Loading ...The Chicago Bulls and Michael forever
Despite having parted ways for some two decades now the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan remain inseparable in the adoring minds of the basketball aficionados. It seems destined that those Chicago Bulls Jerseys and caps bearing the legendary number 23 of His Airness Jordan will continue to be among the best-selling souvenirs from sport shops and online stores for a long long time. This prolonged love affair with an iconic basketball star and his championship team owes much to the remarkable record of Jordan and the Bulls which is unlikely to be repeated: two three consecutive years (1991–1993 and 1996–1998) of NBA championships for a total of six titles.
And to think that it took some time for Jordan (7 years in fact) to jell with the Chicago Bulls, for them to produce a championship ring. Michael was drafted by Bulls in the 1984 NBA draft pick, coming third behind Hakeem Olajuwon, who was taken by the Houston Rockets, and Sam Bowie, who was picked by the Portland Trail Blazers. With Jordan’s arrival, fan interest in the Chicago Bulls started gaining the ground lost during the team’s lackluster performance during the early 80s. As a rookie, Michael topped in his team’s overall stats: points, assists, rebounds and steals, a performance that gave him rookie of the year honors, a slot in the All-Star, and a spot in the All-Rookie mythical squad.
The Chicago Bulls and Michael, however, disappointed their fans with losses in the playoffs, a trend that was seen as resulting from Jordan’s individual play, which may be truly spectacular, but perceived by some as selfish. Others believed, however, that Michael was playing at a level that was way beyond the reach of his team mates such that they couldn’t work as a team. A break to these frustrations came with the promotion of Phil Jackson from assistant to head coach as the 1989-90 season was about to start. Jackson devised the now-famous triangle offense, which enabled Michael to harness his superb talents in offense while at the same time involving other Bulls in the play. The team focused on passing and a balanced offensive pattern revolving around not only Jordan but also on his team mates, notably forwards Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, center Bill Cartwright, with B.J. Armstrong and John Paxson as guards. Jackson’s system relies on few set plays but allowed the players to set their own depending on the situation on the court. It paid off as Michael’s extraordinary playmaking abilities remained as a threat to the other team while the rest of the Bulls are given scoring options on the floor as well. Nevertheless, the Bulls lost to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals that season, but the Chicago franchise was able to push the playoffs to seven games, a harbinger of the team’s dynasty in the NBA’s next three years.
The Chicago Bulls and Michael finally hit their mark in the 1991 NBA edition. With Jordan’s play becoming more matured, and his team mates more involved in the play, the Chicago franchise turned the tables on the Detroit Pistons with a sweep of the Eastern Conference Finals, and eventually beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Championship. It was also in this season that Michael copped his second MVP title on top of being adjudged Most Valuable Player of the championship, historic feats that were repeated in one form or another up to 1998 to mark an unparalleled reign in the NBA.
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US $76.50
I Am a Michael Jordan Fan like many other people from around the world. He was one of the NBA's best players from all time.
REVISITING THE NBA PLAYOFFS (1970-2009) - Joint Contrast | May 10th, 2009 at 1:21 pm #
[...] to help usher in a new decade but that paled in comparison to the impact six-time finals MVP Michael Jordan had on the game in the 1990s. The Chicago Bulls did much more than win six-of-six titles, they won [...]