Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls faced Gary Payton and the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals.
Before Game 1, Jordan was at dinner with Ahmad Rashad and SuperSonics head coach George Karl walked past Jordan without saying hi.
That pissed Jordan off.
“He walked right past me,” Jordan said in The Last Dance documentary. “I say, ‘Really? So that’s how he’s gonna play it.’ It’s a crock of sh-t. We went to Carolina, we know Dean Smith, I’ve seen him in the summer, we play golf. You gonna do this? Okay, fine. That’s all I needed. That’s all I needed for him to do that and it became personal with me.”
The Bulls won the first three games of the 1996 NBA Finals. Jordan averaged 31.0 points while shooting 46.0% from the field, 50.0% from beyond the arc and 81.1% from the free-throw through the first three games and it appeared the Bulls would sweep the SuperSonics.
However, Seattle responded by winning Games 4 and 5 at home.
Payton, who won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1995-96, guarded Jordan and did a fantastic job.
MJ averaged 24.5 points while shooting only 41.5% overall and 0.0% from 3 in Games 4 and 5.
“A lot of people back down to Mike,” Payton said in The Last Dance. “I didn’t. I made it a point. I said, ‘Just tire him out. Tire the fu-k out of him. You just gotta tire him out.’ And I kept hitting him and banging him and hitting him and banging him. It took a toll on Mike. It took a toll. And then the series changed and I wish I could’ve did it earlier. I don’t know if the outcome would’ve been different, but it was a difference and beating him down a little bit.”
With the Bulls up 3-2, the series shifted back to Chicago. Jordan didn’t shoot the ball well in Game 6, shooting just 5-of-19 from the field.
However, MJ shot 11-of-12 from the free-throw line. He finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and the Bulls won by 12 points for their fourth championship.
After the Bulls won the title, Jordan went into the locker room, fell to the floor and cried. Game 6 was on Father’s Day and Jordan’s father was murdered in 1993. MJ was very emotional and let all of his emotions out.
Jordan won the 1996 NBA Finals MVP Award. He averaged 27.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.2 blocks in the six-game series.
Arguably the greatest player in NBA history, Jordan had two stints with the Bulls. He won five regular-season MVPs, one Defensive Player of the Year Award, 10 scoring titles, three steals titles, six championships and six Finals MVPs.
Chicago went 6-0 in the NBA Finals and three-peated twice during the Jordan era.
The Bulls won titles in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998. They defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, SuperSonics and Utah Jazz (twice).
Jordan is first in NBA history in points per game, fourth in steals, fifth in field goals and second in player efficiency rating. He holds the NBA record for most points (63) scored in a playoff game.
A Hall of Famer, Jordan finished his legendary career with averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks with the Bulls and Washington Wizards.
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