1996 Second NBA Championship

Lore & Background

The Bulls were coming off a season where they lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Orlando Magic. Heading into the upcoming season, Chicago was no longer the same team as they were in their most recent championship season of 1993, having lost key members of their first three-peat core: John Paxson retired after the 1993–94 season, Bill Cartwright retired after the 1994–95 season, Horace Grant left in 1994, B.J. Armstrong was traded in 1995, Stacey King was traded in 1994, Will Perdue was traded in 1995, and Scott Williams left in 1994. In their place was a new core of players such as Luc Longley, Toni Kukoč, Steve Kerr, Ron Harper, Jud Buechler, Bill Wennington, and Randy Brown. A notable addition to the team was Dennis Rodman, a nine-year veteran and four year rebounding champion. However, his addition to the team was slightly panned due to his unpredictability and controversial actions on and off the court. The result of this ensemble was perhaps the greatest regular season of any team in NBA history at the time, as the Bulls won a record-high 72 games, which would be broken by the Golden State Warriors in the 2015–16 season. They continued to gain momentum in the playoffs, beginning with a sweep of the Miami Heat in the first round, followed by a five-game defeat of the New York Knicks in the second round. The conference finals was a rematch of the previous season's series with the Orlando Magic, but it was a no-contest, as the Bulls swept the Magic to gain entry into the Finals. Due to the win-loss record, Jordan's first full season back from baseball, and the star power of Dennis Rodman, arguably the most well-known player in the NBA outside of Jordan due to his relationship with Madonna, the Bulls began to be treated like global rock stars. This created an unprecedented frenzy among away fans in opposing cities. Rather than animosity, their road trips triggered massive fanfare, ticket sellouts, and cultural pandemonium wherever they played, which had not occurred before then with any other NBA team.

In Their Own Story

The air in the United Center was thick enough to choke on, a humid mix of sweat and anticipation as Game 6 approached. Michael Jordan stood at center court, his gaze fixed on the rim, listening to the roar of a crowd that knew they were witnessing history. Scottie Pippen clapped rhythmically beside him, while Dennis Rodman bounced a stray ball, his eyes scanning the floor with predatory focus. The referee's whistle cut through the noise, signaling the start of the final stretch. There was no room for error; the legacy of 72 wins rested on these next forty-eight minutes. As Jordan drove to the basket, the world seemed to slow down, a singular moment where the past two decades of Chicago basketball history converged into one perfect arc.

Reader's Guide

The SuperSonics were led by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, with George Karl as head coach. The team was considered a perennial title contender throughout the mid-1990s, but the closest they came to reaching the finals was in 1993, when they lost to the Phoenix Suns in seven games in the Western Conference finals. Two straight first-round exits followed, including the stunning 1994 loss to the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets. Motivated by a successive string of early playoff losses, Seattle finished the 1996 regular season with a franchise-record 64 wins. Seattle began its playoff run with a four-game win over the Sacramento Kings, followed by a dominant sweep of the defending champion Houston Rockets, headed by a 33-point win in Game 1 where they held Hakeem Olajuwon to 5 points. They then beat the Utah Jazz in seven games in the western finals to advance to its first NBA championship round since 1979.

Did You Know?

• The Bulls won a record-high 72 games in the regular season, which would be broken by the Golden State Warriors in the 2015–16 season.
• Dennis Rodman tied an NBA Finals record with 11 offensive rebounds in Game 2.
• This was the first championship in the Chicago Bulls' second three-peat.
• As of 2026, no NBA team has ever overcome a 3-0 playoff series deficit.