The 1995/96 season of the Chicago Bulls was one of the most impressive campaigns in basketball history. Michael Jordan had come back from retirement towards the end of the previous season which nevertheless ended with disappointment as the Bulls lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. However, this only turned out to motivate MJ even more to prove to the world that he still had it in him. Alongside His Airness Scottie Pippen developed into an All-Star and one of the best Small Forwards the game has ever seen. During the off-season the team from the Windy City had also acquired the last missing piece to the puzzle: Dennis Rodman arrived from San Antonio and gave the Bulls the much needed edge on the Power Forward spot.
The Bulls started the season with an impressive 5-0 run. On November 14 however, their streak ended abruptly when they lost to the Magic – again. Jordan and his teammates had to remain patient to get their revenge. This was a tough loss but after all, only 9 more followed during the regular season (and all 3 remaining games versus the Magic were won). In the end, Chicago racked up 72 regular season wins – an all-time record. Afterwards the Bulls marched through the playoffs, sweeping the Magic in the Conference Finals and winning the title in 6 games against the Seattle SuperSonics.
Among the impressive list of titles the Bulls and individual players won during the 1995/96 season are:
- 1995/96 NBA Champion: Chicago Bulls
- NBA MVP: Michael Jordan
- All-Star MVP: Michael Jordan
- Finals MVP: Michael Jordan
- Sixth Man of the Year: Toni Kukoc
- Coach of the Year: Phil Jackson
- Executive of the Year: Jerry Krause
- All-Defensive First Team members: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman
These are the hard facts but words fail to capture the whole picture. So let’s watch the short documentary by NBA TV to relive the defining moments of the almost perfect season of one of the best basketball teams ever. We stand in awe.
(If this short summary is not enough for you, scroll down for the hour-long documentary “Unstop-A-Bulls”)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Long documentary
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