Led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the Chicago Bulls won six championships during the '90s under head coach Phil Jackson — eventually going on an impressive 6-0 run.
Jordan won all six Finals MVPs. The Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz twice and Seattle SuperSonics for their six rings.
In this piece, we will rank the five greatest Chicago teams in franchise history. Will all five be from the six championship teams, or was there a great Bulls team out there which had it all but just wasn't able to win the title?
Let's find out.
5. 2010-11 Bulls
The 2010-11 Bulls went 62-20 during the regular season. They had the best record in the NBA, the Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Year.
Chicago native Derrick Rose won the 2011 MVP, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to win the award. Rose was only 22, but he averaged 25.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists that season. D-Rose was the only player in the league who ranked in the top 10 in both points per game and assists in 2010-11.
Tom Thibodeau won Coach of the Year for the Bulls. That was Thibs' first year as the man in charge of Chicago and he led the team all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where the team would match up against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat.
The Bulls went 3-0 against the Heat during the regular season. Miami had no answers for Rose and Co. However, the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals was a different story.
After winning Game 1 at home in blowout fashion, the Bulls lost four games in a row to the Heat, eventually falling at the United Center in Game 5 to end the series. The Heat put LeBron on Rose in the fourth quarter in every game after Game 1 and the Windy City team couldn't score.
Chicago never surrounded Rose with another explosive scorer and the Bulls were unable to get past LeBron in the D-Rose era.
Despite that team not winning it all, the 2010-11 squad is the best Bulls team since the Jordan era. Rose, along with Joakim Noah and Luol Deng, made being a Chicago fan cool again.
4. 1997-98 Bulls
“The Last Dance,” the 10-part ESPN documentary series on the Bulls during the 1997-98 season, was released in April of last year.
To recall, this documentary was scheduled to be released in June of 2020, but ESPN moved it up due to all sports being at a standstill at the time.
This Bulls team also went 62-20 like Rose's crew. Jordan averaged 28.7 points per game and won league MVP, while Pippen was at 19.1 points. Toni Kukoc and Luc Longley rounded out Chicago's top four scorers that time.
Chicago swept the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the 1998 playoffs. The Bulls then took care of business against the Charlotte Hornets in the second round in five games before running into the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Indiana, led by Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, gave Chicago a run for its money, but Jordan and the Bulls prevailed in the end and won the series in seven epic games.
The 1998 Finals was a rematch of the 1997 Finals. Same teams, same results. The Bulls won in six games.
Jordan hit the game-winning shot with 5.6 seconds left in regulation in Game 6. It was his last basket with Chicago and final NBA title.
3. 1991-92 Bulls
Chicago won 67 games during the regular season. They were still playing at the old Chicago Stadium. Jordan was the MVP.
The Bulls ranked fifth in points per game and third in opponent points per game. They were elite on both ends of the floor and made life miserable for teams for 48 minutes.
In the 1992 playoffs, the Bulls got to the Finals by sweeping the Miami Heat in the first round, defeating the feisty New York Knicks in the semi-finals in seven games and ousting the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games in the Conference Finals.
The Bulls met Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter in the NBA Finals. Drexler was stellar, averaging 24.8 points in the series. However, Jordan was basically Superman. MJ put up 35.8 points per game en route to winning his second Finals MVP.
2. 1996-97 Bulls
SIXTY NINE wins for this Jordan-led Chicago team. The Bulls were also first in points per game that season.
Jazz big man Karl Malone won MVP over Jordan, but His Airness and the Bulls won the championship in six games.
Jordan averaged 32.3 points in the Finals. Pippen put up 20.0 points and, with the help of Dennis Rodman, made things as difficult as possible for Malone.
1. 1995-96 Bulls
Not only is this the best Bulls team of all-time, but it is also the best team in NBA history.
Sure, the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors team went 73-9. However, they lost in the 2016 Finals to LeBron and the Cavs in seven games after taking a 3-1 series lead.
“Don't mean a thing without the ring” was the Bulls' slogan for the 1996 playoffs. They were determined to finish the record-setting season the right way by winning the chip.
After winning MVP in the regular season, Jordan averaged 30.7 points in the 1996 playoffs. The Bulls lost just three games that postseason. They ultimately defeated Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and the SuperSonics in the Finals, with an emotional Jordan running to the locker room after the final buzzer and crying since he won the title on Father's Day — with his dad looking down from heaven.
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