The 1996 NBA Finals was the championship series of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA)'s 1995–96 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

(64–18) played the Eastern Conference champion

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

(72–10), with the Bulls holding

home court advantage In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to ga ...

. The teams' 136 combined regular season wins shattered the previous record of 125, set in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

between the Los Angeles Lakers who won 62 games and the Boston Celtics who won 63 games in the past regular season. The series, the 50th NBA finals in league history, was played under a best-of-seven format. This was the first championship in the Chicago Bulls' second three-peat. Chicago won the series 4 games to 2. Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP, his fourth time winning the award.

Background

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls were coming off a season where they lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Orlando Magic. Heading into the upcoming season, Chicago was no longer the same team as they were in their most recent championship season of , having lost key members of their first three-peat core in

John Paxson John MacBeth Paxson (born September 29, 1960) is an American basketball administrator and former player who was vice president of basketball operations for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2009 to 2020. He was th ...

who retired, while Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant, B. J. Armstrong, Stacey King, Will Perdue, and Scott Williams left via free agency. In their place was a new core of players such as Luc Longley, Toni Kukoč, Steve Kerr, Ron Harper, Jud Buechler, Bill Wennington and Randy Brown. But perhaps their biggest addition to the team was

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best reboundin ...

, a nine-year veteran who had been a rebounding champion for four straight years, and whose controversial lifestyle has been well-documented. The result of this ensemble was perhaps the greatest regular season of any team in NBA history at the time, as the Bulls won a record-high 72 games, which would be broken by the Golden State Warriors in the 2015–16 season. They continued to gain momentum in the playoffs, beginning with a sweep of the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

in the first round, followed by a five-game defeat of the New York Knicks in the second round. The conference finals was a rematch of the previous season's series with the Orlando Magic, but it was a no-contest, as the Bulls swept the Magic to gain entry into the Finals.

Seattle SuperSonics

The SuperSonics were led by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, with

George Karl George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951) is an American former professional basketball coach and player. After spending five years as a player for the San Antonio Spurs, Karl became an assistant with the team before getting the chance to become a ...

as head coach. The team was considered a perennial title contender throughout the mid-1990s, but the closest they came to reaching the finals was in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, when they lost to the Phoenix Suns in seven games in the Western Conference Finals. Two straight first-round exits followed, including the stunning 1994 loss to the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets (the Sonics were the first seed in that playoffs). Motivated by a successive string of early playoff losses, Seattle finished the 1996 regular season with a franchise-record 64 wins. Seattle began its playoff run with a four-game win over the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

, followed by a dominant sweep of the defending champion Houston Rockets, headed by a 33 point win in Game 1 where they held Hakeem Olajuwon to 5 points. They then beat the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in seven games in the western finals to advance to its first NBA championship round since .

Road to the Finals

Regular season series

Both teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team:

1996 NBA Finals rosters

Chicago Bulls

Seattle SuperSonics

Series summary

:''All times are in

Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small p ...

( UTC−4).''

Game 1

Although Chicago was not playing well offensively, they were able to compensate with superb defense. Frustration set in for Seattle when Frank Brickowski was ejected after committing a flagrant foul against Dennis Rodman, then promptly getting charged with two consecutive technical fouls. Chicago was leading by only 2 at the end of the third quarter, but in the final quarter, shots by Toni Kukoč and 2 key steals by Ron Harper clinched the Bulls' Game 1 win. Shawn Kemp was a bright spot for Seattle, scoring 32 points, but ended up fouling out midway through the fourth quarter. Michael Jordan led the way for the Bulls with 28 points, while Scottie Pippen chipped in with 21 points. Seattle captain Nate McMillan ended up leaving the game due to a debilitating back injury in the 2nd quarter. Dennis Rodman pulled down 13 rebounds for the Bulls, while Toni Kukoč chipped in off the bench with 18 points.

Game 2

Game 2 started well for Seattle with a 27–23 first quarter lead. However, Seattle would once again lose the lead before halftime. Despite Shawn Kemp's 29 points and 13 rebounds, Chicago triumphed with a final score of 92 to 88. In the victory, Dennis Rodman tied an NBA Finals record with 11 offensive rebounds and made a clutch free throw near the end of the game to seal the Bulls victory. Michael Jordan once again led the Bulls with 29 points, while Shawn Kemp continued his strong play by scoring 29 points for Seattle.

Game 3

The Sonics, owners of a 44–5 home record (including playoffs), suffered a 22-point blow-out in their return to Seattle, giving the Bulls a seemingly insurmountable 3–0 series lead. Frustration would once again set in for the Sonics, as Frank Brickowski was ejected for committing a flagrant foul on Dennis Rodman. Michael Jordan led the way for the Bulls with 36 points.

Game 4

Seattle did not want to suffer the ignominy of a sweep. In an attempt to spark his team, Coach George Karl gave Jordan's defensive assignment to Gary Payton, a move which showed immediate results. Seattle succeeded with a 107–86 win over the Bulls, and Sonics fans taunted the Bulls players with homemade signs reading ''"Sweepless in Seattle".'' The Sonics were helped by the return of team captain

Nate McMillan Nathaniel McMillan (born August 3, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, the Po ...

whose presence entering the game brought the KeyArena crowd to its feet. Seattle's victory prevented the NBA Finals from being swept in two consecutive years (something which, as of 2022, has never occurred).

Game 5

Seattle would once again deny the Bulls the championship, stretching the series to six games. Payton had this to say: "We feel great. We knew we could play with this team. It just took too long. We should have come with this a little earlier." Shawn Kemp's performance in this game was considered by many to be his best in a Seattle uniform.

Game 6

Chicago won the series 4 games to 2 on

Father's Day Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the Unite ...

, in what would be the last time the Sonics played a Finals game before relocating to Oklahoma City and becoming known as the

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

. The Bulls' victory was partly due to the stellar performance of

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

, who delivered a repeat of his Game 2 performance with 19 rebounds, tying his own NBA Finals record. Bulls star Michael Jordan finished the game with 22 points and collected his fourth Finals MVP. As of 2022, no NBA team has ever overcome a 3-0 playoff series deficit, and only three teams have forced a Game 7 after dropping the first three contests: the New York Knicks (1951), the Denver Nuggets (1994), and the Portland Trail Blazers (2003).

Player statistics

;Chicago Bulls , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 8.2 , , .500 , , .500 , , .500 , , 0.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 5.6 , , .222 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 4 , , 19.3 , , .375 , , .308 , , .917 , , 2.3 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 6.5 , -! style="background:#FDE910;" , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 42.0 , , .415 , , .316 , , .836 , , 5.3 , , 4.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.2 , , 27.3 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 18.8 , , .303 , , .182 , , .857 , , 0.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 2 , , 29.5 , , .423 , , .313 , , .800 , , 4.8 , , 3.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 28.3 , , .574 , , .000 , , .727 , , 3.8, , 2.2 , , 0.6 , , 1.8 , , 11.7 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 41.3 , , .343 , , .231 , , .708 , , 8.2 , , 5.3 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , 15.7 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 37.5 , , .486 , , .000 , , .579 , , 14.7 , , 2.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .667 , , .000 , , .500 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.9 ;Seattle SuperSonics , - , align="left" , , , 4 , , 0 , , 15.5 , , .222 , , .200 , , 1.000 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 1.8 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 3 , , 11.3 , , .222 , , .200 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.8 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 38.3 , , .455 , , .273 , , .923 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 13.3 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 3 , , 6.7 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 1.3 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 40.3 , , .551 , , .000 , , .857 , , 10.0 , , 2.2 , , 1.3 , , 2.0 , , 23.3 , - , align="left" , , , 4 , , 0 , , 12.8 , , .429 , , .600 , , 1.000 , , 2.8 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 45.7 , , .444 , , .333 , , .731 , , 6.3 , , 7.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 18.0 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 31.7 , , .377 , , .235 , , .810 , , 4.7 , , 2.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 11.2 , - , align="left" , , , 4 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 39.7 , , .443 , , .389 , , .875 , , 5.0 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 16.3 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 1.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .500 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.5

Broadcasting

The Finals was aired in the United States on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Bob Costas Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 19 ...

hosted the pre-game, halftime and post-game show with analysts

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

and Peter Vecsey. Games were called by

Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American retired sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he wa ...

, Matt Guokas and

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...

, while Ahmad Rashad and Hannah Storm served as sideline reporters.

Aftermath

The 1996 NBA Finals would be the last Finals appearance of the Seattle SuperSonics. The Sonics would win the Pacific Division again in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, but fell to the second round of the playoffs each time. The series was

's only Finals appearance in his coaching career to date. In 2008, the Sonics franchise moved to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

and became the

. They would make the finals four years later after the move, losing to the

. This was also the last time a Seattle-based team played for a major professional sports championship until

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

in 2006, when the Seattle Seahawks lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Seahawks would go on to handily defeat Denver in

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

in 2014 and lose to the New England Patriots the following year in

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...

. In terms of overall sports leagues, the city would later enjoy six additional championships: the WNBA's Seattle Storm, a one-time SuperSonics sister team, won the 2004, the 2010, the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, and the 2020 WNBA Finals, and the

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

's Seattle Sounders FC won 2016 MLS Cup and

2019 MLS Cup MLS Cup 2019 was the 24th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), and took place on November 10, 2019, at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington, United States. The soccer match was contested by Seattl ...

. Teams from Chicago and Seattle would meet three more times in postseason competition among the "Big Four" leagues. The only time Seattle won over Chicago was in the 2000 American League Division Series, when the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

swept the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

3–0. Meanwhile, the Seahawks lost to the Chicago Bears in the divisional round of both the and NFL playoffs. The Bulls came close to winning 70 games for the second straight year, instead settling for a 69-win campaign in 1997. They won their second straight title over the

in six games of the

1997 NBA Finals The 1997 NBA Finals was the concluding series of the 1997 NBA playoffs that determined the champion of the 1996–97 NBA season. The Western Conference champion Utah Jazz took on the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chi ...

. In the off-season that preceded Scottie Pippen became the first person to win NBA championship and Olympic gold medal in the same year twice, playing for

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

at the

Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. The Bulls would also defeat the

in six games in the 1998 NBA Finals. The Bulls' combined 87 wins in the regular season and postseason would stand as an NBA record until the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, coached by former Bull Steve Kerr, broke it with 88 total wins (thanks to the first round using a best-of-7 format instead of the best-of-5 in 1996), including a 73-9 regular season mark. However, the Warriors lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the

2016 NBA Finals The 2016 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2015–16 season and conclusion of the 2016 playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the defending NBA champion and ...

, failing to repeat as champions after beating the same Cavaliers in the previous Finals.

Notes and references

External links

*
NBA.com's History of 1996 NBA Finals
{{DEFAULTSORT:1996 Nba Finals National Basketball Association Finals

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

NBA NBA 1996 in sports in Illinois 1990s in Chicago 1996 in Illinois 1996 in sports in Washington (state) 1996 in Seattle Sports competitions in Seattle Sports competitions in Chicago June 1996 sports events in the United States

Background

Chicago Bulls

Seattle SuperSonics

Road to the Finals

Regular season series

1996 NBA Finals rosters

Chicago Bulls

Seattle SuperSonics

Series summary

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

Player statistics

Broadcasting

Aftermath

See also

Notes and references

External links