The Bulls were just a Horace Grant away from going all the way. Grant was the xfactor. But this was the series that motivated MJ to work and work all off season in 95 just to get back to the top of the NBA, which he did the very next year. Great upload!
Ya ok. It’s scripted. They couldn’t have MJ come back and win right away. Needed some uncertainty coming into the next season for maximum entertainment.
@@sangbangerz he even played well in this series, and this game. But his teammates played like as*. Especially in the end here, he trusted them and passed them the ball but they couldn't score if their life depended on it. It was always the case for Scottie Pippen the overrated carried bust throughout his playoff career, but this time all the other Bulls also sucked as*
There was something so unbelievably special about weekends when 3-4 nba games would play in a row in NBC. Itd be like knicks vs heat first, bulls vs magic second, rockets vs suns 3rd and then sonics vs lakers 4th. I’d spend my whole day watching nba in bed but there was nothing more special than bulls vs magic….truly entertaining because the magic had a great team and they played the bulls very hard
Damn just took me back to simpler times. Would watch all day, then at halftime run outside to the little backyard to practice crossovers and first steps with little bro. Those were the days......
Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Derrick Rose, Antonio McDyess, Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, Tracy McGrady & Yao Ming. That’s a heck of a”dream team right there.
It's amazing how much both teams changed after this series: Bulls: Get Dennis Rodman for rebounding, MJ gets better and they threepeat again Magic: Lose to Houston in the Finals, lose to the Bulls the following year, lose Shaq in the offseason, Brian Hill gets fired in 1997, Penny's knee bothers him and he gets traded two years later
Watching these old games reminds me how athletic these players are and how defensively sound they are. Everyone is making plays on both sides of the court not just the stars.
That was the turning point for the Bulls for greater things to come. The defeat by the Magic prompted the Bulls to pull off one of the most sensational acquisitions, taking a gamble on the volatile and controversial Dennis Rodman. Rodman not only filled the PF spot vacated by Horace Grant when he left the Bulls for the Magic but he was also what MJ, Pippen and the Bulls were looking for as the missing piece for their dominance in the next 3 years.
Shaq lifted up Horace and celebrated excessively -- only to get swept by Houston in the Finals. Then by the same-but-much improved Bulls the next Playoffs (1996). Shaq was so upset and humiliated he didn't stayed and congratulated the Bulls. The exit has turned out his final glimpse donning the Magic uniform. Shaq often says the Lakers offered him bigger money why he left Orlando. But deep inside, it is more of knowing he cannot be back in the Finals knowing (and experienced) the Bulls regained Eastern Conference supremacy.
The story of the 96 Bulls can't be told without bringing up the loss to Orlando in the 95 ECSF. I blame Orlando for the 72-10 Bulls historic season. The victory for Orlando led to their demise, while the loss for Chicago ignited a 2nd three-peat for the Bulls.
It’s strange seeing that old red and blue NBA Playoff logo on the United Center hardcourt. I don’t know why but it just felt out of place. It’s a logo I associate with old Chicago Stadium
I feel that. I much preferred that logo and style, over the more stylish playoff logo from 1996 onwards. I hated the cartoony Finals logo after 1995 too haha
i remember as a kid being so mad that the bulls lost this game & series..rhe Bulls had the lead and blew it at the end... we will get them back next year
Penny was cooking everyone and Longley lost this series for the bulls. It's probably an Australian thing, scared to dunk the ball under the rim just like Ben Simmons against the Hawks in the playoffs
It motivated him to work out as well as them getting the greatest rebounder ever in that era to come and help them win a rew more! If Shaq doesn't leave Orlando, Penny doesn't break down two years later to carry the extra load for the team and bulls don't get rodman, Orlando would be three peating no doubt, but stern owed Jordan a favor and the rest is history!!
I knew the bulls lost this series and the one game when jordan got the ball stolen, but somehow I had never seen this (because I never bothered to research it or look it up, I thought they got beat more handily) but MJ really had some mental lapses at the very end. And they were RIGHT THERE with a fighting chance. Didn't help that Longley freaking misses a layup. But you can see the the emotion after MJ threw the ball away and then they commit the foul to stop the clock, he just has a quick jerk of his arms and shoulders like a "FUCK" moment, he was so mad. And he should be, they were much closer than people think. But we never remember how close you were, only if you WIN OR LOSE.
They pretty much had the lead in the 4th in every single game and lost the lead in most of them. MJ's stamina was not there and the rebounding was bad, but I still believe that if MJ didn't turn it over in game 1 in the final second with a lead, they would have gone on to win the series. They were right there.
The one time Jordan passed like LeBron and "Luke Lonely" shot an air ball 🤦🏿♂️ Everyon says Jordan didn't pass but now you see why! If he had played with a Shaq or Kareem, his point stats would have been less but Jordan would have passed the ball for the win just like Bird and Magic.
This season and the two Wizards seasons, Michael showed he's human, all the other seasons - out of this world... it's good to see even the goat is human lol
But this mighty bulls team came back with a vengeance the following year with a 72-10 win loss record and goes on to win their second championship three-peat
I still say till this day, the Bulls beat themselves (or gave it away) more than Orlando won this game & series. Bulls shoulda won Gms 1, 3 & 6. Orlando really kicked themselves in the foot with all that stupid celebrating at the end. MJ took that personally and we all know what happened the next season. The Bulls destroyed Orlando in that ECF 🤣🤣
Question ive always had is Krause and Reinsdorf had to know Jordan was coming back so why didnt they get a power foward to strenghen team for playoffs, with a decent power foward they beat Orlando and Indiana and face Hakeem and Rockets in finals.
Man when I watched this back in 95' the game was intense but I kept checking out Mike's shoes and was like that's a black version of the white patent leather kicks he wore earlier in the series.. black concords aka space jams favorite 11 colorway.
Looking back it’s fascinating to see how much of the ‘modern’ NBA the Magic already had: - Shaq wasn’t a stretch 5 but was dominant inside. - Three efficient 3-point shooters in the perimeter (and a deadly one in Scott). - A (for the time) stretch 4, since Grant was deadly in the mid range all the way up to the three point line, which wasn’t common for all PFs of the era. - And technically 3 stars (Penny, Shaq, and Grant). The biggest weakness of the Magic was the bench. They had a few decent players but they would usually lose the bench minutes and the starting five would need to make it up later. But mid 90’s Magic was an amazing team to follow.
95-96 Magic were such a great team, just imagine if they traded Penny, Anderson, Grant, 3D, and Royal for significant minutes Kobe aka 4th year Kobe=Championship.... Shaquille is laughable.
No Jordan or Bulls fan denies this happening, that's what made the next season and the 2nd 3-peat in general, so satisfying. There was no "Klutch Sports" around to control the narrative.
@@PhantomDreamer_ yeah right. "He was gone for 2 years" & "he was away playing baseball" has gotten thrown around a awful lot in many instances by his fanbase.
@@FuShengAlex That doesn't make any sense. Reality is reality. You're looking for a reason to gripe when there is none. You use the word fanbase when you're probably talking about a specific person or some minuscule portion of people.
Luc Longley, stinker. How do you miss a point blank wide open dunk being a 7 foot plus guy. 🤦🏽♂️ And no doubt Jordan was one of the greatest guards of that era. But he was defeated plenty of times in playoffs. People pretend he never lost crucial playoff series or games. When in actuality he did many times.
So happy, MJ got beat… they’ll make excuses … oh he had baseball legs yada yada … they got beat plain and simple and love Horace rubbing it in … anyone can be beaten on any given day and if they had made it … they’re not beating Houston in a seven game series …
LMAO 17 games before the Playoffs while being in a baseball shape while not playing basketball in almost two full seasons. That's what happened. No one has ever denied what happened, it's's what fueled the 72wins and the 2nd 3peat.
@@sideshowbobsaget8876 thank Rodman for that he is a BadBoy who used to beat him with Zeke. Even if they get past Orlando what makes you think they were beating a hungry and scrappy Pacers team and they’re NOT beating Houston … stop making excuses… he got out there and if he can take the praise he can accept the criticism as well… plus they played weak teams in the Finals … what team was in its prime or dominant? None…
@ShawnThomas78 now keep that same energy for YOUR boy. 2007...Lebron shoots 4/16 game 1, another game 10/33. That's 25% and 30% . He also shot 20% from 3, and 20% mid range that's why they got swept. NO EXCUSES! 2009 Cleveland had the best record entire NBA, and were favorite to win the east, but Lebron had terrible games in the losses. Had 9 turnovers one loss. No excuses. No way Orlando should have won that series. 2010 same thing. He failed. If you look at overall stat it doesn't tell the story. He failed in crunch time in losses and mad turnovers. NO EXCUSES. WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED 2011! MIAMI was up 2-1. They had a 9 point lead in the 4th of game 4 to go up 3-1. Lebron scores 0 points in the 4th and 8 for the game. Miami doesn't win another game. No EXCUSES!! Want me to keep going?? I can. This man isn't CLOSE to Jordan's level at all. The only reason he's even in the debate is because he had key TV analysts on the payroll pushing his agenda. That is a proven fact! Nick Wright is a Klutch client. Shannon Sharpe was compromised. Stephen A exposed it on National TV hiw Lebron approached K Perk to speak on his behalf. Rick Bucher exposed how Klutch sent him an email to persuade him to vote for MVP. Pathetic. Jordan is the GOAT.
