Do you consider Jordans Bulls a Super Team?

[Duke4life831]

I don’t see the argument on how that 2nd 3 peat wasn’t a super team.

3 HOF players playing high level basketball. In 96 Jordan won MVP, Pippen was 5th in MVP voting, and Rodman was 15th in voting.

Kukoc was 6th man of the year in 96, and 2nd in voting in 97. Harper was averaging 20ppg before he joined Chicago in 95.

How is that not a super team? I don’t care if the front office made the moves or the players got together and decided to make the moves to create the team. The roster and players on the court were a super team.

Cant agree with you on the Ron Harper thing. Do you realize he averaged those 20 points per game on 18 shot attempts per game, 42/30/71 shooting splits and a 49% TS the year before joining the Bulls? With the cherry on he averaged over 3 turnovers per game. That sound ultra impressive to you?

Iirc harper suffered a career altering injury prior to joining the bulls. He clearly wasnt the same player that averaged 20ppg. Still was a good role player for the bulls though.

He got the injury midway through the 89-90 season.

Again just to clarify my point on this. I’m not calling Harper a star by any means. I also understand he was in his 30s when he joined the Bulls. But Harper at 32 years old, is still better than most guys you see as the 5th or 6th best guys on a super team.

Just to put that 96 team into perspective.

Jordan: MVP (many view as the GOAT), 1st team All NBA, 1st team All Defense
Pippen: 5th in MVP voting. HOF, 1st team All NBA, 1st team all defense
Rodman: 15th in MVP voting. HOF, 1st team All Defense
Kukoc: 6MOTY
Kerr: got 6MOTY votes that season
Harper: solid starter with 550+ career starts

That’s a super team.

[threethehardway]

People that refuse to acknowledge the Jordan Bulls as a superteam are in denial and being pedantic.

[Handlez]

Of course not.

They had teams full of great role players.

Pippen is overrated all time because he played with Jordan. He could never win a title as the main guy, although he tried desperately to get another title with the Rockets and Blazers.

Jordan averaged 33 in the 98 finals, followed by Pippen averaging 15. Rodman averaged 3 and 8 in the finals.

In the 97 finals, Jordan averaged 32 and Pippen 20. Third leading scorer averaged 8. Rodman averaged 2 and 8.

In the 96 finals, Pippen averaged 15 on 34%.

Etc.

[ScrantonBulls]

People that refuse to acknowledge the Jordan Bulls as a superteam are in denial and being pedantic.

No, you're pedantic! The GOAT made his teammates look way better than they actually were. He turned a middling all-star (Scottie Pippen) into a hall of famer. Without Scottie getting to guard MJ in practice, he doesn't develop his defense to that level. The rest of his teammates were role players. He basically carried a team with a fringe all-star and roleplayers to 6 championships. Phil Jackson owes his career to MJ. Tex Winter's dumb ass triangle offense only worked because of MJ. I'm sick of this vitriol and hate thrown towards MJ.

Of course not.

They had teams full of great role players.

Pippen is overrated all time because he played with Jordan. He could never win a title as the main guy, although he tried desperately to get another title with the Rockets and Blazers.

Jordan averaged 33 in the 98 finals, followed by Pippen averaging 15. Rodman averaged 3 and 8 in the finals.

In the 97 finals, Jordan averaged 32 and Pippen 20. Third leading scorer averaged 8. Rodman averaged 2 and 8.

In the 96 finals, Pippen averaged 15 on 34%.

Etc.

Thank you, I couldn't have said it better myself. MJ carries a bunch of role players to 6 chips, and now all of the sudden they're "great players"? GTFO of here with that revisionist history.

[DimesandKnicks]

Buddy said vitriol and hate

[G35]

The Jordan/Pippen/Rodman/Kukoc squad was a superteam. That's 1 superstar and 2-3 all star level players.

Look at them vs the Heatles

MJ = LeBron
Pippen = Wade
Rodman = Bosh
Kukoc > anyone else on the Heatles

How can you not count it as a superteam???

Because the Bulls drafted Jordan and Pippen, Rodman was wearing wedding dresses and putting 50 different chemicals in his head. Foreign born players were still not a thing yet......

[ScrantonBulls]

The Jordan/Pippen/Rodman/Kukoc squad was a superteam. That's 1 superstar and 2-3 all star level players.

Look at them vs the Heatles

MJ = LeBron
Pippen = Wade
Rodman = Bosh
Kukoc > anyone else on the Heatles

How can you not count it as a superteam???

Because the Bulls drafted Jordan and Pippen, Rodman was wearing wedding dresses and putting 50 different chemicals in his head. Foreign born players were still not a thing yet......

Great point G35! Foreign born players weren't a thing yet, so we should pretend that Kukoc wasn't part of the team when evaluating it.

[Black Jack]

The Jordan/Pippen/Rodman/Kukoc squad was a superteam. That's 1 superstar and 2-3 all star level players.

Look at them vs the Heatles

MJ = LeBron
Pippen = Wade
Rodman = Bosh
Kukoc > anyone else on the Heatles

How can you not count it as a superteam???

Because the Bulls drafted Jordan and Pippen, Rodman was wearing wedding dresses and putting 50 different chemicals in his head. Foreign born players were still not a thing yet......

So what?

You guys just are mad players exercised free agency then

Kukoc was foreign, what are you even saying "not a thing". Kukoc was an all star level player dude.

[Black Jack]

The Jordan/Pippen/Rodman/Kukoc squad was a superteam. That's 1 superstar and 2-3 all star level players.

Look at them vs the Heatles

MJ = LeBron
Pippen = Wade
Rodman = Bosh
Kukoc > anyone else on the Heatles

How can you not count it as a superteam???

Because the Bulls drafted Jordan and Pippen, Rodman was wearing wedding dresses and putting 50 different chemicals in his head. Foreign born players were still not a thing yet......

Great point G35! Foreign born players weren't a thing yet, so we should pretend that Kukoc wasn't part of the team when evaluating it.

Also Hakeem, Petrovic, Marciulionis etc., those guys never hit the league until like 2010 as I recall.

[ScrantonBulls]

Because the Bulls drafted Jordan and Pippen, Rodman was wearing wedding dresses and putting 50 different chemicals in his head. Foreign born players were still not a thing yet......

Great point G35! Foreign born players weren't a thing yet, so we should pretend that Kukoc wasn't part of the team when evaluating it.

Also Hakeem, Petrovic, Marciulionis etc., those guys never hit the league until like 2010 as I recall.

Hakeem, Petrovic and Marciulionis? Never heard of em!

[michaelm]

The Jordan/Pippen/Rodman/Kukoc squad was a superteam. That's 1 superstar and 2-3 all star level players.

Look at them vs the Heatles

MJ = LeBron
Pippen = Wade
Rodman = Bosh
Kukoc > anyone else on the Heatles

How can you not count it as a superteam???

Because the Bulls drafted Jordan and Pippen, Rodman was wearing wedding dresses and putting 50 different chemicals in his head. Foreign born players were still not a thing yet......

So what?

You guys just are mad players exercised free agency then

Kukoc was foreign, what are you even saying "not a thing". Kukoc was an all star level player dude.

While the opposing and of course totally unbiased camp spend all their time denigrating LeBron’s team mates, exalting his opponents, exalting Jordan’s team mates and denigrating his opponents.

That good to great teams could be built around Jordan is hardly a negative for Jordan, it is rather the point.

It is not necessarily intrinsically more virtuous to build a team organically around a great player, but it certainly worked well and is hardly to Jordan’s discredit. Foreign players were less of a thing then, but Kukoc was indeed one such player and very valuable to the Bulls, and perhaps something of a pioneer, and hardly a reason to criticise Jordan. Rodman found a useful role as well, but was hardly at his peak or in any demand elsewhere when he joined up with MJ at the Bulls despite preceding bitter enmity, MJ having committed to the team thing by then.

I didn’t follow the NBA as avidly back then but I did follow it, while I suspect many LeBron fans (not meaning you) weren’t around then and are just looking at the HOF career of the likes of Rodman without regard to where he was in his career by the time the Bulls signed him.

[Percentsign]

People that refuse to acknowledge the Jordan Bulls as a superteam are in denial and being pedantic.

No, you're pedantic! The GOAT made his teammates look way better than they actually were. He turned a middling all-star (Scottie Pippen) into a hall of famer. Without Scottie getting to guard MJ in practice, he doesn't develop his defense to that level. The rest of his teammates were role players. He basically carried a team with a fringe all-star and roleplayers to 6 championships. Phil Jackson owes his career to MJ. Tex Winter's dumb ass triangle offense only worked because of MJ. I'm sick of this vitriol and hate thrown towards MJ.

Of course not.

They had teams full of great role players.

Pippen is overrated all time because he played with Jordan. He could never win a title as the main guy, although he tried desperately to get another title with the Rockets and Blazers.

Jordan averaged 33 in the 98 finals, followed by Pippen averaging 15. Rodman averaged 3 and 8 in the finals.

In the 97 finals, Jordan averaged 32 and Pippen 20. Third leading scorer averaged 8. Rodman averaged 2 and 8.

In the 96 finals, Pippen averaged 15 on 34%.

Etc.

Thank you, I couldn't have said it better myself. MJ carries a bunch of role players to 6 chips, and now all of the sudden they're "great players"? GTFO of here with that revisionist history.

The above 2 quotes are not true. The Bulls without Jordan were championship caliber - they won 55 games when Jordan went to play baseball, and when he was the #1 without Jordan, Pipper had an MVP-worthy season. They also took a great Knicks team to 7 games. With Jordan, they went from very good to S-tier, but they were very good to begin with. Pipper was more than a middling All-Star. He was a legit HOFer

Rodman is basically the greatest rebounder in the post-merger NBA.

[MavsDirk41]

People that refuse to acknowledge the Jordan Bulls as a superteam are in denial and being pedantic.

No, you're pedantic! The GOAT made his teammates look way better than they actually were. He turned a middling all-star (Scottie Pippen) into a hall of famer. Without Scottie getting to guard MJ in practice, he doesn't develop his defense to that level. The rest of his teammates were role players. He basically carried a team with a fringe all-star and roleplayers to 6 championships. Phil Jackson owes his career to MJ. Tex Winter's dumb ass triangle offense only worked because of MJ. I'm sick of this vitriol and hate thrown towards MJ.

Of course not.

They had teams full of great role players.

Pippen is overrated all time because he played with Jordan. He could never win a title as the main guy, although he tried desperately to get another title with the Rockets and Blazers.

Jordan averaged 33 in the 98 finals, followed by Pippen averaging 15. Rodman averaged 3 and 8 in the finals.

In the 97 finals, Jordan averaged 32 and Pippen 20. Third leading scorer averaged 8. Rodman averaged 2 and 8.

In the 96 finals, Pippen averaged 15 on 34%.

Etc.

Thank you, I couldn't have said it better myself. MJ carries a bunch of role players to 6 chips, and now all of the sudden they're "great players"? GTFO of here with that revisionist history.

The above 2 quotes are not true. The Bulls without Jordan were championship caliber - they won 55 games when Jordan went to play baseball, and when he was the #1 without Jordan, Pipper had an MVP-worthy season. They also took a great Knicks team to 7 games. With Jordan, they went from very good to S-tier, but they were very good to begin with. Pipper was more than a middling All-Star. He was a legit HOFer

Rodman is basically the greatest rebounder in the post-merger NBA.

I agree that Rodman is one of the greatest rebounders in nba history but could you imagine him as the best player and #1 option on your team? How would that turn out?

Rodman played 49 games in San Antonio the year before being traded to Chicago. Pop and the Admiral couldn’t get him out of San Antonio fast enough.

Rodman missed 18 games in 96 becuase of suspensions and the Bulls still won 72 games
Rodman missed 27 games in 97 because of suspensions and injury and Bulls still won 60 plus games
Rodman played just over 30 nba games during 2 seasons after leaving the Bulls in 98.

Scottie Pippen is one of the 50 greatest players in nba history and i think he is a goat level defensive player. And yes, the Bulls won 55 games with Pippen as the teams best player. But, they were 34-31 the next season before Jordan came back from playing baseball and what did he ever accomplish without Jordan minus that one year? He teamed up with Hakeem and Barkley and that team didnt win anything. He played on a stacked Portland team and they never won anything. Pippen wasnt good enough to be the #1 option on a championship team.

[Percentsign]

I agree that Rodman is one of the greatest rebounders in nba history but could you imagine him as the best player and #1 option on your team? How would that turn out?

Rodman played 49 games in San Antonio the year before being traded to Chicago. Pop and the Admiral couldn’t get him out of San Antonio fast enough.

Rodman missed 18 games in 96 becuase of suspensions and the Bulls still won 72 games
Rodman missed 27 games in 97 because of suspensions and injury and Bulls still won 60 plus games
Rodman played just over 30 nba games during 2 seasons after leaving the Bulls in 98.

Scottie Pippen is one of the 50 greatest players in nba history and i think he is a goat level defensive player. And yes, the Bulls won 55 games with Pippen as the teams best player. But, they were 34-31 the next season before Jordan came back from playing baseball and what did he ever accomplish without Jordan minus that one year? He teamed up with Hakeem and Barkley and that team didnt win anything. He played on a stacked Portland team and they never won anything. Pippen wasnt good enough to be the #1 option on a championship team.

Rodman wasn't a scorer, so he couldn't be a #1 option. Is it your argument that a rebounder/passer/defender can never be an elite player? I believe San Antonio wanted him out of there for reasons unrelated to on-court performance .

So Rodman missed games in 1996-1998 similar to the way Garnett missed a lot of time from 2008-2010. That doesn't mean that the Bulls didn't have a superteam. I don't see anyone ever arguing that the Celtics didn't have a super-team because they won a lot without Garnett available

Pippen's 1995 season was statistically close or even to his 1994 season, so the team record isn't on him. He didn't accomplish much without Jordan minus 1994 because he played nearly all of his prime years alongside Jordan. I can easily flip this same argument on you and ask "what did Jordan ever accomplish without Pippen?" The 1994 season showed that a team could have viably won with Pipper as the #1 option

[ScrantonBulls]

No, you're pedantic! The GOAT made his teammates look way better than they actually were. He turned a middling all-star (Scottie Pippen) into a hall of famer. Without Scottie getting to guard MJ in practice, he doesn't develop his defense to that level. The rest of his teammates were role players. He basically carried a team with a fringe all-star and roleplayers to 6 championships. Phil Jackson owes his career to MJ. Tex Winter's dumb ass triangle offense only worked because of MJ. I'm sick of this vitriol and hate thrown towards MJ.


Thank you, I couldn't have said it better myself. MJ carries a bunch of role players to 6 chips, and now all of the sudden they're "great players"? GTFO of here with that revisionist history.

The above 2 quotes are not true. The Bulls without Jordan were championship caliber - they won 55 games when Jordan went to play baseball, and when he was the #1 without Jordan, Pipper had an MVP-worthy season. They also took a great Knicks team to 7 games. With Jordan, they went from very good to S-tier, but they were very good to begin with. Pipper was more than a middling All-Star. He was a legit HOFer

Rodman is basically the greatest rebounder in the post-merger NBA.

I agree that Rodman is one of the greatest rebounders in nba history but could you imagine him as the best player and #1 option on your team? How would that turn out?

Rodman played 49 games in San Antonio the year before being traded to Chicago. Pop and the Admiral couldn’t get him out of San Antonio fast enough.

Rodman missed 18 games in 96 becuase of suspensions and the Bulls still won 72 games
Rodman missed 27 games in 97 because of suspensions and injury and Bulls still won 60 plus games
Rodman played just over 30 nba games during 2 seasons after leaving the Bulls in 98.

Scottie Pippen is one of the 50 greatest players in nba history and i think he is a goat level defensive player. And yes, the Bulls won 55 games with Pippen as the teams best player. But, they were 34-31 the next season before Jordan came back from playing baseball and what did he ever accomplish without Jordan minus that one year? He teamed up with Hakeem and Barkley and that team didnt win anything. He played on a stacked Portland team and they never won anything. Pippen wasnt good enough to be the #1 option on a championship team.

Thank you. Prime Pippen joins prime Barkley and Hakeem, and they don't win jack squat. He goes to Portland while still in his prime and can't win. What again has Pippen won without MJ?

Meanwhile, MJ probably runs the table again and wins multiple titles if you replace Pippen with any other all-star level player. MJ's will to win simply couldn't be stopped in the 90s. Those Bulls teams/players owe MJ EVERYTHING for those championships and their legacies.

[OriginalRed]

People that refuse to acknowledge the Jordan Bulls as a superteam are in denial and being pedantic.

The second three peat Bulls your absolutely right. You'll never hear me disagree with that. Do you consider the first three peat Bulls a superteam? I'm generally curious.

[Percentsign]

Thank you. Prime Pippen joins prime Barkley and Hakeem, and they don't win jack squat. He goes to Portland while still in his prime and can't win. What again has Pippen won without MJ?

Meanwhile, MJ probably runs the table again and wins multiple titles if you replace Pippen with any other all-star level player. MJ's will to win simply couldn't be stopped in the 90s. Those Bulls teams/players owe MJ EVERYTHING for those championships and their legacies.

This is not an accurate characterization. Pippen wasn't in his prime with Portland and Houston. Barkley and Hakeem were also far from their primes when Pippen was there

You say MJ runs the table again and wins multiple titles if you replace Pippen with any other all-star player. How did Jordan do before Pippen arrived? And the team won 55 games without Jordan in 1994, so they were a capable group. Jordan didn't take a bunch of scrubs to championship. He pushed a very good team to S-tier historic greatness. But they were very good to begin with

[MavsDirk41]

Rodman wasn't a scorer, so he couldn't be a #1 option. Is it your argument that a rebounder/passer/defender can never be an elite player? I believe San Antonio wanted him out of there for reasons unrelated to on-court performance .

So Rodman missed games in 1996-1998 similar to the way Garnett missed a lot of time from 2008-2010. That doesn't mean that the Bulls didn't have a superteam. I don't see anyone ever arguing that the Celtics didn't have a super-team because they won a lot without Garnett available

Pippen's 1995 season was statistically close or even to his 1994 season, so the team record isn't on him. He didn't accomplish much without Jordan minus 1994 because he played nearly all of his prime years alongside Jordan. I can easily flip this same argument on you and ask "what did Jordan ever accomplish without Pippen?" The 1994 season showed that a team could have viably won with Pipper as the #1 option

Im not saying he wasnt an all star player/elite player but he was a rebounder/defender who had a particular skill set that filled a void for a team. If Rodman wasnt traded to Chicago what other team wanted him and how would his career ended? It might have ended after San Antonio. The Bulls resurrected his career. Rodman was a “fit” for certain teams is what im saying.

If you want to call the 2nd 3 peat Bulls a superteam ok. But they drafted their core minus Rodman and Harper whos best days were behind him. Better than superstar collusion today.

Minus Pippen Jordan played with Oakley, Laettner, Rip Hamilton, Stackhouse, Orlando Woolridge, Dave Corzine, Ty Lue

Minus Jordan Pippen played with Hakeem, Barkley, Sanonis, Rasheed Wallace, Steve Smith, Damon Stoudamire

We will disagree on Pippen being good enough to be the #1 option on a championship team. I think he was a tier below that.

[ScrantonBulls]

Rodman wasn't a scorer, so he couldn't be a #1 option. Is it your argument that a rebounder/passer/defender can never be an elite player? I believe San Antonio wanted him out of there for reasons unrelated to on-court performance .

So Rodman missed games in 1996-1998 similar to the way Garnett missed a lot of time from 2008-2010. That doesn't mean that the Bulls didn't have a superteam. I don't see anyone ever arguing that the Celtics didn't have a super-team because they won a lot without Garnett available

Pippen's 1995 season was statistically close or even to his 1994 season, so the team record isn't on him. He didn't accomplish much without Jordan minus 1994 because he played nearly all of his prime years alongside Jordan. I can easily flip this same argument on you and ask "what did Jordan ever accomplish without Pippen?" The 1994 season showed that a team could have viably won with Pipper as the #1 option

Im not saying he wasnt an all star player/elite player but he was a rebounder/defender who had a particular skill set that filled a void for a team. If Rodman wasnt traded to Chicago what other team wanted him and how would his career ended? It might have ended after San Antonio. The Bulls resurrected his career. Rodman was a “fit” for certain teams is what im saying.

If you want to call the 2nd 3 peat Bulls a superteam ok. But they drafted their core minus Rodman and Harper whos best days were behind him. Better than superstar collusion today.

Minus Pippen Jordan played with Oakley, Laettner, Rip Hamilton, Stackhouse, Orlando Woolridge, Dave Corzine, Ty Lue

Minus Jordan Pippen played with Hakeem, Barkley, Sanonis, Rasheed Wallace, Steve Smith, Damon Stoudamire

We will disagree on Pippen being good enough to be the #1 option on a championship team. I think he was a tier below that.

Don't forget that MJ played with George "Iceman" Gervin. Big omission MavsDirk41!

[Drakeem]

Cant agree with you on the Ron Harper thing. Do you realize he averaged those 20 points per game on 18 shot attempts per game, 42/30/71 shooting splits and a 49% TS the year before joining the Bulls? With the cherry on he averaged over 3 turnovers per game. That sound ultra impressive to you?

Iirc harper suffered a career altering injury prior to joining the bulls. He clearly wasnt the same player that averaged 20ppg. Still was a good role player for the bulls though.

He got the injury midway through the 89-90 season.

Again just to clarify my point on this. I’m not calling Harper a star by any means. I also understand he was in his 30s when he joined the Bulls. But Harper at 32 years old, is still better than most guys you see as the 5th or 6th best guys on a super team.

Just to put that 96 team into perspective.

Jordan: MVP (many view as the GOAT), 1st team All NBA, 1st team All Defense
Pippen: 5th in MVP voting. HOF, 1st team All NBA, 1st team all defense
Rodman: 15th in MVP voting. HOF, 1st team All Defense
Kukoc: 6MOTY
Kerr: got 6MOTY votes that season
Harper: solid starter with 550+ career starts

That’s a super team.

For anyone doubting whether or not they were a super team, here it is.