NEWSLETTER
I decided to replace the Bulls last 14 games of the season (which are now postponed) with some of the best Bulls games of all-time! Over the next month, expect every originally scheduled game day to have one or two posts about some sort of awesome game from the past.
Check out the full calendar here:
Throwback Time: Let’s Replace the Next 14 Bulls Games with Some of the Greatest Games of All-Timehttps://t.co/55TrV7KUA4
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 17, 2020
Previously: The Flu Game, Welcome to the Space Jam, Rose makes Breen yell BANG!, Nate Robinson v. the Nets
Today: Win No. 72
Game
Chicago Bulls vs. Washington Bullets – Victory No. 72 (April 21st, 1996)
Chicago Bulls Starters
- Michael Jordan
- Scottie Pippen
- Toni Kukoc
- Luc Longley
- Dennis Rodman
Interestingly enough, the Bulls played all 12 guys in this one.
Washington Bullets Starters
- Brent Price
- Ledell Eackles
- Calbert Cheaney
- Juwan Howard
- Jim McIlvaine
Juwan Howard kind of went-off for the Bullets this game, scoring 27 points on 11-28 shooting from the field. This game would mark the end of easily his best season in the NBA.
HIGHLIGHTS
Finding any solid footage of the Bulls last game of the season isn’t the easiest, especially since a win over the Bullets wasn’t anything too exciting. So, instead, go ahead and watch this mixtape of the Bulls best moments from the 72-10 season.
In addition, the 70th win this season was the more celebrated record-breaking moment, so go ahead and relieve the end of that game:
Moment of the Game
Uh, how about when the final buzzer sounded?
The game itself against the Washington Bullets wasn’t anything special. I mean, Jordan did score 26 points in 24 minutes and Rodman had 11 rebounds in the same amount of time, but overall, it was mostly a normal-ish game. The Bullets led at halftime by a single point before Bulls got it together in the second half and cruised to 103-93 victory. Meh.
Regardless, the circumstances around the game were anything but normal. Five nights earlier, the Bulls would set an NBA record for wins in a season with 70. Then, two victories later they’d walk off the court for their last regular-season game and cement themselves as the most dominant team in NBA history. Honestly, something about this clockwork victory felt like the appropriate way to end a historic regular season. Not only could you tell the Bulls had put the pressure of reaching 70 wins easily behind them, but also that, while really freaking cool, this was never the goal.
Michael Jordan and Co. were looking for their 4th championship, and this was just the Bulls way of reminding the league they were going to get it. Think about it, the year before, Jordan came out of retirement in March only to lose in the second round of the playoffs to the Orlando Magic. It would have been easy to fall into the trap of thinking the prime and unbeatable Jordan was in the past, but on April 21, 1996, with the final victory of the regular season, he officially sent a message loud and clear: Jordan wasn’t going anywhere. In fact, he and the Bulls were better than ever.
72-10. What an absolutely absurd record.
What it All Means
Once the Bulls beat the Bullets, NBA teams had a new goal.
A feat many probably viewed as impossible had been accomplished, and now it was up to literally any other organization to prove the could pull-off the same record. Well, it took 20 years for a team to finally reach that benchmark when the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors went 73-9.
Although, while the Warriors managed to win one more game than the Bulls, they couldn’t bring home the Larry O’Brien Trophy. And with no ring to show for it, I don’t think anyone could say Golden State took Chicago’s throne.
The Bulls 1996-97 season, to this day, is the greatest single-season in NBA history.
Beat that.
