Bulls ’95-’96 Team Named The Greatest Team In NBA History
The Sporting News magazine is spending the year solving debates in the sports world, in commemoration of their 125th anniversary. This month’s debate focused on the NBA, with the magazine tackling the debate of who the greatest single-season team in NBA history was.
In what is sure to be one of a few representatives from Chicago amid the “Greatest of All Time” debates they will solve, the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls squad was named the greatest team in NBA history.
It’s not that difficult to see why the Bulls were able to beat out great Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics teams from years and decades before.
Of course, it was a team that featured Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, as well as Dennis Rodman in his first year as a Bull after being traded by the San Antonio Spurs.
It was a team that featured several records and accolades, from up and down the roster. Jordan averaged over 30 points per game, as well as just over two steals per. Rodman was good for 15 boards a game, while Pippen and Tony Kukoc were the only two other Bulls to average in double figures in terms of scoring, with 19 and 13 PPG, respectively.
For the team that won 72 games, and NBA record, they certainly weren’t generous in sharing awards. Jordan won three different MVPs, taking it home for the NBA’s regular season, the NBA Finals, and the All Star Game. He was also named to the All-NBA defensive team, as well as the All-NBA team, as he led the entire league in every scoring category.
But Jordan wasn’t the only one to take home some accolades from that season. Phil Jackson was named Coach of the Year. Pippen joined Jordan on the All-NBA first team, and both he and Rodman were featured on the NBA’s All-Defensive team as well. And Kukoc was named Sixth Man of the Year.
The ’95-’96 Bulls team was the only non-Lakers or Celtics team in the top five, but they weren’t the only Chicago team in the Top 10. The ’91-’92 team, which was the season in which the Bulls won their first NBA title, was ranked No. 9.
That 72-win team continues to be the benchmark for these powerhouse teams like the Celtics’ Big Three in ’07, and this year’s Big Three for the Miami heat. Neither team was able to eclipse the mark, and it remains to be seen if anyone will ever be able to even touch it, let alone beat it.
Could The Chicago Bulls Pursue Dwight Howard This Summer?
Flickr Photo via Keith Allison
Immediately after the Bulls completed their Game 5 meltdown in the final minutes against the Miami Heat, the questions began to turn from “what went wrong?” to ideas of how the Bulls can improve heading into next season, whenever that might be.
And with the Bulls being in the big market they are, those questions instantly turned to perhaps the biggest name entering the trade rumors and free agency next summer: Dwight Howard.
We all know about Dwight Howard and how good he has been for the Orlando Magic the last few years. Really the last big star to enter the draft straight out of high school, Howard finished second in the MVP voting behind Chicago’s own Derrick Rose. A beast on the boards, Howard averaged just over 14 boards a game to go along with his nearly 23 points for a Magic squad that surprisingly got bounced in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks.
Howard has been in the league since the 2004-05 season, and has played in all 82 games in all but two of those years, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he was injured in those other two. Howard has had multiple issues with picking up technicals, including one late this season for a free throw violation, in which he tossed the ball away from the official and picked up his 18th technical, and a one-game suspension.
That seems to be one of the only drawbacks of being able to acquire a guy like Howard, who definitely seems like a guy of good character on and off the court, despite the technicals he picks up seemingly every other day.
Trade rumors are certain to swirl around the Orlando big man this offseason, due to the fact that he’s set to become a free agent following the 2011-2012 season, the Magic want to make sure they are able to acquire something for him and are not left empty-handed a la Cleveland.
Los Angeles has already been mentioned as a prime destination for the big man, with Andrew Bynum being mentioned as a possible trade chip in such a deal, whether a straight trade or a sign-and-trade. However, it remains to be seen if Howard would want to play with an aging Kobe Bryant, especially after the season.
The Knicks have also been mentioned, but Amar’e Stoudemire was already rumored to like being the go-to guy too much in New York before they acquired Carmelo Anthony, so adding another big statistical presence seems like a bad idea for the Knicks.
Enter the Chicago Bulls. They have the picks, they have the young talent, all that remains is whether or not they’re willing to part with some of that to acquire Howard.
If the Bulls were to enter into such a discussion with the Magic, Taj Gibson would almost certainly be a focal point for the Magic, especially after a solid postseason from the young forward out of USC. However, if the Bulls have any ideas about dumping Carlos Boozer, Gibson becomes the starter at that forward spot.
At the end of the day, is it a possibility that the Bulls acquire Howard? Sure, anything is possible, especially in today’s NBA. But is it likely? That’s the real question. With guys like Gibson and Omer Asik showing their worth to the Bulls this season, these guys have made Chicago more weary about dealing them, even when they seemed like sure trade chips this past summer.
While a move for Dwight Howard could very easily be the move that puts the Bulls over the top, it remains unlikely that they’ll be able to acquire him this summer, unless they are able to work out a deal that the Magic like, without compromising the roster that won them 62 games this season.
A combination of Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard would be a dream for Bulls fans, and could be the perfect formula to knock off the Miami Heat, but for fans it will likely remain just that: a dream.
Another sign Chicago is a threat in the Eastern Conference: winning record on annual west coast road trip
There have been many reasons to believe the Chicago Bulls are a real contender in the Eastern Conference this season including individual talent such as Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, new coach Tom Thibodeau with a defense emphasis and off-season pickups such as the $80 million man, Carlos Boozer.
Saturday, Chicago answered the hype once again early in the season, by leaving their “circus trip” on the west coast with a 4-3 record. The first winning record on the annual road trip since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the kings of the court in 1998.
The pieces of talent and solid coaching are coming together to have the Bulls answer the hype, even though Boozer hasn’t played a game and won’t until Wednesday or Friday.
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Bulls-Lakers Highlights
Phil Jackson is a Chicago Bull for life, even in the NBA Hall of Fame
Jackson won six NBA championships in Chicago and five, still counting, in Los Angeles, but there are reasons to believe in his heart he would side with the red and black over the purple and gold.
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