The 1996 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the
National Basketball Association's
1995–96 season. The tournament concluded with 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 1 ...
defeating 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 ...
4 games to 2.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
was named
NBA Finals MVP
The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The award is decided by a panel of e ...
for a then record fourth time.
By winning their fourth title, the
Bulls
Bulls may refer to:
*The plural of bull, an adult male bovine
*Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District
Sports
*Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding
* Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...
capped what many consider to be the greatest season in NBA history, as they finished a record 72–10 in the regular season, eclipsing the
1972 Los Angeles Lakers record of 69–13, helped by the addition of another future Hall of Famer to the Bulls,
Dennis Rodman. It was also redemption for Jordan after his first return to the playoffs in
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake stri ...
and the Bulls' disappointing second-round loss to the
Orlando Magic, a team that would be swept in the NBA Finals. With him leading the way, the Bulls swept the defending Eastern Conference champion Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning the four games by an average of 17 points en route to a combined record of 87–13 in regular season and postseason play. As for the Magic, it ended a three-year run of dominance for the team, as
Shaquille O'Neal went on to sign with the
Lakers the following season. The Magic did not have another 50-win season,
division title and first round playoff series victory until
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, followed the season afterward by an Eastern Conference championship and the franchise's second NBA Finals appearance in
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
to which they lost to the
Lakers.
The
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 ...
were only the tenth team in NBA history to win 64 games during the regular season, but their feat went largely unnoticed due to Chicago's record 72 wins. They made their first trip to the NBA Finals since
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, and vindicated them as well after their stunning first-round loss to the
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
, when they had become the first #1 seed to lose to an eighth-seed.
This was the
Sacramento Kings' first playoff appearance since
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
** Spain and Portugal ent ...
, but would be
Mitch Richmond's only one as a King (he previously appeared twice in the playoffs for the
Golden State Warriors in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
and
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Ph ...
). The Kings did not make it back until
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, which began their eight-year string of playoff appearances. Richmond would be traded to the Wizards in 1998 and would later win his first and only championship with the Lakers in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
(he would retire shortly thereafter).
As for the two-time defending NBA champion
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
, their quest for a 3-peat was thwarted by Seattle. The Sonics swept the Rockets 4-0 in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Sonics were also the last team to defeat the Rockets in the playoffs before their two-year title run, in the
1993 Western Conference Semifinals (Seattle won 4–3). Also noted during their two-year title run, Houston never had to face Seattle in the playoffs as the Sonics were eliminated in the first round by both the Nuggets and the Lakers respectively.
After the Lakers' first round loss to Houston,
Magic Johnson retired for good after a brief in-season comeback.
Though the
Utah Jazz fell in 7 to the SuperSonics in the Western Conference Finals (their third appearance in 5 years), in retrospect it kickstarted their own Finals run, which they ultimately accomplished in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', the List of highest-grossing films, highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; ...
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 lost both times to the Bulls.
Bracket
Playoff qualifying
Western Conference
Best record in conference
The
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 ...
clinched the best record in the Western Conference, and had home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.
Clinched a playoff berth
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:
#
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, clinched Pacific division)
#
San Antonio Spurs (59-23, clinched Midwest division)
#
Utah Jazz (55-27)
#
Los Angeles Lakers (53-29)
#
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
(48-34)
#
Portland Trail Blazers (44-38)
#
Phoenix Suns (41-41)
#
Sacramento Kings (39-43)
Eastern Conference
Best record in NBA
The
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 1 ...
clinched the best record in the NBA, and earned home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs.
Clinched a playoff berth
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:
#
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 1 ...
(72-10)
#
Orlando Magic (60-22, clinched Atlantic division)
#
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...
(52-30)
#
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Centr ...
(47-35)
#
New York Knicks (47-35)
#
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...
(46-36)
#
Detroit Pistons (46-36)
#
Miami Heat (42-40)
Notes
* For the fourth straight postseason, both #5 seeds beat their #4 seeded opponent in the first round.
First Round
Eastern Conference First Round
(1)
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 1 ...
vs. (8)
Miami Heat
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning the first meeting.
(2) Orlando Magic vs. (7) Detroit Pistons
This was the first playoff meeting between the Pistons and the Magic.
(3)
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...
vs. (6)
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pacers winning two of the first three meetings.
(4)
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Centr ...
vs. (5)
New York Knicks
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning the first two meetings.
Western Conference First Round
(1)
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 ...
vs. (8)
Sacramento Kings
This was the first playoff meeting between the Kings and the SuperSonics.
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) Phoenix Suns
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Suns winning the first two meetings.
(3) Utah Jazz vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Trail Blazers winning two of the first three meetings.
(4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5)
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
Game 4 is
Magic Johnson's final NBA game.
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning two series apiece.
Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference Semifinals
(1)
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 1 ...
vs. (5)
New York Knicks
Bill Wennington
William Percey Wennington (born April 26, 1963) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who won three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships with the Chicago Bulls. A center, he represented Canada in the 1984 Olympics an ...
hits the game-winner with 36.9 seconds left.
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning five of the first six meetings.
(2) Orlando Magic vs. (6)
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...
This was the first playoff meeting between the Hawks and the Magic.
Western Conference Semifinals
(1)
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 ...
vs. (5)
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning the first four meetings.
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Utah Jazz
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning the first meeting.
Conference Finals
Eastern Conference Finals
(1)
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 1 ...
vs. (2)
Orlando Magic
Chicago overcame an 18-point lead by the Magic to win (64–46).
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Magic winning the first meeting.
Western Conference Finals
(1)
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 ...
vs. (3)
Utah Jazz
The SuperSonics led the series 3-1 after an 88–86 victory at the Delta Center in Game 4. However, the Jazz shocked the Sonics in Seattle in Game 5 98-95 and would handily win Game 6 118-83, Seattle's worst playoff loss in team history. Game 7 was a close affair and the Sonics pulled away late to win 90-86 and advance to their first NBA Finals since 1979. This is the most recent conference final played entirely outside of
Texas and
California.
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece.
NBA Finals: (E1) Chicago Bulls vs. (W1) Seattle SuperSonics
*Seattle battled to a Game 6 after trailing 3-0 in the series, only the second team in NBA Finals history to do so (
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United K ...
New York Knicks forced a Game 7).
This was the first playoff meeting between the Bulls and the SuperSonics.
References
External links
Basketball-Reference.com's 1996 Playoffs section
{{DEFAULTSORT:1996 Nba Playoffs
National Basketball Association playoffs
Playoffs
Sports in Portland, Oregon
fi:NBA-kausi 1995–1996#Pudotuspelit