MJ averaged 41 points, leading to a 4-2 series win and completing the Bulls first three-peat. After another season in Philly, Barkley headed west to join the Phoenix Suns and, in his first season with the team, ran into the defending champion Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. In back-to-back seasons from 1989 to 1991, Barkley and the 76ers made it to the Conference semifinals and both times were sent packing by the Bulls 4-1. Picked just two spots after Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft, Charles Barkley’s career basically lined up with Michael Jordan’s, and he was an obstacle on more than one occasion. So Stockton has no championship hardware to go with his other accolades. 515 career FG% is third-best among point guards, behind only Magic Johnson and Maurice Cheeks.īut the two years he made it to the NBA Finals with the Jazz were 19, the final two years of Jordan’s career with the Bulls. He led the league in assists for nine straight years. He has the most assists (15,806) and steals (3,265) in NBA history. He played all 82 games in 17 of those 19 seasons. Stockton played his entire 19-year career with the Utah Jazz and never missed the playoffs. Only this time, it was Jackson’s first season with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and the Lakers. The Pacers eventually made the NBA Finals in 2000, but Miller and his team were bested again by Phil Jackson. They led that game 79-77 with less than six minutes to play before the Bulls took over to win 88-83 (The Knicks forced a Game 7 in the 1992 conference semis, but the Bulls won that game decisively). In the 1998 Eastern Conference finals, Miller and the Pacers became one of only two teams to force the Bulls to a Game 7. Miller is one of the best pure shooters in NBA history and arguably came the closest to knocking out Jordan and the Bulls in those six championship seasons. In '96-97, they met the Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals and were beaten 4-1. That first season, Hardaway and the Heat were swept by the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. The first part of his career was spent with the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference with little success, and in the middle of the 1995-96 season, he was traded east to the Miami Heat. Tim Hardaway is a Chicago native and local hero who was never able to win an NBA Championship. Heading into the 1996 NBA Playoffs, the Magic were looking to win that elusive NBA championship when they encountered Jordan and the 72-win Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals. In 1995, the Orlando Magic beat the Bulls 4-2 in the conference semifinals but were later swept by the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals. The Bulls won the series 4-2, along with their fourth NBA title 7. The ’96 Sonics had 64 wins but, unfortunately, faced a 72-win Bulls team looking to regain supremacy in the NBA after Jordan unretired.ĭespite a strong duo between Kemp and Gary Payton, the Bulls with Pippen and Dennis Rodman were too much. Shawn Kemp and the Seattle SuperSonics met Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the 1996 NBA Finals. He did notch one “first” as an All-NBA First-Team selection in 1993. Price was bounced out of the playoffs twice by MJ and the Bulls during their championship runs (1992 Eastern Conference finals, 1993 Eastern Conference semifinals). He was the second player in NBA history to post a 50-40-90 season (50% field-goal shooting, 40% 3-point shooting, 90% free-throw shooting) after Larry Bird. Price is widely regarded as the second-best Cleveland Cavalier in franchise history behind LeBron James. It got us thinking: Who are some players we would likely hold in a higher regard if MJ weren't around to rack up rings? 9. But what’s often forgotten is the legacy he denied to some of the NBA’s other incredible players from that era. We all know the legacy Jordan left when he led the Bulls to six NBA titles. at least not while Jordan was with the team. Once Michael Jordan and the Bulls broke through for their first championship in 1991, there was absolutely no stopping them.

Tim curry age