The Chicago Bulls are one of the most successful franchises in NBA history. They won all six of their titles in the 1990’s, a feat only reciprocated in another era by the Boston Celtics. Ex-trainer Gary Vitti, however, doesn’t believe these titles were as impressive as the majority of people may think.
When thinking of the Chicago Bulls, a multitude of things could come to mind. Known for having the greatest player of all time in the eyes of many and a multitude of All-Star and superstar level talent throughout the years, Bulls fans have had their fair share of excitement.
Nothing, however compares to the sheer dominance of the 1990’s Bulls teams headed by none other than Michael Jordan. The 90’s Bulls that showcased additional talents like Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman and Toni Kukoc took home six of ten total championship titles throughout the 90’s.
Ex-Lakers’ trainer Gary Vitti recently sat down with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the Scoop B radio podcast and one of the main topics discussed was Michael Jordan and the success of the Bulls throughout the 90’s. In short, while he does have respect for their accomplishments, he doesn’t believe their rings were all that impressive.
Underwhelming competition
Vitti initially weighed in on the topic of whether or not Jordan is the greatest of all time, saying:
"“I love Michael and respect him but I am not sure Michael changed the game as much as the game change.”"
He then furthers this statement by claiming the teams that Jordan and the 90’s era Bulls had to face weren’t as dominant as they were in the previous decade.
"“So when Michael got his first ring in ’91 and the 5 that came after it, there wasn’t anybody left,” Vitti said. “When you really look at the six rings that the Bulls won, they didn’t play anybody, they didn’t play any of the championship caliber teams of the 80’s like the Lakers, the Sixers, the Celtics and the Pistons.”"
Vitti claims that formerly elite championship contenders like the Lakers, Celtics, and Pistons all grew old at the same time and therefore didn’t really serve as a challenge when the Bulls played them throughout the 90’s.
This is certainly an interesting debate that will truly never have an answer and there is some validity on both sides of the argument. However, did the Bulls really have little to no competition for their rings?
Examining the path to 6 rings
While none of the powerhouses from the 80’s were still elite in the 90’s, that definitely doesn’t mean the 90’s had a shortage of talent. Teams like the Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, and Seattle Supersonics made their mark on the league with elite stars coupled with some solid depth.
If we look solely at the six finals appearances and discount all of the previous rounds to get there, the 90’s Bulls matched up against teams that won 57 games at the very least and had at least 2 all-stars or previous all-stars on the team.
While some of them may not have been as good as the 80’s Celtics, Pistons or Lakers, they certainly proved to be some tough competition.
Essentially, it’s broken down like this:
1) 1991 finals against the Lakers: Lakers win 58 games this season, four players (Johnson, Divac, Worthy, Perkins) average over 15 points per game in the finals while three of those four average over 18 and three players (Johnson, Divac, Perkins) average over 7 rebounds.
Magic Johnson and James Worthy are both selected to the All-Star game and an All-NBA team this season. Johnson makes the All-NBA 1st team while Worthy makes the 3rd team.
2) 1992 finals against the Trailblazers: Blazers win 57 games this season, three players (Drexler, Porter, Kersey) average over 14 points per game in the finals and three players (Drexler, Kersey, Williams) average over 7 rebounds.
Clyde Drexler is the only player selected to the All-Star game from the Blazers this season but Terry Porter is selected the year prior and the year after and averages 18.1 points to go along with 5.1 assists despite no All-Star selection.
Drexler is named to the All-NBA first team and Buck Williams is placed on the All-Defensive 2nd team.
3) 1993 finals against the Suns: Suns win 62 games this season, four players (Barkley, Majerle, Johnson, Dumas) average over 15 points per game in the finals while three of the four average over 17. Two players average over 5 assists (Johnson and Barkley) while two players also average over 8 rebounds (Barkley and Majerle).
Charles Barkley wins the MVP award this season and is the only player selected to the All-Star game. Kevin Johnson, however, made 2 All-Star appearances prior and one the season after and averaged 16.1 points and 7.8 assists per contest prior to the postseason. Richard Dumas and Dan Majerle both averaged over 15 points per game as well for the season.
Barkley is selected to the All-NBA 1st team, Dumas makes the All-Rookie 2nd team and Majerle is named to the All-Defensive 2nd team.
4) 1996 finals against the Supersonics: Sonics win 64 games this season, three players (Payton, Kemp, Schrempf) average over 15 points per game in the finals and three players (Kemp, Payton, Schrempf) average over 6 rebounds.
Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton are the only two players selected to the All-Star game this season but Detlef Schrempf averages 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists for the season and makes the All-Star roster both the season prior and the year after. Hersey Hawkins also averaged 15.6 points in 82 games this season as well.
Payton takes home the Defensive Player of the Year award and an All-Defensive 1st team selection while both him and Kemp are named to the All-NBA 2nd team.
5) 1997 finals against the Jazz: Jazz win 64 games this season, two players (Stockton and Malone) average over 15 points in the finals and two players average over 7 rebounds (Malone and Ostertag).
Karl Malone and John Stockton are the only two players named to the All-Star game. Jeff Hornacek averages 14.5 points and 4.4 assists per contest this season as well.
Malone wins the MVP award and is named to the All-NBA 1st team while Stockton is selected to the All-NBA 3rd team. Malone is a member of the All-Defensive 1st team while Stockton is a member of the All-Defensive 2nd team.
6) 1998 finals against the Jazz: Jazz win 62 games this season but under perform in the finals as only Malone and Hornacek average over 10 points per game.
Malone is the only player selected to the All-Star game and only Hornacek averages over 14 points per game alongside Malone. Malone is selected to the All-NBA 1st team and the All-Defensive 1st team.
A topic of contention
While the Bulls didn’t match up against the previous dynasties of the 80’s, they still competed against elite teams that had a lot of front-loaded firepower or sneaky overall depth and defensive prowess.
While Vitti makes some valid points, the Bulls definitely had their fair-share of competition, especially considering the fact that there are three rounds prior to the finals all filled with competitive teams.