6 Rings: the true story of the Chicago Bulls dynasty

 

Twenty years ago, the dynasty ended.

The Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson won six championships in eight seasons and reshaped the NBA forever.

My latest story celebrates their final game together, Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, and completes (for now, I guess) an ongoing series of pieces that I have written over the past 13 years on what was easily my favorite era as a sports fan.

Here, all together, are those pieces about “YOUR World Champion Chicago Bulls!”

I will never get tired of hearing that.

Radio, TV, and podcast appearances, 2015-present

Me and Laurence Holmes for my Score debut, July 15, 2016. Thanks Laurence!

Radio, TV, and podcast appearances

(titles are links)

2015 – present

9 FEB 2023 — On Devin Hester’s Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacy, with Laurence Holmes on “Football Night in Chicago” on NBC Sports Chicago

6 FEB 2023 — On Devin Hester’s Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacy and a look at the candidacies of Peanut Tillman, Lance Briggs, Olin Kreutz, Ruben Brown and Randall Cunningham, with Bill Zimmerman on “Bears Banter” on Windy City Gridiron (video) and Audacy (audio)

20 JAN 2023 — On George McCaskey’s evolution on Black hiring with regards to Kevin Warren, with Laurence Holmes on “Bernstein & Holmes” on 670 The Score

16 JAN 2023 — On George McCaskey’s evolution on Black hiring and the modernization of the franchise with regards to Kevin Warren, with Steven Negishi on The Double A Team podcast

5 JAN 2023 — On Virginia McCaskey turning 100 along with a look at the Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacies of Devin Hester and Lance Briggs, with Alex Shapiro on Football Night in Chicago on NBC Sports Chicago

1 DEC 2022 — Featured NFL historian for “American Football” podcast series covering the early days of the NFL, produced by HISTORY Channel, SMAC Entertainment / Michael Strahan and Misher Films, and narrated by Kate Mara, released on Audible (here me in the trailer,  with excerpts from episode 7 on Red Grange and episode 8 on the 1926 fight for Red Grange)

8 SEP 2022 — (newspaper interview) On the Philadelphia Eagles’s history of Black quarterbacks, story by Jeff McLane in the Philadelphia Inquirer

3 AUG 2022 — Playing Tecmo Super Bowl against Weekend Gabe on Gabe Plays

18 JULY 2022 — On Steve McMichael’s Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacy, with Nicholas Moreano, Kevin Kaduk and Will DeWitt on CHGO Bears on CHGO

15 MAY 2022 — On the legacy of Frank Thomas, with Deremy Dove and Jose Ruiz on Bigger Than the Game

7 FEB 2022 — On Brian Flores’s discrimination lawsuit against three NFL teams and the NFL, with Santita Jackson on “The Santita Jackson Show” on WCPT

2 FEB 2022 — On Bears diversity history, George McCaskey’s evolution and how they tie into the Brian Flores lawsuit, with Dan Bernstein on “Bernstein & Rahimi” on 670 The Score

6 AUG 2021 — On Scottie Pippen’s claims that Phil Jackson was racist, with TPJ on Bulls Fan Pod

1 JULY 2021 — On Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals and John Paxson’s shot, with Deremy Dove and Jose Ruiz on Bigger Than the Game

11 MAR 2021 — On a variety of Chicago sports topics — including Michael Jordan and George Halas — with Kirk Buckner on The Buck Stops Here of the Not in the Hall of Fame

29 OCT 2020 — On the odds of Peanut, Briggs and Kreutz for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the Bears’ 1936 throwback jerseys, with Brendan Sugrue on The 46 Pod

15 AUG 2020 — On all things Bulls dynasty, with Rashawn Franklin on The Rashawn Franklin Podcast

6 MAY 2020 — On the Richard Esquinas – Michael Jordan gambling controversy, with Laurence Holmes on the House of L Podcast

3 MAY 2020 — On The Last Dance with the fellas (including my old pal Boy Illinois!), on Barbers Chair Network

23 APR 2020 — On The Last Dance and the Bulls dynasty, on Barbers Chair Network

19 APR 2020 — On The Last Dance and the Bulls dynasty, with Pavy and TPJ on Hoops N Brews

29 MAR 2020 — On the Bulls dynasty, with Mark Carman on WGN Radio

24 MAR 2020 — On the Bulls dynasty and the moving up of The Last Dance airdate, with Matt Peck and Jason Patt on Cash Considerations

18 MAR 2020 — On Michael Jordan’s comeback, with four-time NBA champion and Bulls legend Will Perdue, and Tony Gill, on NBC Sports Chicago

31 JAN 2020 — On the 1984 Bears and the origins of the Gatorade shower, with Mike Lowe on WGN TV

2 OCT 2019 — On the Bears’ 1936 throwback jerseys, George Halas and the NFL’s 12-year ban on black players, with Greg Braggs and Joey 2 Scoops on Chi Fans in The Stands

27 SEP 2019 — On the Bears’ 1936 throwback jerseys, George Halas and the NFL’s 12-year ban on black players, with Sarah Spain and Jordan Cornette on “Spain and Company,” ESPN Radio

26 SEP 2019 — On the Bears’ 1936 throwback jerseys, George Halas and the NFL’s 12-year ban on black players, with Kyle Means on Regal Radio

26 SEP 2019 — On the Bears’ 1936 throwback jerseys, George Halas and the NFL’s 12-year ban on black players, with Paul Lukas of Uni Watch, Sports Illustrated (written article, and though he did not use the interview we did, I want to include this here)

25 SEP 2019 — On the Bears’ 1936 throwback jerseys, George Halas and the NFL’s 12-year ban on black players, with James Wickham on BBC

How The GOAT Was Built: 6 Life Lessons From the 1996 Chicago Bulls

Way back in October, back when the Bulls’ record of 72 wins was safe, I began an essay about the 12 moves the Bulls made between June 1993 and October 1995 that turned an aged, bickering, 57-win champion into a flourishing, rejuvenated, 72-win juggernaut.

Seven months later, I have a 13,000-word e-book and have spent more time reading about and watching clips of the 1995-96 Bulls than any time other than 1995-96. I’ll save you the suspense: It’s been a sweet 7 months!

Thus I am very proud to release “How The GOAT Was Built: 6 Life Lessons From the 1996 Chicago Bulls.”

READ AND DOWNLOAD THE PDF VERSION: How the GOAT was built — by Jack M Silverstein

For an iBooks copy for your phone, email readjack.com@gmail.com.

More e-book options to come.

To read the six lessons without the prologue or epilogue, (but with lots and lots of video!), click the links below:

“My coach is everything” — Phil Jackson’s influence on the 1996 Chicago Bulls

Excerpt from “How The GOAT Was Built: Six Life Lessons From the 1996 Chicago Bulls”

Lesson #6: Find a coach who will help you be your best self

by Jack M Silverstein (@readjack)

In the summer of 1996, after winning his fourth championship, Michael Jordan came within 30 minutes of signing with the New York Knicks.

“New York was right downstairs,” Jordan told Spike Lee in “Best Seat In the House.” “The Bulls — all they had to do was mess up.”

The Knicks had an offer on the table for Jordan: one year, $25 million. “We told (Jordan’s team) they could have all our cap room,” Madison Square Garden President Dave Checketts said at the time.

Could Michael Jordan have joined the Knicks? According to the man himself, it almost happened in 1996. (Photo illustration by Patrick Ortega, found at ballislife.com)

The Other 10: How Phil Jackson and Jerry Krause rebuilt the totem pole and created a new champion

https://giphy.com/gifs/3o6EhXQki3RMNFwLq8?utm_source=iframe&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=tag_click

Excerpt from “How The GOAT Was Built: Six Life Lessons From the 1996 Chicago Bulls”

Lesson #3: Surround yourself with humble talent for a unified mission

by Jack M Silverstein (@readjack)

The biggest fallacy about the 1990s Bulls is that they won six championships. That is, that one team won six.

In reality, two teams won three.

33-23 = 1.8, but 33+23 = 72

Excerpt from “How The GOAT Was Built: Six Life Lessons From the 1996 Chicago Bulls” (Read the book here)

Lesson #2: Don’t be afraid to push your limits — or to find peace and excellence within them

by Jack M Silverstein (@readjack)

The championship Bulls don’t work without Scottie Pippen. So naturally the Bulls tried to trade him approximately a bajillion times between 1994 and 1998. In telling the story of the 1996 Bulls — and gleaning from that story wisdom for our own lives and pursuits — two abandoned Pippen trades stand out.

Incredibly, both failed because the OTHER team balked.

The first was between the Bulls and SuperSonics on the eve of the 1994 draft, the Pippen-for-Kemp deal that failed when Seattle got cold feet.

The second was in February 1995, when the Clippers tried to acquire Pippen at a time when he was dead set on leaving.

“I don’t want to be here (with the Bulls) the rest of the season,” Pippen said in early February. “I’m hoping teams are thinking about me. I’m still ready to get out of here. I’m looking for a different place, a different team, a different perspective on my career. I’ve got 18 days to go (to the February 23 trading deadline). The countdown is on. Just say I’m showcasing myself out here.”

There Could Never Be an 8-Peat: Why Michael Jordan Needed Baseball

Excerpt from “How The GOAT Was Built: Six Life Lessons From the 1996 Chicago Bulls” (Read the book here)

Lesson #1: If your head approves, follow your heart

by Jack M Silverstein (@readjack)

“I think he had to get away from everything. It all overwhelmed him.”

“I think he had gotten so tired of the hype and so tired of the media that he wanted to find a place where he could play and really just have fun.”

“I think Mike is doing this just so he can get away from the insanity of pro basketball.”

“Maybe Mike’s doing this because he just wants to be a player again.”

“Here’s a guy, the greatest of all times, letting nothing stand in the way of what he loves to do, and that’s just play ____________.”

— Marv Albert, Ahmad Rashad, David Robinson, Harold Miner, and John Thompson, February 1994

The best evidence that Michael Jordan’s 1993 retirement and subsequent short-lived baseball career was on the level and NOT a secret NBA suspension due to gambling, or an NBA marketing ploy to develop new stars in the Jordan vacuum, or any other theory, is simple: There’s no evidence.

Dec. 1, 2010: Dancing days for the Chicago Bulls

From November 2010 to May 2011, I wrote for a site called “The Sports Blog Network,” a sports website launched by Chris Reed. The site folded, as websites do, and at some point in the past year (maybe longer?) the content was removed.

I loved the work I did there and appreciated the opportunity Chris gave me (thanks man!) so I am reposting all of those stories on ReadJack.

***

Dancing days for the Chicago Bulls

Originally published on Sports Blog Network December 1, 2010

When the Bulls stormed Phoenix in November 2010 and beat the Suns in double OT, Bulls fans could knew this team was special.

In just a few minutes, the Chicago Bulls will take floor at the United Center to, I presume, the greatest of heroes’ welcomes bestowed on a Bulls team since Game 5 of the 1998 Finals, or, at least, Game 6 of the Celtics series.

That is because, for the first time since those ring-bearing Bulls of Jordan and Pippen, Jackson and Rodman, the Red and Black have run the annual circus trip gauntlet and secured more wins than losses.

Defeated the two should-be gimmes on the docket – Houston and Sacramento – and toppled the Mavericks of Nowitzki and the Suns of Nash. Lost to the L’s best team by seven, to its hottest by nine, and to one of its most talented by one.

That last came with their best player and the Eastern Conference’s leading scorer on the pine with a sore neck. No matter – if not for a just-signed, ice cold D-Leaguer bricking a pair of foul shots with 12 seconds to play, the Bulls of Rose and Noah and Thibs and Lu would have banged out that win too.

The 1993 Bulls and LeBron James: a look back, and a look ahead

The 1993 Bulls and LeBron James: a look back, and a look ahead

Originally posted June 20, 2013

Michael Jordan scored the first nine points of the 4th quarter of Game 6 of the 1993 Finals — Pax scored the last three.

If I could watch only one Bulls Finals game for the rest of my life, it would be Game 6, June 20, 1993: Bulls 99, Suns 98. The night the Bulls secured their legacy as one of the premier teams in league history. The night “Paxson for three!” became every young Chicago hooper’s on-court self-exclamation.

There are a few reasons this game gets the nod for me. One, of course, is the remarkable final 45 seconds:

If I haven’t seen it, it’s new to me.

Time to Settle Accounts

November 28, 2011: If I haven’t seen it, it’s new to me.

“They’re back!” Ben said in celebration, and they were indeed back: the 2011-2012 NBA season would play after all, a 66-game season that would begin Christmas Day. We high-fived and began jumping in circles in the tea room. I was hosting a post-Thanksgiving weekend party, and Ben was the first to arrive, and my old friend and partner-in-Bulls- joined me for a spirited dance as we imagined Derrick Rose driving and dishing and contorting his body for another gravity-defying layup.