The 1995–96 Chicago Bulls season was the 30th season for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls became the first NBA team to ever win 70 regular season games, finishing in first place in the Central Division with a league-best 72–10 record, and earned the first seed in the Eastern Conference; the team also posted a league-best 39–2 home record at the United Center, and qualified for the NBA playoffs for the twelfth consecutive year. They defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals in six games to become the NBA Champions.
Season summary
Off-season During the off-season, the Bulls acquired controversial All-Star forward and rebound specialist Dennis Rodman from the San Antonio Spurs, and signed free agents Randy Brown, and James Edwards. At mid-season, the team signed John Salley, who was previously released by the expansion Toronto Raptors; Rodman, Edwards and Salley were all teammates on the Detroit Pistons during the "Bad Boy" era, where they won two consecutive NBA championships between 1989 and 1990.
For the season, the Bulls revealed new black alternate road uniforms, which featured red pinstripes, a red, black and white trim, and the team's primary logo on both legs of their shorts; eventually, they would remove the pinstripes from their uniforms in 1997.
Regular season With the addition of Rodman, the Bulls won their first five games of the regular season, and later on posted a 13-game winning streak between November and December, which led to a 23–2 start to the season. The Bulls posted an 18-game winning streak between January and February, which led to a 41–3 record as of February 2, 1996; the team also went undefeated by posting a 14–0 record in January, and held a 42–5 record at the All-Star break. The Bulls became the first NBA team to ever win 70 regular season games, finishing in first place in the Central Division with a league-best 72–10 record, and earned the first seed in the Eastern Conference; the team also posted a league-best 39–2 home record at the United Center, and qualified for the NBA playoffs for the twelfth consecutive year.
The 1995–96 Bulls were named one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History during the celebration of the league's 50th anniversary in 1996. The team set the record for most wins in an NBA regular season. The 2015–16 Golden State Warriors set a new milestone by finishing with a 73–9 regular season record, but did not win the NBA championship; despite their remarkable performance, the team ultimately fell short in the 2016 NBA Finals. Notably, the Warriors' head coach, Steve Kerr, had a significant link to the 1995–96 Bulls team, having previously played as a point guard for the Bulls during that time. The Bulls' started the regular season 37–0 at home, part of a then-NBA-record 44-game winning streak that included games from the 1994–95 regular season. Their 33 road wins were the most in NBA history until the 2015–16 Warriors won 34 road games. The season was the best 3-loss start in NBA history at 41–3 (.932). They are also the only team in NBA history to win more than 70 games and an NBA title in the same season. The Bulls had the best team offensive rating and the best team defensive rating in the NBA, and are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in NBA history.
In his first full season with the Bulls since the 1992–93 season, Michael Jordan averaged 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.2 steals per game, contributed 111 three-point field goals, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year. In addition, Scottie Pippen averaged 19.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and led the Bulls with 150 three-point field goals, while Croatian small forward Toni Kukoč played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 13.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, and was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. Meanwhile, Luc Longley provided the team with 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, three-point specialist Kerr contributed 8.4 points per game and 122 three-point field goals off the bench, while shooting .515 in three-point field-goal percentage, and Ron Harper provided with 7.4 points and 1.3 steals per game. Rodman averaged 5.5 points and 14.9 rebounds per game, and Bill Wennington contributed 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Jordan and Pippen were both selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while head coach Phil Jackson was selected to coach the Eastern Conference. Jordan scored 20 points in 22 minutes, and won his second NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 129–118. Meanwhile, Kerr participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the third consecutive year. Jordan and Pippen were both named to the All-NBA First Team, and NBA All-Defensive First Team, with Rodman being selected to the latter team, and Jackson was named the NBA Coach of the Year. Pippen finished in fifth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Rodman finished in 15th place; Pippen also finished in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, behind Gary Payton of the Seattle SuperSonics, while Jordan finished in sixth place, and Rodman finished in seventh place, and Kerr finished in ninth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
The Bulls finished second in the NBA in home-game attendance behind the Charlotte Hornets, with an attendance of 969,149 at the United Center during the regular season.
NBA playoffs In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Bulls faced off against the 8th–seeded Miami Heat, a team that featured All-Star center Alonzo Mourning, All-Star guard Tim Hardaway, and Rex Chapman. The Bulls won their first two home games over the Heat at the United Center, before winning Game 3 on the road, 112–91 at the Miami Arena to win the series in a three-game sweep.
In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 5th–seeded New York Knicks, a team that featured All-Star center Patrick Ewing, Anthony Mason and John Starks. The Bulls won the first two games at the United Center, before losing Game 3 to the Knicks on the road in overtime, 102–99 at Madison Square Garden, despite a 46-point performance from Jordan. The Bulls won the next two games, which included a Game 5 win over the Knicks at the United Center, 94–81 to win the series in five games.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, and for the second consecutive year, the Bulls faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion Orlando Magic, who were led by the trio of All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal, All-Star guard Penny Hardaway, and former Bulls forward Horace Grant. The Bulls won the first two games at the United Center to take a 2–0 series lead, and then won the next two games over the Magic on the road, including a Game 4 win at the Orlando Arena, 106–101, in which Jordan scored 45 points; the Bulls won the series over the Magic in a four-game sweep to advance to the NBA Finals.
In the 1996 NBA Finals, the Bulls faced off against the top–seeded SuperSonics, who were led by the All-Star trio of Payton, Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf. The Bulls won their first two home games over the SuperSonics at the United Center, before winning Game 3 on the road, 108–86 at the KeyArena at Seattle Center to take a 3–0 series lead. However, the Bulls lost the next two games to the SuperSonics on the road. With a 3–2 series lead, the Bulls won Game 6 over the SuperSonics at the United Center, 87–75, thus winning the series in six games, and also winning their fourth NBA championship in six years; Jordan was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player for the fourth time, after scoring 22 points in Game 6, despite struggling as he only made 5 out of 19 field-goal attempts. The 1995–96 Bulls have the best combined regular and postseason record in NBA history at 87–13 (.870 in winning percentage).
Notable incidents One notable incident of the regular season occurred on March 16, 1996, during a road game against the New Jersey Nets at the Brendan Byrne Arena. During the first quarter, Rodman head butted referee Ted Bernhardt, got ejected and was suspended for six games; the Bulls defeated the Nets by a score of 97–93.
Aftermath Following the season, Edwards retired, and Salley left to play overseas in Greece.
Off-season Before the 1995–96 NBA season, the Bulls acquired Dennis Rodman and Jack Haley from the Spurs in exchange for Will Perdue and cash considerations to fill a void at power forward left by Horace Grant, who left the Bulls before the 1994–95 NBA season.
In his book Bad as I Wanna Be, Rodman wrote that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen had to approve the trade. Rodman chose the number 91 (9+1=10 according to Rodman for why he chose that number) for his jersey since #10 was retired by the Bulls in 1995 in honor of Bob Love.
Haley played in one game, the final game of the regular season, and didn't participate in the playoffs. He was best known for his friendship with the enigmatic Rodman.
NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 20 Jason Caffey PF Alabama 2 31 Dragan Tarlać C Olympiakos (Greece)
Roster
Standings
Central Division
Eastern Conference
Regular season
November
The Bulls began the 1995–96 season on November 3 against the Charlotte Hornets and defeated them, 105–91, with Michael Jordan scoring 42 points. The next day, Chicago defeated the Boston Celtics in a 22-point blowout, 107–85, behind Scottie Pippen's 21 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. On November 7, the Bulls defeated the Toronto Raptors behind Jordan's 38 points. In Gund Arena, Chicago defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 9, where Scottie Pippen accumulated a triple-double with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists. After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers on November 11, the Bulls reached a 5–0 start for the season. On November 14, Chicago's undefeated streak ended with a loss to the Orlando Magic, despite a double-double performance by Pippen who recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan also scored 23 points and grabbed 7 rebounds for the Bulls Following their first loss of the season, Chicago bounced back to defeat Cleveland on November 15. The Bulls would continue their winning ways by defeating the New Jersey Nets on November 17. Toni Kukoc recorded a game-high 19 points and 7 assists for the Bulls.
The Bulls went on a road trip to play against seven Western Conference teams. On November 21, Chicago played in its first overtime game of the season in a win against the Dallas Mavericks, 108–102, backed by a double-double performance by Pippen who recorded 26 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists and 36 points from Jordan. On the next day, the Bulls defeated the San Antonio Spurs behind another triple-double by Pippen who recorded 15 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. and Jordan's 38 points and 9 rebounds. Chicago then went to Delta Center to play against the Utah Jazz on November 24. In the game, the Bulls defeated the Jazz, 90–85. On November 26, the Bulls headed to Seattle and led the Sonics 64–51 after the first half, but the Sonics mounted a comeback outscoring the Bulls on the next two quarters, thus handing the visiting Bulls their second loss of the season, 92–97. Jordan led the Bulls with 22 points and 5 rebounds. The next game, the Bulls would visit the Trailblazers. Jordan led all scorers with 33 points to go along with 8 assists, as the Bulls won, 107–104. In their last game of the month, the Bulls went to Canada to play against the Vancouver Grizzlies and defeated them, 94–88.
December