In 2026, the Chicago Bulls' NFL counterpart, the Chicago Bears, find themselves in a new stadium soap opera that has Hammond, IN set as the cliffhanger plot of determining where the Bears' next stadium will be located.
Flashback to 1984, and the first Bulls home game played by the Bulls' greatest player of all time took place in neighboring East Chicago, IN, which firmly cements Northwest Indiana in Chicago sports history, regardless of where the Bears decide to play their home game if or when they leave Soldier Field.
It’s quite possible that another coincidence took place during that historic game, in which legendary Chicago-native rapper and actor Common recounted being a Chicago Bulls ball-boy as a child and being in the locker room for Jordan’s first preseason home game on the All The Smoke Podcast. —warning: NSFW language.
The Bulls would go on to win their home preseason debut against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 100-87. For the pro-Chicago Cubs contingent of Bulls fans, this was likely a welcome sight after grieving a brutal 1984 NLCS loss to the San Diego Padres, two days before Jordan made his Bulls home career debut.
The greatness of rookie Michael Jordan
Jordan had as prolific a rookie NBA season as any rookie could hope for. Capturing the 1984-85 NBA Rookie of the Year award, earning an NBA All-Star Game selection, and an All-NBA second team selection, and finishing sixth in NBA MVP voting.
As a rookie, Jordan averaged 28.2 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and 5.9 assists per game in the 1984-85 NBA season. Of course, his success in the 1990s earned Jordan a well-deserved reputation as the best scorer in the NBA, but from his very first season, there was no question that Michael Jordan could dominate all facets of the game.
Jordan’s journey from rookie sensation to six-time NBA champion and five-time NBA MVP was bridged by great individual success and numerous obstacles for the remainder of the 1980s. Jordan’s infamous foot injury in his second NBA season, three different head coaches in his first three seasons, Kevin Loughery, Stan Albeck, and Doug Collins.
Collins’ firing from the Bulls arrived after guiding Jordan and a relatively young Bulls roster to their first conference finals appearance, the 1989 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, in 14 seasons. Collins replacement, an uninitiated NBA head coach named Phil Jackson, would continue the Bulls’ saga to defeat the arch-rival Detroit Pistons, who ended the Bulls season in 1989 and once again in the 1990 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
Jordan’s greatness finally broke through in the 1991 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, sweeping the Pistons and leading the Bulls to their first NBA Finals, first NBA championship, and the beginning of the first half of the Bulls' legendary 1990s dynasty.
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