Chicago Bulls Second Three-peat
July 13, 2023
We hope you enjoyed our last article which was a flashback of the Chicago Bulls first “three-peat”. It surely was an exciting time to be an NBA fan. In this post we want to feature the second three-peat and solidification of the 90’s era Chicago Bulls as the best NBA team of all time.
After the first three-peat, Michael Jordan shockingly decided to retire, due to which Chicago Bulls Could not continue their dominance in the next two seasons and were eliminated in the playoffs. They also lost other critical team members, Grant, Cartwright, Scott Williams, and Paxson.
Michael Jordan Returns
Jordan reversed his retirement after failing in baseball and joined the struggling Bulls squad during the 1994-95 season. In the seventeen matches that he played, he averaged 26.9 points. The Bulls finished fifth in the conference and won the first round in the playoffs but later lost to Orlando Magic, who had Shaq.
1995-96
The Best team ever
This season Chicago Bulls finished with a record of 72-10, and it was the first time that a team managed to win seventy games during the regular season.
Almost undefeated in playoffs
They lost only one game in the playoffs, against the Knicks; otherwise, they swept Heat and Orlando Magic.
Finals
Jordan was named the MVP in the Finals against the Supersonics, as he led in most points per game. The series ended 4-2 in favor of the Bulls. Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoč, Luc Longley, and Dennis Rodman contributed massively to the win.
1996-97
Almost back-to-back Seventy wins
Next season, the Bulls were close to getting the seventy-win three again, but in the last game, Pippen missed the game-winning three, which meant the Bulls would miss out on the seventy wins this time. Jordan was the leader in the scoring, and Pippen and the other players were doing their job too.
Dominant playoffs
The Bulls continued to dominate in the playoffs, sweeping the Washington Bullets. In the conference semi-finals, they lost the second game to Atlanta Hawks in the United Centre (Bull’s home court) but won in five games. Next up, they faced the Miami Heat and defeated them 4-1.
Finals
The finals were between the Bulls and Utah Jazz, with the Bulls having home-court advantage. The Utah Jazz had Carl Malone, who was the regular season’s MVP. It was the same story as Michael Jordan won the MVP, but Jordon was for the most points average. Pippen had 42.8, and Jordan had 42.7.
1997-1998
Chance to three-peat
This season Bulls were not the best team in the whole league as on the other side of the conference Utah Jazz had a better record than them. The Bulls had the record of 62-20, while Michael Jordan also won the MVP award.
Playoffs
First, the Bulls faced the New Jersey Nets, whom they swept and then defeated the Hornets 4-1. The Indiana Pacers gave them a tough time in the conf. Finals, but the Bulls ultimately managed to win over seven games.
Versus Utah Jazz again
The Final was a repeat of the previous season, but Utah had the home-court advantage this time. Michael Jordan was once again the Finals MVP. This would be Jordan’s last series for the Bulls as he retired after the season.
