The title of this article may say “completely devastated”, but that may actually be an understatement here. Although the Chicago Bulls have not been able to consistently field competitive rosters throughout their franchise history, when they’ve hit their peaks, they’ve looked nearly unbeatable.
These teams in this article weren’t just beaten, or humiliated, they were set back so far with a loss to the Bulls that it would change the long-term direction of their entire franchise. In some cases, these teams lost more than a decade of progress just trying to pick up the pieces left by the Bulls.
Although Detroit had the upper hand early, the Bulls would eventually usurp the Pistons as top dogs in the Eastern Conference.
1. Detroit Pistons
We start things off here with one of the sweeter victories for Bulls fans. Unlike several of their 90s rivals who tried to get one-up and over the Bulls, but could never do it, the Detroit Pistons were a much tougher challenge.
They were the Bulls’ neighbors from up north and were even led by a Chicago native in Isiah Thomas. Later on, they’d even acquire another Chicago native Mark Aguirre. Pistons were mentally tough, deep, and greatly coached, there’s no denying that. I won’t go deep into detail about those battles because they’re well documented. What’s interesting, is what happened after Chicago swept them in the playoffs.
In the 1991 offseason, the Pistons core began to crumble. Vinnie Johnson was let go, and James Edwards was traded to the Clippers for former Bull Orlando Wooldridge and Darryl Walker. Before the 1992 season, they were projected to finish 11th in the conference, and they struggled that season. Although they won 48 games, their family atmosphere, according to Bill Laimbeer, was destroyed. In the end, they lost their first-round series vs the Knicks.
A couple of days later, Chuck Daly resigned as their head coach. Jack McCloskey, Pistons general manager left for Minnesota. Before the 1993 season, John Salley got traded to Miami. Later Dennis Rodman got traded for Sean Elliot. And early in the 1994 season, Bill Laimbeer retired. To top it off, Isiah Thomas tore his Achilles, an injury that would ultimately end his career.
After their loss to the Bulls, the Pistons went downhill fast. They wouldn’t become truly relevant again until 2003 when they made conference finals, 12 years later after Chicago beat them into submission.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
Unlike Detroit, Cleveland never had an answer for Michael Jordan. He averaged 45.2 points per game, shot 55.9% from the field, and took zero threes during the series. The next highest scorer on the team was Charles Oakley with 10.8 points per game. The Cavaliers had a more balanced offense, where five guys averaged double digits in scoring, but their inability to stop Jordan cost them the series.
Next year Cleveland had home-court advantage, but still couldn’t get past Chicago. In one of the most memorable series of all time, Bulls had a chance to close the series in Game 4, but Michael missed a free throw and Chicago lost in overtime.
In Game 5, which was a close game all the way through the finish, the Cavs took the lead with 3 seconds left. But it was just enough time for Jordan to hit one of the most iconic shots ever. This time Michael averaged 39.8 points per game, but Scottie Pippen emerged with 15 points per game.
Again, Cleveland had more balanced offense, but couldn’t get past the Bulls. And again, the series was close with neither team winning in double digits. Overall, the Bulls’ margin was 4 points through the whole series. After that, because of the injuries of Ron Harper and Brad Daugherty, the Cavs barely made the playoffs in 1990. A similar situation was in 1991, where Mark Price played only 16 games, the team won 33 and missed the playoffs.
Sustained greatness was not enough for the Cavaliers to overcome Chicago in the early 90s.
In 1992 they were relatively healthy, won 57 games, and met the Bulls in the Conference Finals. The difference from previous meetings was that the Bulls were defending champions and was coached by Phil Jackson. Cavs gave a pretty fair fight. They won Game 2 by 26 points, which was the worst Bulls loss at home during their championship run. But athleticism and Bulls wings were too much for Cleveland and they lost the series in 6 games.
The next year, Cleveland signed Gerald Wilkins, who allegedly was the Jordan stopper. But this time Bulls completely dominated and left no chance. They swept Cavs in four games. Before the 1994 season, Mike Fratello took charge as Cavs head coach, but the result didn’t change much. Even without Michael, the Bulls swept Cleveland again. This time in three games. Scottie Pippen played brilliantly, where he averaged 25.3 points and 9.7 rebounds during the series.
After that season, this Cavs core imploded.
Brad Daugherty retired because of injuries, Larry Nance retired, and Mark Price got hurt the next year and in 1995 got traded to the Bullets. And that era for the Cavaliers ended abruptly. Even though they’ve made the playoffs a few more times after their last meeting with the Bulls, they weren’t relevant until LeBron James showed up in 2003.
3. Orlando Magic
In the 90s, the Orlando Magic were considered the team of the future. By winning back-to-back No. 1 overall picks, they’ve created one of the most dominant teams of that era. Orlando had big guards in Nick Anderson and Penny Hardaway, a great shooter in Dennis Scott, and the most dominant big of that era- Shaq. By adding Horace Grant, who left the Bulls in the 1994 off-season, they’ve created almost a perfect starting five.
In the 1995 playoffs, they won against the Bulls and they were the last team to beat MJ and the Bulls in the playoffs during that Chicago run. But Chicago got them back a year later. With Michael Jordan in basketball shape and by adding Dennis Rodman, the Bulls steamrolled Orlando. They’ve swept them in four games in the conference finals.
After that, the Magic would make a horrible mistake during the 1996 post-season. Deciding not to pay the eventual Hall of Famer the enormous payday he desired, Shaq instead took his talents to LA to join forces with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
A loss to the Bulls caused one of the greatest duos in NBA history to part ways with the Magic.
During the 1997 season, Penny got hurt and played only 59 games. Other key guys were injured too: Dennis Scott played in 66, and Nick Anderson in 62 games. Even though they’ve made the playoffs, they’ve lost to Miami in the first round. The year after, Penny suffered another injury and played only 19 games, and D-Scott got traded to Dallas. During that season, a total of 22 players laced shoes for the Magic.
Just two seasons after their meeting with the Bulls, Orlando has missed the playoffs. They wouldn’t become relevant again around 2008, with their core around Dwight Howard becoming better but this was 12 entire years after their loss to the Bulls that sent Orlando spiraling.
4. Brooklyn Nets
This is a bit more recent one and it doesn’t include the 90s Bulls, but their loss to Chicago in the 2013 playoffs, sent the Nets franchise sideways. When Mikhail Prokhorov bought the Nets in the spring of 2010, he made a promise that the team will win a championship in the next five years…
Brooklyn started by trading for Deron Williams after the 2011 All-Star Break. In the summer of 2012, they acquired Joe Johnson and his humongous contract. With Brook Lopez in the lineup, they became a formidable playoff team in the East. They were projected to be a top-four team. And they finished third in the conference that year.
It was tough seven-game series, but finally, the Bulls prevailed in Game 7 on the road. Even though Chicago was undermanned, they showed incredible heart and determination. In that game, Jimmy Butler played all 48 minutes, while Joakim Noah and Marco Belinelli played over 40. Meanwhile, Joe Johnson went 2-for-14 from the field and the Nets lost the series.
A playoff loss to the Bulls caused one of the most catastrophic trades in league history.
After that series, Brooklyn made a panic move. They executed one of the most infamously inept moves in NBA history by trading for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, which was fine, even though they were 36 and 37 years old. But they gave away four unprotected first-round picks, which later turned into Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
That’s how with one series Bulls sent Brooklyn reeling for the next few seasons. They became relevant again in 2019 when KD and Kyrie signed up with the Nets. That wasn’t until six years later after Chicago’s defeat.