The

1994–95 NBA season The 1994–95 NBA season was the 49th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the Orlando Magic 4–0 in the NBA Finals to be crowned champions. Notable occurrences *The Housto ...

was the 29th season for 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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in the

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

. This was also the team's first season playing at the

United Center The United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

. During the off-season, the Bulls signed free agents Ron Harper, and Jud Buechler. The Bulls struggled in the first half of the regular season with a 23–25 record at the All-Star break. However, there were rumors that retired All-Star guard

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

would come out of his retirement to rejoin the team, after an unsuccessful baseball career. The Bulls received a major boost upon Jordan's return, as he faxed a memo that simply said "I'm back." The Bulls won 24 of their final 34 games of the season, and finished in third place in the Central Division with a 47–35 record, earning the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference. Jordan averaged 26.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 17 games, but only shot just .411 in field-goal percentage. One notable highlight of the season was Jordan scoring a season-high of 55 points, in a 113–111 road win over the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

on March 28, 1995. He also changed his jersey number to #45, but later on changed it back to #23 during the

NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

. In addition, Scottie Pippen led the team with 21.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, and also with 109 three-point field goals; he was named to the All-NBA First Team, named to the

NBA All-Defensive First Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in tw ...

, and was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Meanwhile, second-year forward Toni Kukoč provided the team with 15.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, while B.J. Armstrong provided with 14.0 points per game and 108 three-point field goals, three-point specialist

Steve Kerr Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the United States men's national ...

contributed 8.2 points per game and shot .524 in three-point field goal percentage off the bench, and Will Perdue averaged 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Harper played a limited role and only contributed 6.9 points per game, and Luc Longley averaged 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game off the bench. Pippen finished in seventh place in

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

voting, while Jordan finished in eleventh place; Pippen also finished in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting. The Bulls defeated the 4th-seeded

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

three games to one in the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA playoffs, but would eventually lose in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals to the Eastern Conference champion

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

in six games. The Magic eventually reached to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

for the first time, but were unable to stop the 6th-seeded, and eventual two-time 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 of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

, as they were swept in four straight hard-fought games. Following the season, Armstrong was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the newly expansion

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

, while Perdue was traded to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, and Pete Myers was released to free agency.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

, - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 1 , November 4 , Charlotte
W 89–83
, Scottie Pippen (22) , Will Perdue (12) , Ron Harper (6) ,

22,313 , 1–0 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , November 5 , Washington
L 100–99 (OT)
, Scottie Pippen (29) , Scottie Pippen (14) , Scottie Pippen (6) ,

22,186 , 1–1 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 3 , November 7 ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

W 98–83
, Toni Kukoč (28) , Scottie Pippen (10) , Scottie Pippen (5) ,

22,122 , 2–1 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , November 9 , @

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

L 110–109
, Scottie Pippen (28) , Will Perdue (9) , Scottie Pippen (6) , Brendan Byrne Arena
20,049 , 2–2 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 5 , November 11 , @

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

W 112–100
, Scottie Pippen (22) , Perdue, Pippen (8) , Kukoč, Pippen (5) , Target Center
15,109 , 3–2 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 6 , November 12 ,

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

L 124–120
, Scottie Pippen (26) , Will Perdue (12) , Scottie Pippen (5) ,

22,195 , 3–3 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 7 , November 16 , @

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

W 94–92
, Ron Harper (27) , Scottie Pippen (7) , Scottie Pippen (9) ,

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...

16,059 , 4–3 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 8 , November 17 , @

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

L 106–83
, Scottie Pippen (15) , Pippen, Wennington (6) , Scottie Pippen (6) , The Summit
16,199 , 4–4 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 9 , November 19 , @

W 111–85
, Scottie Pippen (36) , Scottie Pippen (14) , Toni Kukoč (5) ,

Reunion Arena Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion, Dallas, Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Ass ...

17,502 , 5–4 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 10 , November 22 , @ L.A. Clippers
W 105–93
, Ron Harper (21) , Scottie Pippen (8) , Scottie Pippen (10) , Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
9,080 , 6–4 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 11 , November 23 , @

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

L 113–111
, Scottie Pippen (29) , Foster, Wennington (6) , B.J. Armstrong (5) ,

McNichols Sports Arena McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado, United States. Located adjacent to Mile High Stadium and completed in 1975, at a cost of $16 million, it seated 16,061 for hockey games and 17,171 for basketball games. Sp ...

17,171 , 6–5 , - bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 12 , November 25 , @

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

L 124–94
, Scottie Pippen (15) , Dickey Simpkins (7) , Armstrong, Pippen (4) , Delta Center
19,911 , 6–6 , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , 13 , November 30 , @ Phoenix
W 118–105
, Scottie Pippen (35) , Scottie Pippen (9) , Myers, Pippen (6) , America West Arena
22,414 , 7–6 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 39 , January 22
12 Noon CST ,

W 100–81
, Armstrong (20) , Perdue (11) , Pippen (6) ,

22,647 , 20–19 , - align="center" , colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff", All-Star Break , - style="background:#cfc;" , - bgcolor="#bbffbb"

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , April 28 , @ Charlotte
W 108–100 (OT)
,

(48) ,

(9) , Toni Kukoč (9) , Charlotte Coliseum
23,859 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 30 , @ Charlotte
L 89–106
,

(32) , Scottie Pippen (8) ,

(7) , Charlotte Coliseum
23,859 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , May 2 , Charlotte
W 103–80
,

(25) ,

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, Perdue (6) , Scottie Pippen (9) ,

24,114 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , May 4 , Charlotte
W 85–84
,

, Pippen (24) , Toni Kukoč (11) , Scottie Pippen (6) ,

24,221 , 3–1 , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , May 7 , @ Orlando
L 91–94
,

(19) , Scottie Pippen (10) ,

, Pippen (7) , Orlando Arena
16,010 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , May 10 , @ Orlando
W 104–94
,

(38) , Kukoč, Perdue (8) , Scottie Pippen (5) , Orlando Arena
16,010 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , May 12 , Orlando
L 101–110
,

(40) , Scottie Pippen (12) , Toni Kukoč (7) ,

24,281 , 1–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , May 14 , Orlando
W 106–95
,

(26) ,

, Pippen (7) , Toni Kukoč (9) ,

24,358 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 16 , @ Orlando
L 95–103
,

(39) , Scottie Pippen (11) , Toni Kukoč (6) , Orlando Arena
16,010 , 2–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 6 , May 18 , Orlando
L 102–108
, Scottie Pippen (26) , Scottie Pippen (12) ,

(7) ,

24,322 , 2–4 , -

Player statistics

Regular Season

Playoffs

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards and records

* Scottie Pippen, All-NBA First Team * Scottie Pippen,

NBA All-Star Game

* Scottie Pippen, Forward

Transactions

References

*
Bulls on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:1994-95 Chicago Bulls Season Chicago Bulls seasons Chic

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

1994 in Chicago 1995 in Chicago