After his double-nickel game, NBA icon Michael Jordan told Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson that he didn’t want to have huge scoring nights anymore.
Jordan scored 55 points against the New York Knicks on March 29, 1995, in just his fifth game back from retirement.
“You’ve got to tell the players they can’t expect me to do what I did in New York every night,” Jordan told Jackson in private, via Chicago Sports historian Jack M. Silverstein. “In our next game, I want them to get up and get going — to play as a team.”
Jordan played 17 games during the 1994-95 NBA season. He averaged 26.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks while shooting 41.1% from the field.
Jordan played baseball during the 1993-94 NBA season. He came back to basketball after there was a baseball strike.
The Bulls went 13-4 with Jordan in the lineup in 1994-95. They were the fifth seed in the 1995 Eastern Conference playoffs.
In four quick games, Chicago beat the Charlotte Hornets in the first round of the 1995 playoffs. However, Jordan and the Bulls lost to the Orlando Magic in the second round in six games. It was the only playoff series Jordan lost from 1991 to 1998.
In the summer of 1995, Jordan filmed the movie Space Jam. On the movie set, he practiced and worked out at the “Jordan Dome” with other NBA stars.
When Bulls training camp started in the fall, Jordan was in fantastic shape. He was ready to take over the basketball world again.
The Bulls went 72-10 in 1995-96. Jordan reclaimed his throne as the best player in the world by winning his fourth MVP and eighth scoring title. The UNC product averaged 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.2 steals and 0.5 blocks while shooting 49.5% from the floor.
Chicago defeated the Miami Heat, Knicks and Magic in the 1996 Eastern Conference playoffs to advance to the NBA Finals.
The Bulls faced the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals.
Behind Jordan, Chicago defeated Seattle in six games. Jordan won his fourth title and fourth Finals MVP on Father’s Day. He cried in the locker room since he was missing his dad, who was murdered in 1993.
With the Bulls, Jordan won six championships, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, 10 scoring titles, three steals titles and one Defensive Player of the Year Award. He’s arguably the greatest player in NBA history.
Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks with the Bulls and Washington Wizards. He’s first in NBA history in points per game, fourth in steals, fifth in field goals and second in player efficiency rating.
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