was a member of the All-Defensive first team. Finals MVP: Hakeem Olajuwon (32.8 / 11.5 / 5.5) 1995 Playoff Leaders: PTS: Hakeem Olajuwon (725) 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. They had a stretch from late November to early February where they went 31-1. Ron Harper was the other Bulls guard. It seemed like both a celebration of what Magic Johnson had contributed to the NBA over his career and also a Michael Jordan coronation. The Knicks, already considered one of the greatest defensive teams in NBA history, were first in both opponent points per game and defensive rating. Chicago Bulls beat five teams in the NBA Championship: Los They also had a powerful duo in Anfernee Hardaway and Shaquille ONeal. He made the All-Defensive team just once during this time (1996). They were 2nd in the league in offense, and a telltale sign of fatigue was their ranking in defensive efficiency - 7th. The Bulls had to deal with another powerful duo in Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. The first team to ever lead the league in offensive and defensive efficiency. 1995 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Bulls clinched the series on Father's Day, which was especially meaningful for Jordan because it was first championship since his father James died. 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. All of Chicago Bulls championships are won in the Jordan era. Jordan led Chicago with 27.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Bill Bender is a national college football writer for The Sporting News. The reason why the Bulls won 57 games in 1993 was because they were two-time defending champions. 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". They were finally the best team in the East and finished with the second overall record. Those are the teams that stood in the way the most against Jordan in the postseason. 1996 NBA Finals. During these three seasons Cartwright averaged 7.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 0.2 BPG. The Bulls first opponent in the playoffs was the New York Knicks. In June 1996, the intimidating duo of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp - led by Seattle Supersonics coach George Karl - were formidable opponents for the Chicago Bulls. During the three regular seasons of 1991-1993, he attempted 96, 44, and 41 three-point shots, respectively. The team reached the Western Conference Finals in 1974 and 1975, but lost to the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors, respectively. However, they lost a coin flip to the Los Angeles Lakers, and went on to choose David Greenwood with the second pick. The Sonics took down the defending champion Rockets and a Jazz team that would win the conference for the next two years en route to their Finals showdown with Chicago. NHL had seven teams , (and sometimes more). 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. 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. Just like the Pistons were no longer at the peak of their powers as a team when the Bulls finally bested them in 1991, the same could be said about the Lakers that same season. Prior to 1941/42, the 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. The Bulls were also 55-24 (.696) against these teams. That was it for the Knicks. Back to the Playoffs, the first test came in the second round, as the 51 win Knicks pushed them to game 7 before Pippen and MJ slammed the door emphatically on the upset attempt. For the second straight time, the Bulls met the Jazz in the NBA Finals. 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. This team faced adversity early on, as Pippen only played 44 games on the season with a bad back, key reserve Steve Kerr only played 50 games and Toni Kukoc and Dennis Rodman toggled back and forth in the starting lineup. [15][16] They made the 2009 NBA playoffs, only to lose in a seven-game series against the Boston Celtics which included a record seven overtime periods. 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 Pat Riley was also named Coach of the Year. Jordan and James both have lengthy statistical resumes, but that six-championship trump card gets played the most in the debate. Horace Grant, now with Oralndo, made the All-Defensive Second team. The Bulls were struggling for a playoff berth. It was something that Michael Jordan absolutely abhorred, and in the 1992 NBA Finals, Jordan put any and every comparison to Clyde the Glide to rest. 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. When the New 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). Who'd they beat? and They had quite a dynasty in the 1990s, winning the championship 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. Dick Klein founded the Bulls in 1966 after a number of other professional basketball teams in Chicago had failed. The 90's Knicks is another team that is considered as one of the greatest defensive teams ever. He earned 80 of a possible 96 first-place votes for MVP, 93.8 percent of a perfect score. They were 8th in Opponent points per game and 9th in Defensive Rating. For those who say that this wasnt a competitive era, the 1997 season featured ten 50-win teams, including three 60-win teams. What six teams did the Chicago Bulls beat? The Jordan shrug has become a social media fixture since social media platforms exploded across the internet, and the meme originated in Game 1. We can see Jordan had a good supporting cast that helped him win six NBA Championships. Michael Jordan on Leadership. Armstrong also missed a lot of games during this time. The title was won on a Jordan step-back jumper that has become among the most iconic shots in the games history. 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). It was a scrappy series -- evident in the personality of Supersonics guard and current Atlanta Hawks head coach Nate McMillan. In the First round the Bulls faced the New Jersey Nets. The 6-foot guard entered the contest averaging 0.5 points per game and was without a made triple all season. They were 8th in Opponent points per game and second in Defensive Rating. Finals, Lost Eastern Conference First Round 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. The second trio came in 1996, 1990-91 Season. 1967-68 Chicago Bulls, who both Dominique Wilkins was 5th in MVP voting. On this day back in 1991, MIchael Jordan gave us this Los Angeles Lakers and Magic won five titles, averaged a whopping 41 points in the entire series, Michael Jordans net worth, salary, endorsements and more, Chicago Bulls in 1997 had to fly past the Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls used stifling defense vs. the efficient Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls were victorious in their usual NBA Finals 6 games. He made the All-Defensive First team and the All-NBA second team in the 1992 season. 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. 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. Record:69-13 2. Jordan led the Bulls to six NBA championships from 1991-98. Michael Jordan had a double nickel performance in Game 4 and averaged a whopping 41 points in the entire series. Though the Bulls had the same record as the Phoenix Suns in the Western Division, the Bulls lost the tiebreaker and finished third. The focus is on Jordan, whopushed the Bulls to those championship runs. You could start to see signs of offensive slippage in MJ and Pippen's games, as they were less efficient than they had been in previous years but they made up for it with improved playmaking. [1][a] In their 53 seasons, the Bulls have achieved a winning record 25 times, and have appeared in the NBA playoffs 35 times. He was also the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY). The Original Six wasn't exactly "formed". In the Eastern Conference Finals the Bulls met the Cleveland Cavaliers. The third worst start to a season 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. Of the 15 postseason victories necessary to claim the NBA title, 10 came by double-digit margins. James turns 36 in December. seasons. How many nieces and nephew luther vandross have? John Starks was a member of the All-Defensive second team. LA Lakers, Portland Trailblazers, Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics, and Utah Jazz twice in that order. Jordan and Scottie Pippen won six with the Bulls, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won six championships between Milwaukee and Los Angeles. [4] They received international recognition in the 1990s when All-Star shooting guard Michael Jordan led them to their six league championships. In 1991, they finally did, as they bested the Pistons 4-0 in the Eastern Conference finals. He made the All-Defensive First team in each season but he made the All-NBA First team just once, in the 1996 season. 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. Be the first one to comment on this story. 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.