As great as Michael Jordan was for the Chicago Bulls, he also played with several amazing teammates over the years.
Toni Kukoc may not get the same recognition as Scottie Pippen or Dennis Rodman, but he was vital for the Bulls’ second three-peat from 1996-98.
The 6-foot-11 Croatian was indeed a player ahead of his time. Back then, not a lot of European players managed to find their footing in the United States.
With his smooth stroke, Kukoc could have easily been one of the most sought-after stretch forwards in the game today. He was a dependable point forward as well and was even once dubbed the “left-handed Magic Johnson” for his playmaking exploits.
Episode 5 of ESPN’s “The Last Dance” docuseries showed Kukoc’s rather interesting relationship with Jordan and Pippen.
As it turns out, the Bulls superstars had some disdain for Kukoc at first — which was not entirely his fault.
Kukoc was making headlines overseas around the same time the Bulls were establishing themselves as the best team in the NBA. This caught the eye of Chicago’s GM at the time, Jerry Krause, who went as far as claiming Toni would be the future of the Bulls after selecting him in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft.
Jordan, who already had a rocky relationship with Krause to begin with, took this as a huge slight. In Jordan’s own words, they felt like Krause was pining over some European prospect while “neglecting his own children.”
Meanwhile, Pippen was upset that Krause was saving money for whenever Kukoc was ready to come over, which had an impact on his own contract negotiations.
Without even knowing it at the time, Kukoc was now on Jordan and Pippen’s radar long before they even crossed paths.
Kukoc learned this the hard way in the 1992 Olympics, as Jordan and Pippen suited up for the dominant Dream Team while Toni bannered his native Croatia. Magic Johnson remembers Jordan demanding the Kukoc assignment:
“He said, ‘Toni Kukoc, I got him tonight. I’m going to shut him down,’” Magic Johnson said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “The whole bus went quiet. So we were riding along. ‘Everything good?’ ‘No, I got him. I just got to show him that I’m going to D him up and he’s not going to get one basket on me.’ He’s preparing like he’s guarding one of us in the Finals.”
Jordan planned to team up with Pippen to shut Kukoc down:
“I remember Scottie Pippen and I, all we heard in Chicago was how great Toni Kukoc was,” Jordan said, “You know, from Jerry Krause and whatever. We made a pact that we were not going to let this guy do anything against us. It was like, ‘OK, you got him in the first half. I got him in the second half.’ We’re going to make sure this kid doesn’t upstage the Dream Team.”
The highly touted international star was taken off his pedestal, as the Bulls duo frustrated him all night long in Team USA’s rousing 33-point win. Kukoc managed just four points and turned the ball over seven times. Postgame, Pippen even told reporters that Kukoc wasn't cut out for the NBA.
The Dream Team and Croatia once again faced off in the gold-medal game, with Kukoc eying redemption for his poor outing last time out. Although the Americans once again demolished their counterparts by 33 points, Kukoc played much better this time around and showed his vast skill set, putting up 16 points, nine assists and five rebounds.
Kukoc even managed to earn MJ’s respect afterward, as Jordan claimed that Kukoc was much tougher than they gave him credit for.
Kukoc finally made the jump to the NBA the following year to join the Bulls. Chicago originally drafted him 29th overall in 1990, but he decided to stay in Europe for three more years. In “The Last Dance,” Toni revealed that he chose to play close to home at the time due to the troubling state of his war-torn country.
The lefty forward was eager to team up with Jordan after the Bulls just finished their first three-peat in 1993. However, MJ surprisingly retired and Kukoc played as a reliever to Pippen and Horace Grant.
After earning head coach Phil Jackson’s trust, Kukoc became an integral part of the Jordan-less Bulls. In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks in 1994, Jackson even designed a crucial play for Kukoc. This angered Pippen, who felt disrespected for being the Bulls’ second option.
Kukoc went on to hit the 23-foot game-winner, but the Bulls eventually lost the series in seven games. Jordan returned the following year, and Kukoc willingly embraced being the team’s sixth man.
The rest, as we know, is history. The Croatian won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 1996 after bolstering the team’s bench during their 72-win season. They won their fourth NBA title with Kukoc playing an even bigger role come playoff time.
The Bulls completed their second three-peat in the ensuing seasons, with Kukoc averaging the third-most points on the team during that stretch.
Kukoc's breakaway dunk in Game 6 of the 1997 Finals against the Utah Jazz capped off one of the most glorious final sequences in basketball.
Toni Kukoc’s relationship with Michael Jordan may have started off on the wrong foot, but he made sure it ended on the right one.
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