The Dynasty of the 90s: Ranking Each Championship the Bulls Won from 1990-1998

With the conclusion of a sports documentary masterpiece created by ESPN and Netflix, “The Last Dance” gave us an inside look into the successful and tumultuous road Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls took to becoming immortalized in basketball history. As the chapter closes on this 10-part series, we at The Walk On Blog felt it would be fun to look back at each of the six championships the Bulls won and examine the significance of each championship they had.

6. 1997 Championship (5th title): The Chicago Bulls embarked on their journey towards back-to-back titles going into the ’96-97 season. During the off-season, the Bulls acquired free agent Robert Parish assembling yet another star-studded roster. GM Jerry Krause partnered Croatian star Tony Kukoč and sharp-shooter Steve Kerr with Jordan, Rodman, and Pippen, making them a threat to win the title. The Bulls started the season off red hot, heading into the All-Star break with an incredible 42-6 record and eventually finishing the season with the best record in the NBA at 69-13. This earned Chicago the top seed in the Eastern Conference. They would take care of business in the playoffs, sweeping the Washington Bullets in three games, beating the Atlanta Hawks 4-1 in the semifinals and dousing the Miami Heat 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Chicago would take on the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals. Led by John Stockton and Karl Malone, the Jazz won their first Western Conference title in Utah’s 23-year history. This would be the first of two back-to-back match-ups the Bulls and Jazz would have in the Finals. 1997 & 1998 would also mark the last time the Jazz would reach the NBA Finals. After tying the series up 2-2, Utah was headed back home with momentum and Game 5 was their chance to take control of the series. In what would be known in NBA History as “The Flu Game,” Jordan battled what is now accounted as food poisoning and mustered up the courage to play 44 minutes and score 38 points beating the Jazz 90-88. Steve Kerr would be the unlikely hero in Game 6, hitting a game-winning shot with 5 seconds left securing the Bulls’ back-to-back championships for a second time.

5. 1992 Championship (2nd title): After a 1-2 start to the season, the Bulls would win 14-consecutive games, leading to a league-best 67-15 record. The Bulls would be challenged in the playoffs, however, beating the 4th seeded Knicks in seven games in the semifinals, the 3rd seeded Cavaliers in six in the conference finals, and the top-seeded Portland Trailblazers in six as well in the Finals. Jordan would go onto win his second straight NBA Finals as well as his second straight MVP and sixth scoring title. Both Jordan and Pippen were selected for the 1992 All-Star Game and most people consider this team to be the best team the Bulls ever assembled.

4. 1991 Championship (1st title): There’s nothing quite like winning your first title. After a heart-breaking loss to the Detroit Pistons the year prior in the postseason, Jordan was determined to beat the Pistons and win a championship. In the 25th season of the franchise, the Bulls finished 61-21, winning their division and earning the top seed in the Eastern Conference. After coasting through round one and two sweeping the Knicks (3-0) and defeating the 76ers (4-1), the Bulls met the “Bad Boys” once again in the Eastern Conference Finals. Unlike the previous meeting, this series was nowhere near as close as 1990. The Bulls swept the Pistons 4-0, ultimately dethroning the Detroit Pistons and trailblazing the path for what would be a remarkable run for the Bulls organization in later years. Chicago would beat Magic Johnson the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1, claiming the first title in franchise history for the Bulls. Jordan would win his first Finals MVP and his second league MVP as well as lead the league in field goals (990), field goal attempts (1,837), total points (2,580), and scoring average (31.5 points per game). Numbers 3 and 4, depending on what you believe, can be rearranged based on personal preference.

3. 1993 Championship (3rd title): The 1992-93 season was the season Jordan could solidify himself in the conversation as one of the greatest to ever play the game. Jordan and Pippen ran the show together, along with an incredible supporting cast of Horace Grant, B.J. Armstrong, Bill Cartwright, and John Paxson and others. The Bulls finished the ’92-93 season 57-25, winning their division, but finishing 2nd in the East behind the New York Knicks (60-22). After back-to-back sweeps of Atlanta and Cleveland, the Bulls faced off against the top-seeded Knicks. After taking the first two games at home, New York looked as if they were in the driver seat ready to put Chicago in their rear view mirror and coast towards the Finals. But, in Shakespearean fashion, Jordan and the Bulls would come back and win the next four games. With Jordan’s 54-point outing in game 4 (most points any player has scored against the Knicks in the playoffs) and B.J. Armstrong’s clutch three-pointer in game 5, the Bulls took care of business and would eventually take care of the Phoenix Suns thanks to John Paxson’s game-winning three with 3.9 seconds left in game 6. Jordan would win league MVP as well as Finals MVP, and both Jordan and Pippen would be named NBA All-Defensive First Team.

2. 1998 Championship (6th title): “The Last Dance.” The title head coach Phil Jackson famously gave the 1997-98 season. This would be the last time the league would witness this Bulls team play together, and it only seems fitting that their last season together ended in a championship. After coasting through the first two rounds of the playoffs, Jordan and the Bulls fought tooth and nail with Reggie Miller the Indiana Pacers. After winning in seven games, the Bulls squared off again against John Stockton, Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz once again. Utah took game 1, while the Bulls took games 2-4. After Utah defeated Chicago in game 5 in Chicago, many outside opinions suggested the Jazz would make a comeback and make it a series. Jordan, however, had other plans. In what will forever be remembered in Chicago as “The Shot,” Jordan hit a clutch final-second jump shot at the free throw line with 5.2 seconds left, solidifying the series and claiming the Bulls sixth title in eight years. Jordan would eventually win Finals MVP and the league MVP, Pippen would go on to be awarded All-NBA third team and Dennis Rodman would finish first in the NBA in total rebounds (1,201) and rebounds per game (15.0). After the ’97-98 season, Jordan would “retire” again, Pippen was traded, Rodman was released, and Phil Jackson would leave the organization. The Chicago Bulls haven’t seen this type of success since, but it was a glorious way for this team to end their incredible run.

1. 1996 Championship (4th title): The 1995-96 season started as the Bulls second attempt to complete an eventual three-peat championship run. After some time spent away from the game of basketball to begin a career in the MLB and honor his father, Michael Jordan returned to the Bulls. This was the first time Jordan would play an NBA season without his father cheering him on from the sidelines. In 1993, Jordan’s father James was shot and killed in South Carolina. Jordan wouldn’t miss a beat in his return to the NBA, playing in all 82 games and finishing the season with 30.4 ppg, 4.3 apg, and shooting nearly 50% from the field. Jordan also finished the season with MVP honors in the All-Star game, the NBA Finals, and the league MVP as well. The 1995-96 championship, in my opinion, is at the top of this list because of the personal significance winning a title had for Jordan winning the ’96 championship on Father’s Day.

In the end, rankings are very arbitrary. Since different things matter to different people, they are very much “in the eye of the beholder.” It’s what, in the end, makes sports so compelling to the average fan. By creating rankings, we participate in the judging of sports history and make it our own through spirited discussion and debate. The first championship the Bulls won, ultimately, is just as important as the 3rd or the 5th. As fans observing from the outside, we each have different currency values for which championships we deem “more important” over another. I can imagine that for Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, and those who actually competed for those six titles, each one is priceless and treasured for their own unique reasons.

Author: Spencer Robb