What's the difference between the 1992-93 Bulls and The 1993-94 Bulls? Was it the 2 game drop?

Question

This question is to address the Michael Jordan haters. Here we go:

The Michael Jordan haters try to use the 1992-93 (with MJ)and 1993-94 (without MJ) seasons against MJ. They claim that the 'SAME' (but without MJ) Bulls team only dropped 2 games from their regular season record. They use this to say that Michael Jordan was only worth a 2 game improvement. Well lets see.

1992-93: The Bulls went 57-25, made the play-offs, and became a DYNASTY by winning their 3rd NBA CHAMPIONSHIP in a row.

1993-1994: Michael Jordan retires, the Bulls go recruit Toni Kukuc (The best international player at the time and he competed GOOD against The Dream Team), Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, & Pete Myers (I thought it was the 'SAME' team). They finished the season with a 55-27 record, made the play-offs, got beat in the 2ND ROUND, and it was the DEATH of a DYNASTY.

After stating all this was MJ worth more then 2 games?


1992-93: DYNASTY!
1993-94: 2ND ROUND LOSERS!

MJ is the GREATEST!

AZ, read the ENTIRE question! I'm not hating on Jordan I'm giving him PROPS you IDIOT! The point to this question is that when the Bulls had MJ in 1993 they were champions and a new dynasty, but in 1994 MJ retired, the dynasty died, and they were nothing but 2nd Round losers! My point is that MJ was worth more then 2 games! They were CHAMPS with him and they were losers without him! DIG IT!

MyKill,
why are you coming up with those HALF WAY facts? What about when Jordan retired in 1999?

1998: The Bulls was 62-20 (including Pippen missing 38 games that season), won the CHAMPIONSHIP (because of Jordan's suppossed to be FINAL SHOT)), and accomplished their 2nd 3-peat.

1999: Jordan retires: The Bulls go 13-37 and missed the play-offs.

2000: The Bulls go 17-65 and missed the play-offs.

The Bulls didn't see the play-offs again until 2006. Now reframe yourself! It's looks to me that MJ made the bigger impact! Now Alpha Wolf get his jock and find someone else to jock you swagger jacker!
AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

ALPHA WOLF IS A SWAGGER JACKER!

MyKill,
it doesn't matter who went bye bye because the 93 team isn't the same as the 94 team either! The 94 team added another SUPERSTAR on the team (Toni Kukuc). So you need to stop hating and get your facts right.

BTW, it's not fair to compare MJ's first retirement to the other guys final retirement. Why? Because when MJ retired his team was still champions and most importantly 'YOUNG'. Those other players retired as 'OLDER' players, non champions (exception of Bill Russell), and their supporting cast was 'OLDER'. Now is that fair? NOPE!

EDIT Again:

MyKill,
what do you mean Toni Kukoc wasn't a SUPERSTAR? He's the same guy that almost single handley beat The Dream Team. I remember getting scared watching Kukoc perform GREATLY against The Dream Team (The Greatest Team Ever!). Anyone who could perform great against The Dream Team is a SUPERSTAR. BTW, don't you remember when Pippen refused to comeback in the game? Who was it that SAVED THE BULLS? The SUPERSTAR I mentioned, TONI KUKOC! Nuf said! SUCKA!


P.S. You are very ignorant if you think that younger & older players doesn't mean anything! Now get back in my pocket and just admit that MICHAEL JORDAN WAS THE GREATEST YOU HATER!

AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!

Edit Again:
MyKill,
those are pretty decent numbers coming from a SIXTH MAN. I'll take DOUBLE DIGIT SCORING from the BENCH anyday! Those are good numbers you MORON!...and don't think he's not a superstar because he's coming from the bench. Because some teams work better having a superstar on the bench. Just look at Manu and the Spurs. Anyways, it's not all about the stats. It's about those BIG MOMENTS when the game is on the LINE. Like I said, don't you remember when Pippen got JEALOUS and REFUSED to come in the game? It was Kukoc who came threw & hit the BIG SHOT, and that PROVED that Pippen wasn't really needed! Also, you're forgetting about other players who were added to that team, Kerr & Longley. These are the same guys that MJ haters use when they say that MJ had a great team. So don't try to discredit those guys when you are trying to disprove MJ's greatest! Stop being a HYPOCRITE!

BTW, it's a big difference when you have old superstars and young scrubs.

MyKill,
you are CONFUSED about something. The difference between the 2 teams wasn't a 2 game drop in the reg. season. The difference was that one team was a DYNASTY THAT WAS WINNING MULITPLE CHAMPIONS IN A ROW (with MJ) and the other team was nothing but 2ND ROUND LOSERS NOT WINNING JACK (without MJ). So don't get it confused. I never said that Kukoc, Kerr, & Longley were close to being equal value to MJ. Anyways, if you think a 2 game drop in the REGULAR season proves MJ's value you are RETARDED! You act like they were 2 games away from winning the NBA Championship (2nd R not anywhere close)...and if you wanna talk about MJ's value to the regular season, well lets talk about MJ's 1ST FULL SEASON BACK IN 1995-96. He improved his teams record into being the best regular season record in NBA HISTORY (72-10)! Yeah buddy, what about that!? Now stop the HATING and just get back in my pocket because you make NO SENSE!

MICHAEL JORDAN IS THE GREATEST!

Answer 1

the reason why they only won 57 out of 82 games in 1992-93 season is because Jordan and Pippen played in the original Dream Team before the season started..however if they have not played in the Olympics they might have won another 60+ games or maybe 70...

in 1993-94 season, the Bulls won 55 out of 82 games because they only lost Michael Jordan but they added a Croatian rookie Tony Kukoc (A former European Star) and Pete Myers from CBA.

But look at the 1994-95 season when they lost Horace Grant and Scott Williams....they were slumping during the season (34-31 record). But, on March 17, 1995, they received the best possible news, Michael Jordan was coming out of retirement. He was soon among the best in the league again He sparked the team to a 9-1 record in April with 13-4 overall and also scoring 55 points against the Knicks in only his fifth game back, and led the Bulls to the fifth seed in the playoffs (47-35 record), where they upset the Charlotte Hornets.

if Jordan did not return in late 1995 season...will pippen lead the Bulls again back to playoffs? .....I think Not!!!!

Answer 2

PIPPEN the leader???....hahahahahahahahaha, first I thought you were serious, then I finally realize that you are just arguing at a hater perspective instead of a pippen fan perspective. I bet u are a Jordan fan disguise as a Jordan-hater. Dude, just stop. It's to obvious your arguments are pathetic. No disrespect to Pippen(he's my favorite perimeter defender), but he was OBVIOUSLY the sidekick.. You miss one important thing though: 93 Bulls > won a ring with Jordan 94 Bulls > no ring without Jordan P.S. Being a ball-hog can, and often does, benefit the team, if the rest of the team are 40% fg shooter, why not let the 50% guy take most of the shots? MJ is a scoring guard, if he was the PG, then we should expect better from him...but he wasn't!!! Pippen knows his role = defender, Rodman knows his role = rebounder, then why was it wrong for MJ to be the = scorer??? He fits that role perfectly, just like Kobe, Iverson, and Lebron. It's like arguing Nash sucks because he is a passhogger and he never block shots or shaq sucks because he never shoots 3pts , blah, blah, blah....

Answer 3

Nickname: Air Jordan
Honors: Six-time NBA champion (1991-93, 1996-98); NBA MVP (1988, '91, '92, '96, '98); 10-time All-NBA First Team (1987-93, 1996-98); All-NBA Second Team (1985); Defensive Player of the Year (1988); Nine-time All-Defensive First Team (1988-93, 1996-98); Rookie of the Year (1985); 14-time All-Star; All-Star MVP (1988, '96, '98); One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996); Two-time Olympic gold medalist (1984, '92).
How could he not be the best ever?
He is the person who made the bulls what they are today.
How many other players have a statue of them outside of the arena thay won 6 championships in. and that's real talk. MJ is the best to play and Kobe isn't close!

Answer 4

I wish Magic could have finished his career. He might have ultimately shown the world that he was truly the greatest. He lost in '91 but the Lakers were still rebuilding. It was an accomplishment that the '91 Lakers beat Portland to make it to the finals. Magic and Micheal might have had the same type of rivaly in the 90s that Magic and Bird had in the '80s. Much like Kidd, Magic brings so many intangibles to a team people sometimes forget how dominant he truly was. Even if Jordan was better, I bet Magic would have beaten him at least one of those six champtionship seasons. We will never know.

Answer 5

The difference was the playoffs. Without Jordan, even though the Bulls had a great season, they had to work much harder to get there, had no energy or emotion left for the playoffs and promptly got beat.
Jordan saved some of his best performances for the playoffs, and there will never be another Jordon.
He was the best I've ever seen.

Answer 6

Anybody who was alive from that time period and actually watched the NBA will tell you that the Bulls only won 57 games in 92-93 because Jordan and Pippen were both completely drained from the Dream Team Olympics they had just finished. Otherwise that team would have easily been another 60 game winner.

Answer 7

The difference as I see it in those two seasons was the effort that had to be put forth to win those 55 games in 93-94.

In the Jordan years it was like another day at the office. 'C'mon guys, let's get this game over with so it's one game closer to the playoffs.'

The effort and the strain took it's toll in 93-94

Hey, not to say that Jordan wasn't a beast every time on the court and he kept the cats motivated. He was the leader.

Answer 8

Yeah I believe you. Scottie Pippen inherited the championship caliber Bulls fro Mike. They lost the 2nd round because they lost their killer instinct.

The Bulls win all those championships because Michael is with them. Michael was their guarantee that they are going to win every game their in.

So the biggest diference in that season was Michael Jordan.

Answer 9

i couldn't tell you the difference because i was such a big fan of mj him retiring devastated me that i quit watching when he quit and when he returned i started watching again. i did not even know that the houston rockets had the championship twice. I watch now because the playing level is so exciting to watch.

Answer 10

Celtics with Bill Russell
*1969: 48-34 Championship
1970: 34-48 (-14 games) Missed playoffs
*48-34 was the second lowest if not the lowest W/L ratio of the Russell dynasty. Bill spent a lot of time recuperating and "taking it easy" during the season.

Lakers with Wilt Chamberlain
1973: 60-22 NBA Finals
1974: 47-35 (-13 games) Lost in first round1-4

Bucks with Oscar Robertson
1974: 59-23 NBA Finals
*1975: 38-44 (-21 games) Missed playoffs
*Although i believe Kareem also went to the Lakers during this time.

Celtics with Larry Bird
1988: 57-25 Conference Finals
1989: 42-40 (-15 games) Lost in first round 0-3

Lakers with Magic Johnson
1991: 58-24 NBA Finals
1992: 43-39 (-15 games) Lost in first round 1-3

Bulls with Michael Jordan
1993: 57-25 Championship
1994: 55-27 (-2 games) Lost in 2nd round 3-4

It seems to me compared to his GOAT peers, Jordan's absence made the LEAST impact. Perhaps Jordan is not the hub of the 90's Chicago Bulls team? Maybe like Kerr, Longley, Grant and Rodman he's just one of the replaceable parts of the team??? Maybe???

How could he and Pippen be exhausted from the 1992 Summer Olympics when the said Olympics is only two weeks long from late July to mid August? Isnt this still preseason for the NBA? Not to mention the Dream team's training wasnt that grueling.

EDIT: The Bulls went rebuilding in 1999. Phil Jackson went bye-bye along with Pippen, Jordan,Longley, Kerr and Rodman. Big difference with the other retirements that i mentioned. Jordan's retirement is just a small part of a much greater upheavel for the Chicago Bulls. Check your facts first.

EDIT: Toni Kukoc averaged 11 pts., 4 reb, 3 assists in 1993-94. What an impact player he was! What a SUPERSTAR! *sarcasm* The core of the 1992-93 championship Chicago Bulls team, the key players and their roles - Horace, Pip, BJ - remained the same, which is why the 1993-94 team was considered pretty much the same team minus Jordan. The three key players i mentioned, even Bill Wennington have banner years when Jordan "retired".

And all this talk about YOUNGER and OLDER teammates, youre making it seem that general managers dont replenish their team's roster on a regular basis. Rest assured that when Wilt, Russ, Oscar, Bird and Magic retired, they have 20-something teammates on their team. At any rate, age is not an accurate gauge of a player's and team's talent.

EDIT: Toni Kukoc may have shown awesome, SUPERSTAR-level talent in the 1992 Olympics but he showed NONE of that talent during his rookie year with the Bulls in 1993-94 where he only averaged 11 pts., 4 rebs, 3 assists a game. He's contributions most certainly DOES NOT offset Jordan's contributions from the previous year (Damn i hate repeating myself but i guess its necessary for some people).

And where exactly did i say that age is not a factor? What i said was: age is not an accurate gauge of a player and a team's talent. Just because Player A is young doesnt necessarily mean that he's a better player than Player B who is older and vice-versa.

EDIT: Even with a talented Sixth man like Mr. Inconsistent Toni Kukoc; a TWO Win drop for the team after the departure of its franchise player and supposedly GOAT player, is still INEXCUSABLE. It seems to me Jordan is a "REPLACEABLE" part of his team.

The year after Bill Russell retired, the Celtics still has the best Sixth man ever in John Havlicek, plus HoF's in Bailey Howell and Satch Sanders not to mention they drafted future Finals MVP, Jo Jo White and they STILL DROPPED 14 games.

The Lakers still has HOF James Worthy and Serbian sensation Vlade Divac and they STILL DROPPED 15 games after Magic retired.

EDIT: Man i hate repeat posting but guess i really have to for some people to catch up.

Early Bulls Dynasty with Jordan. 3 Straight rings.
With Jordan in 1993:
Regular season record: 57-25
Playoff record: NBA Championship

Without Jordan in 1994:
Regular season record: 55-27 (-2 games from previous)
Playoff record: Lost in 2nd round (3-4)

Celtic Dynasty with Bill Russell. 11 rings
With Russell in1969:
Regular season record: 48-34
Playoff record: NBA Championship

Without Russell in 1970:
Regular season record: 34-48 (-14 games from previous)
Playoff record: Missed playoffs

Let me repeat it, the Celtics minus Bill Russell DID NOT MADE THE PLAYOFFS. Compare this to the Jordan-less Bulls who got deep into the Second round of the Playoffs.

Im too lazy to post Magic's and the other GOAT claimers detr, AGAIN so just scroll up and read what i first posted. Basically it all boils down that compared to his GOAT peers, Jordan's absence has the LEAST negative impact to his team. Apparently, he wasnt that valuable to his team.

You know its funny when people talk that the reason why the Bulls were eliminated by Shaq and Horace Grant's Magic in the Playoffs was because of Jordan's court rust even though he played 17 games and dropped 55 against the Knicks. IIRC in 1986, he only played 18games of the season and dropped 63 on the Celtics and no one is making EXCUSES about court rust.

The thing is the main reason the Bulls were eliminated during the 1994-95 season is because of lack of rebounding and the lack of inside defensive presence provided before by Horace Grant. In 1995-96, they plugged that weakness with Dennis Rodman. The Bulls need rebounding, they got the best rebounder in the league. The Bulls need inside defensive presence and they got a 2 time Defensive Player awardee. Rodman >> Horace Grant. While Jordan may have shaken off some court rust, the main reason as to why the Bulls went over the 70W plateau is because of Rodman's contributions.

At any rate, you bring up Jordan's 72W season; ill raise that with Russell's 11 rings, 12 Finals appearance and 13 Conference finals in 13 years. I put a much higher premium on CONSISTENCY instead of some namby-pamby regular season record.