[ad_1]
SUSPENSE NOVEL. Karl Malone (second from right) and jazz teammate Greg Ostertag fight for a loose ball with Bulls star Michael Jordan (right) and Dennis Rodman during Game 4 of the 1997 NBA Finals. Photo by Jeff Haynes / AFP
MANILA, Philippines – To this day, the Chicago Bulls remain one of the most successful franchises in NBA history.
Although Chicago dwarfs compared to the two true league titans in the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, this small market team reached gold with the arrival of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson in the late 1980s.
Indeed, the Bulls’ three double mobs races from 1991 to 1998 cemented the franchise’s legacy as the third-biggest winner in history, behind only the 17 Celtics and 16 Lakers.
Although the Bulls were unbeaten in the final with a clean record of 6-0, the teams that ran to reach the top were not aggressive, not even remotely.
How The last Dance docuseries boils down to its final two episodes, it’s time to see which teams were the Bulls’ toughest opponents and which, to put it mildly, weren’t that tough.
5. Los Angeles Lakers – 1991 NBA Finals
Best Player: Magic Johnson (5 games, 18.6 points, 12.5 assists, 8.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals)
It’s pretty impressive to make the Magic Johnson and Los Angeles Lakers look like stepping stones, but Jordan and the Bulls did that in 1991 with their first appearance in franchise history.
Fresh from a well-publicized loss to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, a 3-year history of redemption, the Bulls seemed poised to be the next best option for the final.
The Lakers, meanwhile, were a dying dynasty as the team was led by Johnson, 32, and James Worthy, 30.
Evidently, the youth and talent surpassed the championship experience that year when the Bulls sent off the Lakers in 5 games, their fastest title charge in the final 6 appearances.
Johnson eventually retired as a five-time champion the following season after contracting HIV, while Worthy was also out of the league just two years later.
4. Portland Trail Blazers – 1992 NBA Finals
Best Player: Clyde Drexler (6 games, 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals)
In 1992, the Bulls tried to prove that their first franchise title against the Lakers the year before was no accident, and this time, the Portland Trail Blazers got in the way of their repeat run.
Although the Blazers were led by superstar guard and future Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler, he had little help outside of two-time All-Star Terry Porter and RPG player Jerome Kersey.
It also didn’t help that Jordan took offense at the media comparing him as Drexler’s equal, and he proceeded to silence all who doubted with a 46-point eruption in crucial Game 5 of the series, while Drexler had 41% of shooting throughout the match. Serie.
The Bulls then sealed the deal in 6 games and the Blazers never made it to the final again.
3. Phoenix Suns – 1993 NBA Finals
Best Player: Charles Barkley (6 games, 27.3 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.2 steals)
Throughout the 6 instances in the history of the NBA Finals, only one team beat the Bulls twice in Chicago, the 1993 Phoenix Suns.
After Jordan and the Bulls took over the first two games in Phoenix, the series was nearly over when the home court moved to Chicago for the next 3 contests.
However, future Hall of Fame member Charles Barkley and the charged Suns did the unthinkable, as they in turn won two of their 3 consecutive games to bring the series back to Phoenix for Game 6.
Unfortunately for the Suns, fate was simply on the Bulls’ side that year, as they closed out the series with their third road win with an astonishing three-mob shot sealed by player John Paxson.
2. Seattle Supersonics – 1996 NBA Finals
Best Player: Gary Payton (6 games, 18.0 points, 7.0 assists, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals)
The 1995-1996 Seatlle Supersonics were arguably one of the best and deepest teams the NBA’s golden age had to offer.
Led by Hall of Fame member and Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton, the Sonics were an All-Star team backed by super dunker Shawn Kemp, Sixth Man of the Year Detlef Schrempf and iron man Hersey Hawkins.
They then posted the 64-18 record for best franchise in the regular season before winning 8 of their first 9 games in the Western Conference playoffs.
These Sonics had a great fight, but they weren’t ready for the best team of all time.
With an overdetermined Jordan and a renewed supporting cast with Hall of Fame Dennis Rodman, the Bulls earned an NBA record of 72 games and had a 3-0 start in the final against the Sonics.
Although Payton and the Sonics saved their pride and won Games 4 and 5 to get close, the Bulls were simply better than even the best can offer and they definitely finished the series in Game 6 for the number 4 title.
1. Utah Jazz – 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals
Top players:
Karl Malone (12 games, 24.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals)
John Stockton (12 games, 12.3 points, 8.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals)
So close yet so far.
For two years in a row, the Utah Jazz were dying near their first franchise title, as they bravely stood firm against the Bulls dynasty.
Led by two of the greatest players of all time in Karl Malone and John Stockton, the Jazz pushed the Bulls to their limits in the two years they faced each other in the final.
However, fate was not in Utah’s favor as Jordan repeated the end of the 1993 final in 1997 by passing Steve Kerr by the Game 6 dagger at the decisive moment.
Jordan took matters into his own hands the following year by sinking possibly the most iconic shot in NBA history, also at the defining moment of another Game 6.
Those shots were entrenched in NBA history simply because Utah pushed Chicago into those situations in the first place.
The Jazz absolutely made sure they left nothing in the tank and demanded that the Bulls do the same in their quest for basketball immortality. – Rappler.com
[ad_2]
