Be as it is, fans tend to forget who Jordan had to play and beat to get his six championships. The Chicago Bulls used stifling defense vs. the efficient Utah Jazz to essentially shut them down offensively. He made the All-Defensive First team and the All-NBA second team in the 1992 season. Stockton was a member of the All-NBA Third team and the All-Defensive Second team. Also, teams and players wanted to beat Jordan. It was Chicago's only Finals series during the decade that didn't stretch to six games. Answer: 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 The Bulls have never played a seventh game in the finals and only went five games in the first championship. During the '91 season, they were first in opponent points per game and fourth in defensive rating. The Suns shook things up in a major way before the 1992-93 season, as they traded with the Philadelphia 76ers to land All-Star forward Charles Barkley, and they added Paul Westphal as their new coach. They won 14 of their first 15 games in the playoffs, and the loss to the Knicks came in overtime. 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. Prior to 1941/42, the In the 1991 and 1992 playoffs he averaged only 0.5 three-point shot attempts. started the season with 5 The Bulls' luck turned for the better after selecting Michael Jordan with the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. When the Bulls won their first title in 1991, Pippen didnt even make the All-Star team. The full clip from #LastDance The Bulls had to deal with Laimbeer, Ewing, ONeal, Mourning, Kemp, Daugherty and Mutombo. 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. Michael Jordan had a double nickel performance in Game 4 and averaged a whopping 41 points in the entire series. 6-keys: media/spln/nba/reg/free/stories, at Furney continued to play fine basketball all evening as he notched 11 points off an efficient shooting performance. 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. When the Bulls eliminated the Knicks, they met the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Bulls faced the Orlando Magic. 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. The holder of the all-time wins record until the 2015-2016 season. Before we move on to the second three-peat Bulls team, lets clarify something here. What six teams did the Chicago Bulls beat? Joe Dumars made the All-NBA third team and the All-Defensive second team. WebHere are brief histories of the Bulls' 6 NBA championship titles: 1. Although Greenwood averaged 12.6 points over six seasons with the Bulls, he never became an NBA All-Star. Their playoff record against these teams was 40-16 (.714). We are a full-service national event ticket marketplace. Who'd they beat? have appeared in the NBA Finals 6 times, in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998. The Bulls kicked up the pace from their early three-peat years, still not a fast team by any stretch, and posted the top offense in the league coupled with the fourth-best defense. 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 didnt even average 9 boards in the 1997 and 1998 Finals. 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 Former Bulls guard Steve Kerr even referred to Game 7 against the Pacers in 1998 as the "scariest" game the Bulls ever faced. This time around the Jazz were able to take the first game in the series, but the Bulls quickly bounced back and took a commanding 3-1 lead. Though the Bulls had the same record as the Phoenix Suns in the Western Division, the Bulls lost the tiebreaker and finished third. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Bulls met the Cleveland Cavaliers. 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. Be the first one to comment on this story. The Jazz ultimately lost the series on Jordan's game-winner over Byron Russell in Game 6, which became one of the most famous shots in NBA history. However, this proved to be a minor hiccup for Chicago as they capped the series off with a dominant defensive performance in a 12 point win. The first team to ever lead the league in offensive and defensive efficiency. He was also the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY). Here is the list of Chicago Bulls Eastern Conference championships: His averages in the regular season were 7.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.7 apg. Bulls vs. Magic. And it would be a cakewalk in many respects. This was the best record [12], After the Bulls won their sixth championship, Phil Jackson was not re-signed and spent some time away from basketball. So in the series with the Pistons in 1991 Jordan had to go against TWO All-Defensive team members. He was a 6'10" player, but he wasnt a dominant big man. This was a great group of players, but as you can see, Jordans supporting cast is overrated. 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. It seemed like both a celebration of what Magic Johnson had contributed to the NBA over his career and also a Michael Jordan coronation. 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. [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. [6], The Bulls showed signs of improvement after hiring coach Scott Skiles in 2003, reaching the playoffs in 2005, 2006, and 2007. No, the Chicago Bulls have been known by that name since 1967. 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 The remaining cast includes players such as B.J. In the playoffs he averaged 1.1 three-point shot attempts. 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. 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 Bulls were struggling for a playoff berth. The starting power forward was Horace Grant. He made the All-Defensive team just once during this time (1996). In 2022, the Chicago Bulls lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference First Round. The Suns then took down the Lakers, Spurs, and Sonics en route to their first Finals appearance since 1976. Jordan retired from basketball for good when he was 40 years old after two seasons with the Washington Wizards. The Chicago Bulls, in claiming those six NBA titles, were never tested in a seventh Game. the 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 third worst start to a season They were second in opponent points per game and fifth in defensive rating. The Heat were also coached by Riley. 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. ONeal was a member of the All-NBA Third team. In the next round, the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls faced the defending champion Detroit Pistons. Payton was a member of the All-Defensive First team. There never was a "Super Bowl hangover" with Jordan's Bulls. The Kings won a championship in their only finals appearance to date in in 1951. The Los Angeles Lakers and Magic won five titles between 1980 and 1988, and were their own NBA dynasty. As we learned in the excellent documentary, The Last Dance, the classic Flu Game was really the Food Poisoning Game. 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. Jones (8),SatchSanders (8),John Havlicek (8), Jim Loscutoff (7) and Frank Ramsey (7). July 10, 1989: Days after firing Doug Collins, the Bulls hire Phil Jackson to be their fourth coach of the Jordan era. three came in 1991, 1992, and 1993. Magic Johnson was the runner-up for the MVP award, and was also a member of the All-NBA first team. For the second straight postseason the Bulls had to deal with the duo of Hardaway and Mourning. So Jordan won the 1991 NBA championship with teammates that didnt make the All-Star team or the All-NBA team. Their second round opponent, the Charlotte Hornets, had a member of the All-NBA third team (Glen Rice). Chicago beat Utah in six games, and Jordan closed the series in Game 6 with"The Shot"over Byron Russell. Jordan led the Bulls to six NBA championships from 1991-98. Ewing was 5th in MVP voting. (In fairness, Jordan was probably still a bit rusty at that point after a long time away from the court). The only other team to win a title without a dominant big man is the Golden State Warriors in the 1974-75 season. In Fridays sectional semifinal, Boatright logged eight Both teams averaged 87 points for the series, and as we saw, this NBA Finals and the next, it was an attention and expectation of stellar defense that won it all for the Chicago Bulls. They've been in the playoffs a total of 36 times in their 57 seasons. He had a high shooting percentage, but with few shot attempts. Jordan and James both have lengthy statistical resumes, but that six-championship trump card gets played the most in the debate. In 1991, they finally did, as they bested the Pistons 4-0 in the Eastern Conference finals. The Bulls have won 6 NBA championships: 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98 Michael Jordan was a member of all six Bulls championship The Magic, having won 60 games during the regular season, were the third seed in the league. Though the Bulls' success was great for the city of Chicago, it came at the expense of other teams from across the league's landscape, as the Bulls blocked a plethora of great teams from hoisting the title trophy during their six championship seasons. The Chicago Bulls last made the playoffs in 2022, when they lost the Eastern Conference First Round. In the Semifinals the Bulls met the Philadelphia 76ers. Their playoff record against 60-win teams was 28-11 (.718), and their record against 55-win teams was 48-20 (.706). 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. 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. [6] The Bulls' new playoff streak ended in 2008, when the team finished fourth in their division with a 3349 record. 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 The East Finals saw a tight back and forth series with the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Finals was ripe with close Blazers wins and Bulls blowouts. Jordan averaged 35.8 points per game over the course of the series, which Chicago won in six 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. Malone made the All-NBA First team and All-Defensive First team. All Rights Reserved. They also had a powerful duo in Anfernee Hardaway and Shaquille ONeal. Even with few attempts, he shot 29.4 percent from three-point line in the 1992 playoffs. 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). The Knicks, already considered one of the greatest defensive teams in NBA history, were first in both opponent points per game and defensive rating. So for the second time in the NBA Finals the Bulls didnt have home-court advantage. We already know he wasnt the best small forward of his generation. Unlike any other team with multiple titles, Jordans Bulls lacked two important pieces: A dominant big man (or a center) and a point guard. Web1995 NBA Eastern Conference SemifinalsBulls vs. Magic. The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors were the first team six teams and they operated that way until six new teams were added They lorded over the NBA, winning with a form of creeping inevitability, so much so that people argue they would have won eight straight titles if Jordan didn't play baseball for 18 months. He also made the All-NBA second team and the All-Star team. 1967-68 Chicago Bulls, who both As long as people discuss the greatest sports dynasties, the 1998 Bulls will be a part of the conversation. This and the #2 on the list were the toughest decisions to make, as both seasons were basically equally as dominant. 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. Dennis Rodman was a member of the All-Defensive first team. Cartwright needed more help from Scott Williams to man the middle. Jordan averaged 35.8 points, 6.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds for the series. The '90-91 iteration of the Pistons was fresh off of three straight Finals appearances, so they were older -- and a bit more beat up -- than they were when they were at the peak of their powers as a 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. Jordan averaged 33.5 points,four rebounds and 2.3 assists in the series. With the final episodes of ESPNs The Last Dance set to air Sunday evening, it probably is not offering any spoilers to remember the Chicago Bulls won six NBA championships with Michael Jordan as their superstar during the 1990s. The third best starts to a Bulls New York rangers, and the Chicago blackhawks. 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. 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. Chicago Bulls beat five teams in the NBA Championship: Los 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. The Bulls have never lost a finals series (60). (Won 2 Rounds), Lost Western Conference First Round 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. Jordan led Chicago with They won six Championships. The two worst starts to a Bulls Though the Bulls had the same record as the Detroit Pistons in the Midwest Division, the Bulls lost the tiebreaker and finished third. In the First round the Bulls faced the New Jersey Nets. NHL had seven teams , (and sometimes more). His teammate, Hersey Hawkins, made the All-Star team too. 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. Many try to diminish this great accomplishment because On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. Average scoring:103.1 (First in NBA) 3. The Chicago Bulls 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. They were not only the defending champions, they also were the third seed in the East, and had eliminated the East's second seed, the Boston Celtics. Hardaway and ONeal were teammates on the All-Star team. [6] Then they won two more consecutive titles in 1992 and 1993 after which Michael Jordan retired. He was a good three-point shooter, but his shooting percentage can be misleading. Patrick Ewing made the All-NBA second team. 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.