1. 72-10:ANORALHISTORY@CHICAGOBULLS2015-16BULLPEN85
2015-16BULLPEN@CHICAGOBULLS72-10:ANORALHISTORY84
SEVENTY
TWO
ANDTEN
JerryReinsdorf,PhilJackson,ScottiePippenand DennisRodmanprovidean
oralhistoryastheyrecallthetriumphantseasonofthe1995-96ChicagoBulls
S T O R Y B Y A D A M F L U C K
M
ichael Jordan and the Chi-
cago Bulls had just made
history, becoming the first
NBA team to win 70 games
and eclipsing the previous
mark held by the 1971-72
Los Angeles Lakers. However, as Jordan
and his teammates walked off the court
on April 16, 1996 in Milwaukee, there
was no excessive celebration. Excite-
ment, yes, but it was hardly a team that
had achieved its ultimate goal.
“Last year we went through some
disappointments at the end of the season,”
Michael Jordan told Johnny “Red” Kerr.
“We vowed to come back and get our-
selves back on top. This is just one step.”
The 1995-96 Bulls won two of their
last three games to finish the regular
season 72-10. But they were just get-
ting started. The shirts that Ron Harp-
er made said it all, “72-10: Don’t mean a
thing without the ring!”
Twenty years later, four key fig-
ures from a team considered to be one
of the greatest ever in all of team sports
look back on that historic season: Scot-
tie Pippen and Dennis Rodman share
their memories from the hardwood; Phil
Jackson recounts leading that group
from the sideline; and Jerry Reinsdorf
remembers a season that will never be
forgotten.
On March 18, 1995, it took just two
words for Michael Jordan to put the
basketball world on notice: “I’m back.”
Following an 18-month break from bas-
ketball in which he played minor league
baseball following the death of his fa-
ther, Jordan returned to the Bulls. That
season, however, ended in disappoint-
ment as Chicago fell to Orlando in the
Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Though he spent most of his sum-
mer in Los Angeles shooing the movie
Space Jam, Jordan was determined as
ever to regain his dominance and lead
the Bulls to a fourth world champion-
ship. Aside from Scottie Pippen, how-
ever, Jordan would need to acclimate
himself to a completely different roster
than the one that captured a three-peat
in 1991, 1992 and 1993. Filling the void
at power forward, an issue for the Bulls
dating back to Horace Grant’s depar-
ture as a free agent in 1994, was among
the team’s top priorities. Enter Dennis
Rodman, who General Manager Jerry
Krause acquired from the San Antonio
Spurs in exchange for Will Perdue just
in time for training camp.
PHIL JACKSON: “We had to meet with
Dennis and he came over to Jerry
Krause’s house on a Sunday after-
noon. He was wearing a slouch hat
with sunglasses on and didn’t get up
off the couch when I walked over to
shake his hand. I said, ‘You have a cer-
tain character that you have to por-
tray and things that are important to
you, but standing up and shaking one’s
hand and taking off your sunglasses is
important to me.’ He obliged and we
went outside to sit down. We talked
about the fact that he was underpaid
and a lot of things that were issues for
him while he was in San Antonio. I
told him if he could be productive for
us, he’d have a chance to be part of a
great team.”

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SCOTTIE PIPPEN: “We looked at it as a
year where we could go out and prove
that our greatness could come togeth-
er for us to become a championship
team again. Dennis was a huge part of
that because we understood the val-
ue he brought to our team. Michael
and I had a strong relationship and we
felt comfortable in relying on Dennis.
We knew he would be there when it
was time to work. He came across en-
emy lines and jumped to our side.”
DENNIS RODMAN: “I didn’t pay too much
attention to any of that. All I was think-
ing about was playing basketball. The
only thing that surprised me was that
fact that I played with the Pistons and
all the stuff that went down with us
and the Bulls. I was surprised they’d
even think of me as someone who could
come to Chicago. But it dawned on me
after the trade went though, because I
thought, ‘Wait a minute. They needed a
rebounder and here I am.’”
JERRY REINSDORF: “I don’t think anybody
realized how driven Michael was, and
the addition of Dennis Rodman was
huge. After we lost to Orlando, Phil said
we needed to get somebody to rebound
the ball. That was our deficiency and
Jim Stack had the idea of getting Rod-
man.”
RODMAN: “I knew we were going to win
in Chicago. That wasn’t a problem. It
was more about can the Bulls get along
with Dennis Rodman? Can they co-ex-
ist? In San Antonio, they thought I was
destructive. They thought I was evil and
the devil because I changed my hair col-
or or hung out with gay friends. When I
came to Chicago, it was all cool, a 360. I
felt like the day I signed with the Bulls,
they accepted me.”
REINSDORF: “We certainly didn’t expect
to win 72 games, that’s for sure. But we
thought with Michael back, we had an
awfully good chance to win a champi-
onship.”
JACKSON: “We had a little dust up in train-
ing camp but it was good thing. It kind
of spiced things up. Michael and Steve
[Kerr] got into a little issue and Steve got
popped. Michael said, ‘It was my fault
and I’ll talk to him. I just lost my head.
70:TheBullsnotchedthe70thwinoftheseasoninMilwaukeeonApril16,1996
THEWORM:TheBullstradedforDennisRodmanonOct.2,1995
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2015-16BULLPEN@CHICAGOBULLS
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72-10:ANORALHISTORY
THEBIRTHOFTHEBULLS
I’ll apologize.’ So the season started off
a little chippy but it was good in many
ways. There was a certain way we
wanted to play basketball, how the ball
was distributed, so there were going to
be a lot of shots for everybody.”
It didn’t take long to see Jordan had
fully regained his form and that the
players who surrounded him and Pip-
pen – Harper, Rodman and Luc Long-
ley rounded out the starting five – were
achieving the desired on-court chemis-
try. The Bulls won six of seven games
on the team’s annual Thanksgiving/
Circus Trip and never looked back. The
team went on an early 12-game win
streak before losing to Indiana the day
after Christmas. But that loss didn’t faze
these Bulls, as Chicago then rattled off
18 straight victories and to post an over-
all won-loss mark of 41-3 by early Febru-
ary. The Bulls were practically untouch-
able at home this season, going 39-2 at
the United Center. They won by an aver-
age of 12.3 points per game that season,
tied for the best in league history.
REINSDORF: “That team thought they
were going to win every night. No ques-
tion about it. And they damn near did.
Usually when you’re a really good team,
everybody gets up to play you. Everyone
wants to take a shot at the top guy.”
PIPPEN: “We had a veteran group of play-
ers who really knew how to play. We did
a great job of communicating when we
were out on the floor. We didn’t mind
stepping up and helping each other
on defense or giving a hard foul when
needed. We also didn’t mind diving for
loose balls. That mindset, the total com-
mitment we made to each other helped
us dominate every team we played.”
JACKSON: “They found a rhythm right
off the bat. We caught everybody by
surprise. No one anticipated it. We had
a lineup where we could put Toni Kukoc
on the floor and he played very similar
to the style of basketball being played
today. Dennis would slide over and play
center while Toni would play power
forward against whomever he had to.
We had a bunch of 6’6”, 6’7”, 6’8” guys
who were very active and athletic.”
RODMAN: “We came to play every day.
Scottie and Michael competed every day,
whether it was in practice or a game. And
so did guys like Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler
and Toni Kukoc, everybody. Everybody
wanted to play, man. We didn’t have any
issues with who was playing and who
wasn’t. We just wanted to go out there
and win, win, win. We never got caught
up in anything else.”
PIPPEN: “We knew we had a bunch of All-
Stars, a lot of talent, but we didn’t rely
on that — won on effort. It was our ded-
ication and the approach each one of us
took from Michael on down. Dennis was
always diving into the stands after loose
balls… that became part of his character
and that attitude was contagious.”
With winning came the accolades:
Jordan netted his eighth scoring title
and was named All-Star MVP and NBA
MVP; Rodman captured his fifth con-
secutive rebounding title; Jordan, Pip-
pen and Rodman were selected to the
NBA All-Defensive Team; Kukoc won
the NBA’s Sixth Man Award.
It was a team that could beat you
in any number of ways, a team that
was supremely confident in large part
due to its leadership. The greatness of
Jordan and Pippen was undeniable,
but the depth of Chicago’s roster that
season was remarkable. The way every
player willingly and eagerly accepted
his role contributed mightily to the
team’s success.
JACKSON: “We had a 6’11” guy who could
shoot three-pointers, handle the ball
and make passes. Toni was Sixth Man
of the Year and even though he might
have been a little offended because he
didn’t start, he understood why I want-
ed to bring him in off the bench. For us
to be that good we needed a starter type
player to lead the second team.”
PIPPEN: “Toni was playing All-Star cali-
ber basketball. He played at a very high
level and led that second unit and that
really helped solidify us as a great team.
Ron (Harper) was another guy who pro-
vided us with great versatility, being
able to guard one through four.”
RODMAN: “It’s interesting because if you
really look at the bench, it probably av-
eraged 30 points per game, if that. But
the whole supporting cast, all the guys
who came off the bench, they knew
how to play their role. No one came into
the game trying to score 15 or 20 points
or looking to get 10 or 12 rebounds.
They were more worried about fulfill-
ing their role and it was so great to see
such an unselfish group. No one was
worried about being a star. We all got
along so well. There was no jealousy or
nothing. It was like, ‘Let’s go do this and
have a blast.’”
REINSDORF: “We used to start games by
trying to establish the starting center,
which was usually Longley. He would
score most of his points in the first
quarter and that would then open up
the floor for Michael and Scottie, as
well as guys like Ron Harper and Steve
Kerr. Harper changed his game. He was
another key piece to that team and the
fact that he could change his game from
being a gunner and a shooter to some-
body who would pass the ball and play
defense was significant. Krause used to
say we had deep depth.”
JACKSON: “Playing with Michael and
Scottie, and playing against them,
raised the standard for a lot of play-
ers who were in important roles — Bill
Wennington, Jud Buechler, Randy
Brown, guys who might see only 12, 14
or 16 minutes a game — but their impact
was important when it came to the little
things we were able to do as a team.”
PIPPEN: “Our second team gave us confi-
dence. When they were out there, es-
pecially during the second half of that
season, we started thinking there’s a
good chance the starters may not be
needed to go back in the game. Now I
always wanted to play, but on the other
hand, you couldn’t help but appreciate
what the second unit was capable of
doing night in and night out. They took
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4. 2015-16BULLPEN@CHICAGOBULLS9072-10:ANORALHISTORY
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BEHIND SECTION 117
other teams out, closed a lot of games
for us. If we were going to be special we
needed their contributions, and every
one of those guys brought value to the
table. Whether it was defending, which
we demanded from everyone, or step-
ping up on offense, that group always
got the job done.”
With Jordan back on the hard-
wood, Rodman added to the mix, and
the Bulls winning at a torrid pace, the
excitement and curiosity that sur-
rounded the team had reached an un-
precedented level.
REINSDORF: “When Michael came back,
he became Elvis Presley. The whole aura
surrounding Michael stepped up several
levels after his press release saying, ‘I’m
back.’ That team couldn’t go anywhere.
Michael really became Elvis Presley in
terms of being the most recognizable
person in the world with the possible
exception of Muhammad Ali.”
PIPPEN: “It was a crazy year for us. Ev-
erywhere we went, we felt we were
part of a show and we didn’t want to
disappoint anyone. We were athletes
but we felt like we were also in the en-
tertainment business and bigger than
ever. We’d show up at a hotel at 2 or 3 in
the morning and have 200 or 300 fans
waiting outside cheering us on. That
helped us realize that our fans were
also experiencing everything we were
going through — they were right there
with us. The fans kept us motivated and
pushed us to excel.”
RODMAN: “We were a Michael Jack-
son-like basketball team. Everywhere
we went it was just insane. If it were
today with all the social media and ev-
erything else going on, it would prob-
ably be mind-blowing. That’s why I
think it’s so cool that we did it that way.
We just wanted to go out there and play
ball. We didn’t care about all that other
stuff. We wanted to win for our team
and for the city.”
JACKSON: “There was a real following.
In fact, it continued for the next two
years. It grew during that phase. In the
beginning, it was like, well, maybe this
6THMAN:ToniKukocledtheteam’ssecondunitandwasnamedNBASixthManoftheYear
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5. will keep up and then all of a sudden it
was full blown by the turn of the year.
The different personalities that we had
with Dennis being a maverick and very
unique, they fit in with the fans’ ability
to really like the team for all its facets.”
In the 1996 NBA Playoffs, Chicago
quickly disposed of Miami in the open-
ing round, winning by 17, 31 and 21 to
complete the series sweep. The Bulls
then won four of five games over New
York, with the one exception being an
overtime road loss in Game 3. Next, Chi-
cago got revenge on Orlando with a 4-0
sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Bulls and the Seattle SuperSonics
squared off in the Finals, with Chicago
winning the first three games and ap-
pearing poised for another sweep. But
Seattle countered, taking the next two
contests before the Bulls closed out the
series in Game 6 at the United Center on
June 16, 1996 — Father’s Day.
RODMAN: “We cruised through the East-
ern Conference. The Seattle series, I
think it was a testament to how good
we were, because it’s not too often you
see a team sweep another in the NBA
Finals. We got up 3-0 but Seattle was
a very talented team. Obviously you
think of Shawn Kemp and Gary Pay-
ton, but they had a bunch of guys on
that team who could play.”
PIPPEN: “It was nice to close out Orlando
like we did given the previous season.
But it was about much more than beat-
ing them. Getting back to the Finals was
the most important thing. It was a great
series and a great matchup. Seattle had
a lot of weapons. At the end of the day,
though, we were playing some of our
best basketball. We sort of relaxed a little
bit after going up 3-0 but that’s human
nature. Give Seattle credit, they had a
very good team, very competitive.”
JACKSON: “Seattle had a really potent
team that year. They had been denied
the year before and came back very
strong after being down 3-0. But we
came home and even in a very tough
game, the last game, we were able to
win it and close it out in six.”
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Twenty years offers the luxury of
hindsight, historical context, and time
for reflection. It’s clear that the 1995-96
Chicago Bulls had it all: star power, in-
credible talent and extraordinary lead-
ership. As far as that team’s legacy, it’s
a matter of opinion and a conversation
that remains fluid to this day. But many
feel that team was as close to being per-
fect as you can be in the NBA.
JACKSON: “That team knew how to
do things with great execution and
throughout the process they paid atten-
tion to the details. They had good team
harmony. Everyone accepted their role,
that’s the way it has to be on a champi-
onship team. You don’t win with just two
or three players. You win with 12 guys
staying together. That’s what it takes.”
PIPPEN: “We weren’t as young or athlet-
ic as some teams that year, but we were
smart and very savvy. We knew how to
win, and we took no prisoners.”
JACKSON: “To Jerry Krause’s credit, as
well as his staff, the team they put to-
gether proved extremely versatile. We
could play both big and small; we could
play with speed or we could effective-
ly play a half-court game. Of course
the driving force were two guys who
pushed everyone to always be at their
best — Pippen and Jordan.”
RODMAN: “The city of Chicago really em-
braced everyone. Everything came to-
gether and that motivated our team. We
couldn’t go anywhere without drawing
a crowd. Everyone in Chicago wanted
something to do with us. It didn’t matter
if you were injured and sat at the end of
the bench, you couldn’t go anywhere.
The fans made everybody feel important.
We weren’t just Michael Jordan, Scottie
Pippen and Dennis Rodman. It was the
whole team. The whole team, brother.”
REINSDORF: “It was pretty close to a per-
fect team because Michael trusted his
teammates. He understood he no longer
had the ability to do everything by him-
self. It was also the team’s dedication to
defense that set us apart.”
JACKSON: “Looking back today, I think it
was more than just the wins that made
that season so special for everyone. It
was the feel, the immense confidence
we had every day we were together, be
it at practice or on a bus riding to an are-
na to play a game. That team was always
in control, both on and off the court.
And they felt comfortable about it, too.
I remember we used to laugh and talk
about how we wished we had the abil-
ity to preserve and can the magic that
team was able to produce every night.
That season was the highlight of our ca-
reers, but then again it didn’t end with
just that one season. We had a stretch
of three great years of doing something
really special.” ~
THEPAYOFF:TheBullscappedoffthe72-10seasonbywinningtheteam’s4thChampionship