Bullish

Twenty-five years ago tonight, the Bulls lost at Indiana. Their record for the season stood at 23-3. Three days later, they avenged the loss with a 120-93 rout of the Pacers in Chicago. Five weeks would go by before they tasted defeat again. 

     On January 3, the Bulls held the defending world champion Houston Rockets to 1-of-15 shooting in the second quarter and cruised to an easy 100-86 win behind Michael Jordan’s 38 points. A week later, in a game with postseason implications, the Bulls humiliated the Seattle SuperSonics 113-87 as Jordan grabbed 14 rebounds to go with 35 points. On January 13, the Bulls visited the Philadelphia 76ers, whose rookie guard Jerry Stackhouse had recently announced, “Nobody can stop me in this league—not even Michael Jordan.” Jordan scored 48 points and held Stackhouse to nine as the Bulls won 120-93. At New York on January 23, the Bulls bombed the Knicks 99-79. And so it went.

 

RODMAN, PIPPEN, JORDAN, HARPER, and KUKOC.

The combination of Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman—nicknamed “Superman, Batman, and Rodman”—was proving unstoppable. Rodman, whom general manager Jerry Krause had acquired in a trade with San Antonio, was not effusively welcomed by his new teammates at first. Jordan and Pippen were skeptical, remembering Rodman’s obnoxious role with the Detroit Pistons’ “Bad Boys,” the Bulls’ arch-enemies of the late eighties and early nineties. Toni Kukoc was even less enthusiastic, for Rodman’s arrival meant his departure from the starting lineup. 

     Rodman flourished under Phil Jackson’s laid-back coaching style and won over Chicago fans by flinging his jersey into the crowd after each home game. His on-court antics occasionally got him ejected, fined, and/or suspended, and his off-court publicity stunts grew increasingly bizarre. But he played hard and generally got along with his teammates as the season progressed.  

     While the Bulls’ lesser lights didn’t attract nearly as much attention, they too made key contributions. Guard Ron Harper became the perfect complement to the man he’d earlier been asked to replace; his stellar defensive work created myriad fast-break opportunities for Jordan. Center Luc Longley used his height and heft to disrupt opponents’ drives down the lane. Kukoc and Bill Wennington provided scoring punch off the bench. Steve Kerr was a devastating long-range bomber. Randy Brown was a fleet-footed defender who could stick with the league’s quickest point guards. Jud Buechler supplied Jackson’s favorite ingredient, “good energy.” The Bulls were hitting on all cylinders. 

     January 1996 was the first perfect month in Bulls’ history—14 games, 14 wins. By the time the winning streak reached 18 in early February, the Bulls had won 31 of their last 32. Their record was a stupendous 41-3. It was clear that they were taking aim at the single-season record of 69 wins in 82 games, set by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971-72. 

     The Bulls had been in a similar situation in 1992. That year, Jackson had deliberately pulled in the reins, allowing several late-season games to slip away while he rested his starters for the playoffs. The Bulls finished with “only” 67 wins but, more importantly, went on to take the world championship. Now Jackson again tried to downplay the regular-season record. “Playoff basketball totally changes everything,” he said. “That’s the mystery, as to whether we can play at this level all through the season and then come through with the championship drive.”  

 

The Bulls’ unprecedented success and their panache both on and off the court made them the biggest phenomenon the NBA had ever seen. Every away game became an event, anticipated like a concert by the most famous of rock stars. In each city the Bulls visited, hundreds of fans turned out hoping just to catch a glimpse of them walking from their bus into the hotel. 

     A discordant note was sounded when Rodman was left out of the All-Star Game even though it was obvious that he was on his way to a fifth straight rebounding title. The game was played in San Antonio, and Rodman had wished to return in triumph to the city from which he’d been exiled. When the season resumed, the snub seemed to inspire him to play even harder and better than he already had for the Bulls. 

     In the second game after the break, at Detroit, Rodman had 19 rebounds, including an amazing total of 14 on the offensive side, as the Bulls won 112-109. Three nights later at Indiana, he pulled down 23 rebounds while Jordan scored 44 points and Pippen added 40 as the Bulls subdued the Pacers. “They’re the best,” Indiana coach Larry Brown said. “They wouldn’t be 46-5 if they didn’t try to make a statement every game.”

     The Bulls made a definitive statement a week later, blistering Orlando 111-91 at the United Center. Kukoc scored 24 points in 23 minutes, including 11 in a row to start the fourth quarter. He was showing signs of accepting, if not embracing, his role as sixth man. “I think he’s shown that he can really contribute for us,” Jackson said. “In big games, he plays big, and we’re real comfortable with what he can do.” 

     Kukoc came back with 23 points two nights later, while Jordan had 35 and Rodman secured a season-high 24 rebounds. The Bulls dismantled the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-99 for their 50th win of the season against six losses. It was February 27, and it marked the earliest date that any team had ever reached the 50-win milestone. 

     On March 18, Jordan celebrated the first anniversary of his return from retirement by scoring 38 points and hauling in 11 rebounds at Philadelphia. He played 47 of the 48 minutes, leading the Bulls to a hard-fought 98-94 victory. The club’s record now stood at 58-7.

 

The Bulls were only a few points shy of perfection for the rest of the regular season. They lost just three more games—each by a single point (at Toronto on March 24, to Charlotte on April 8, and to Indiana on April 20). The latter two were the Bulls’ only defeats of the season at the United Center, costing them a chance to surpass or equal the Boston Celtics’ home record of 41-1 in 1985-86. 

     The irresistible march into the record books culminated in Milwaukee on April 16. The 90-mile drive north to Milwaukee afforded many Bulls fans who couldn’t hope to get tickets at the United Center (where the Bulls were drawing 109 percent of capacity) a rare opportunity to see their heroes in the flesh. Thus the sold-out Bradley Center was packed with Chicagoans for the historic game, which proved surprisingly difficult for the Bulls. “We came out totally lackluster,” Jordan admitted. He and Pippen made only 16 of 46 shots, and the Bulls trailed for most of the contest. It fell to the unsung Kerr to rescue the Bulls with a three-pointer, another long jumper, and two clutch free throws in the final minute. The Bulls won 86-80 for their 70th victory of the season.

     On April 21, the Bulls dispatched the Washington Bullets for their 72nd win against 10 losses. The game was notable for being the last of the regular season and the first in which Jack Haley played. Haley had been signed because it was thought that he was a good influence on Rodman, a friend from their days in San Antonio. Haley had spent the prior 81 games on the bench in street clothes, cheering for his teammates. He played seven minutes in the season finale, making two of six shots and one of two free throws for five points; he also grabbed two rebounds.

 

The Bulls’ success as a team brought them a raft of individual honors. Jordan won his eighth scoring title and retained the highest career average of all time. He also won his fourth Most Valuable Player award. Pippen joined Jordan on the All-NBA first team and finished fifth in the MVP balloting. Rodman joined Jordan and Pippen on the All-Defensive first team and won his fifth rebounding title. Kukoc won the Sixth Man award. Kerr finished second in the league in three-point shooting but remained number one in career annals. Jackson was selected Coach of the Year and moved past Pat Riley for the highest winning percentage in NBA history. Krause was chosen Executive of the Year. 

     It had been a season for the ages, but the true test remained. “It don’t mean a thing,” Harper declared, “without the ring.” Rodman was a bit more emphatic. “It’s not our goal,” he said of the world championship. “It’s our destiny.” 

     Rodman was right. The Bulls won 15 0f 18 postseason games and captured the first championship in what eventually became their second “three-peat.”

 

 

Chicago Bulls 1995-96 schedule and results on Basketball Reference.

 

 

Check out our book Heydays: Great Stories in Chicago Sports on Amazon.