In honor of “Throwback Thursday”, let’s take a look back at the team that not only swept Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic out of the playoffs, but became the greatest team ever: the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.
When you ask NBA fans which team is the greatest team of all-time, you’ll get a plethora of responses. But, the bulk of responses would be for the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, led by the newly-formed trio of NBA MVP Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen.
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Not only did the Bulls go 15-3 and win the organization’s fifth NBA Championship over the Seattle SuperSonics (you know them as the Oklahoma City Thunder nowadays), they set the single-season record for the most wins in an 82-game season (72).
Recently, Shaquille O’Neal and Scottie Pippen engaged in an Instagram war, and it started a hot summer hoop debate. The war of photos was over the thought of an all-time Lakers team with O’Neal, facing off against Pippen and an all-time Bulls starting five.
Sure, Shaq’s Lakers would probably defeat Pippen’s Bulls in an all-time matchup. I mean, look how many Hall of Fame-caliber players have suited up in the purple and gold over time. It would be hard for Pippen, Jordan and the Bulls to match up in the frontcourt for 48 minutes.
But, during the 1995-96 season, it was all about revenge for Pippen and the Bulls. The Orlando Magic, led by Shaq and Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway knocked the Bulls out of the 1995 postseason in six games, and the Bulls were out for revenge on the young Magic, and the rest of the NBA.
First Quarter: 18-2
The Bulls came out of the gates like a rolling ball of fire, winning 18 of their first 20 games. On their annual “Circus Trip”, the Bulls went 6-1. During the trip, the Bulls started a 13-game winning streak, including a 112-103 victory over Shaq and the Magic at home.
Second Quarter: 19-1
After the Bulls’ 13-game win streak ending in Indianapolis against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 26, things starting getting just flat-out ridiculous for the Bulls.
Not only did the Bulls win a season-high 18 games in a row, they won nine of those games on the road. With the winning streak at 14 games after a 102-80 romp over the Miami Heat, the Bulls were 37-3 through their first 40 games.
Insane.
(Photo Credit: YouTube.com/HoopsHabit.com)
Third Quarter: 17-3
The Bulls went 17-3 once again in the third quarter of the season, including a 20-point blowout of the Magic on Feb. 25 (Hi, Shaq!). With just 22 games left in the season, the Bulls were 54-6.
54-6.
That’s just nuts.
(Oh, and at the All-Star break in San Antonio, Jordan won his second of three All-Star Game MVPs. So yeah, they just kept on winning.)
Fourth Quarter: 18-4
They did it.
The Bulls racked up three separate winning streaks of five games or more, including their record-breaking 70th win on April 16, 1996 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the midst of a five-game winning streak.
Awards:
- NBA MVP – Jordan
- NBA Coach of the Year – Phil Jackson
- NBA Sixth Man of the Year – Toni Kukoc
- All-NBA First Team: Jordan and Pippen
- NBA All-Defensive First Team: Jordan, Pippen and Rodman
- NBA Scoring Champion: Jordan
Of course, the awards didn’t stop in the regular season.
The Bulls swept Miami in their best-of-five series in the Eastern Conference, followed by a gentlemen’s sweep of the rival New York Knicks in Round 2, which set up their rematch with Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After demolishing the Magic in Game 1 by 38 points(!), the Bulls found themselves in a 15-point hole at halftime of Game 2. 55 second-half points and 17 Magic turnovers later, the Bulls found themselves up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Things didn’t change in Orlando, as the Bulls romped in Game 3, 86-67, and took a 3-0 series lead. Despite a valiant effort from the Shaq/Penny duo in Game 4, Jordan would drop one of his greatest playoff masterpieces with 45 points on 16-of-23 shooting, while Pippen chipped in 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists in a 106-101 Bulls win to sweep Shaq all the way to Los Angeles.
Of course, the Bulls would go on to win the title in six games over Seattle and solidified themselves as the greatest team in NBA history.
Next: Shaq-Scottie IG feud, DAJ emoji war shows social media's role in NBA
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