1996 NBA Finals

1996 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Chicago Bulls Phil Jackson 4 Seattle SuperSonics George Karl 2
Dates	June 5–16
MVP	Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Television	NBC (U.S.)
Announcers	Marv Albert, Matt Guokas and Bill Walton
Radio network	ESPN
Announcers	Brent Musburger and Jack Ramsay
Referees
Game 1: Danny Crawford, Joey Crawford, Bennett Salvatore Game 2: Hue Hollins, Jess Kersey, Ed T. Rush Game 3: Dick Bavetta, Hugh Evans, Steve Javie Game 4: Joey Crawford, Mike Mathis, Bill Oakes Game 5: Hue Hollins, Jess Kersey, Ed T. Rush Game 6: Dick Bavetta, Hugh Evans, Steve Javie
Hall of Famers	Bulls: Michael Jordan (2009) Scottie Pippen (2010) Dennis Rodman (2011) SuperSonics: Gary Payton (2013) Coaches: Phil Jackson (2007) Tex Winter (2011) Officials: Dick Bavetta (2015)
Eastern Finals	Bulls defeat Magic, 4–0
Western Finals	SuperSonics defeat Jazz, 4–3
< 1995 NBA Finals 1997 >

The 1996 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1995–96 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics (64–18) played the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls (72–10), with the Bulls holding home court advantage. The teams' 136 combined regular season wins shattered the previous record of 125, set in 1985. The series was played under a best-of-seven format.

Chicago won the series 4 games to 2. Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP.

NBC Sports used Ahmad Rashād (Bulls sideline) and Hannah Storm (SuperSonics sideline).

Hal Douglas narrated the season-ending documentary Unstoppabulls for NBA Entertainment.

This was the 50th NBA Finals played.

Contents

• 
  1 Background
  
  • 
    1.1 Chicago Bulls
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 Seattle SuperSonics
    
  
  
  • 
    1.3 Road to the Finals
    
  
  
  • 
    1.4 Regular season series
    
  
  


• 
  2 1996 NBA Finals rosters
  
  • 
    2.1 Chicago Bulls
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 Seattle SuperSonics
    
  
  


• 
  3 Series summary
  
  • 
    3.1 Game 1
    
  
  
  • 
    3.2 Game 2
    
  
  
  • 
    3.3 Game 3
    
  
  
  • 
    3.4 Game 4
    
  
  
  • 
    3.5 Game 5
    
  
  
  • 
    3.6 Game 6
    
  
  


• 
  4 Player statistics
  


• 
  5 Aftermath
  


• 
  6 See also
  


• 
  7 Notes and references
  


• 
  8 External links
  

Background

Chicago Bulls

Main article: 1995–96 Chicago Bulls season

The Bulls were coming off a season in which Michael Jordan returned from an 18-month retirement, only to lose 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 1993, having lost key members of their first three-peat core in John Paxson 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, a nine-year veteran who had been a rebounding champion for four straight years, and whose controversial lifestyle has been well-documented.

The end result of this ensemble was perhaps the greatest regular season of any team in NBA history at the time, as the Bulls won a then-record 72 games. They continued to gain momentum in the playoffs, beginning with a sweep of the Miami Heat 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

Main article: 1995–96 Seattle SuperSonics season

The SuperSonics were led by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, with George Karl 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, 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. 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, followed by a sweep of the defending champion Houston Rockets. They then beat the Utah Jazz in seven games in the western finals to advance to its first NBA championship round since 1979.

Road to the Finals

Main article: 1996 NBA Playoffs

Seattle SuperSonics (Western Conference champion)		Chicago Bulls (Eastern Conference champion)
Western Conference v t e # Team W L PCT GB GP 1 c-Seattle SuperSonics * 64 18 .780 – 82 2 y-San Antonio Spurs * 59 23 .720 5 82 3 x-Utah Jazz 55 27 .671 9 82 4 x-Los Angeles Lakers 53 29 .646 11 82 5 x-Houston Rockets 48 34 .585 16 82 6 x-Portland Trail Blazers 44 38 .537 20 82 7 x-Phoenix Suns 41 41 .500 23 82 8 x-Sacramento Kings 39 43 .476 25 82 9 Golden State Warriors 36 46 .439 28 82 10 Denver Nuggets 35 47 .427 29 82 11 Los Angeles Clippers 29 53 .354 35 82 12 Dallas Mavericks 26 56 .317 38 82 13 Minnesota Timberwolves 26 56 .317 38 82 14 Vancouver Grizzlies 15 67 .183 49 82 1st seed in the West, 2nd best league record	Regular season		Eastern Conference # Team W L PCT GB GP 1 z-Chicago Bulls * 72 10 .878 – 82 2 y-Orlando Magic * 60 22 .732 12.0 82 3 x-Indiana Pacers 52 30 .634 20.0 82 4 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 51 31 .622 21.0 82 5 x-New York Knicks 47 35 .573 25.0 82 6 x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561 26.0 82 7 x-Detroit Pistons 46 36 .561 26.0 82 8 x-Miami Heat 42 40 .512 30.0 82 9 Charlotte Hornets 41 41 .500 31.0 82 10 Washington Bullets 39 43 .476 33.0 82 11 Boston Celtics 33 49 .402 39.0 82 12 New Jersey Nets 30 52 .366 42.0 82 13 Milwaukee Bucks 25 57 .305 47.0 82 14 Toronto Raptors 21 61 .256 51.0 82 15 Philadelphia 76ers 18 64 .220 54.0 82 1st seed in the East, best league record
Defeated the (8) Sacramento Kings, 3–1	First Round		Defeated the (8) Miami Heat, 3–0
Defeated the (5) Houston Rockets, 4–0	Conference Semifinals		Defeated the (5) New York Knicks, 4–1
Defeated the (3) Utah Jazz, 4–3	Conference Finals		Defeated the (2) Orlando Magic, 4–0

Regular season series

Both teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team (Which was one of the ten Bulls losses of the season):

November 26, 1995

Chicago Bulls 92, Seattle SuperSonics 97

KeyArena, Seattle, Washington

January 10, 1996

Seattle SuperSonics 87, Chicago Bulls 113

United Center, Chicago, Illinois

1996 NBA Finals rosters

Chicago Bulls

1996 Chicago Bulls Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. DOB G 5000000000000000000♠0 Brown, Randy 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1968–05–22 New Mexico State G/F 7001300000000000000♠30 Buechler, Jud 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–06–19 Arizona F 7001350000000000000♠35 Caffey, Jason 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1973–06–12 Alabama C 7001530000000000000♠53 Edwards, James 7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1955–11–22 Washington F 7001540000000000000♠54 Haley, Jack 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1964–01–27 UCLA G 7000900000000000000♠9 Harper, Ron 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1964–01–20 Miami (OH) G 7001230000000000000♠23 Jordan, Michael (C) 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1963–02–17 North Carolina G 7001250000000000000♠25 Kerr, Steve 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1965–09–27 Arizona G/F 7000700000000000000♠7 Kukoc, Toni 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–09–18 Croatia C 7001130000000000000♠13 Longley, Luc 7000218440000000000♠7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1969–01–19 New Mexico G/F 7001330000000000000♠33 Pippen, Scottie (C) 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1965–09–25 Central Arkansas F 7001910000000000000♠91 Rodman, Dennis 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1961–05–13 SE Oklahoma State F 7001220000000000000♠22 Salley, John 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1964–05–16 Georgia Tech F 7000800000000000000♠8 Simpkins, Dickey 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 1972–04–06 Providence C 7001340000000000000♠34 Wennington, Bill 7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1963–04–26 St. John's	Head coach Phil Jackson (North Dakota) Assistant coach(es) Jim Cleamons (Ohio State) Jim Rodgers (Iowa) John Paxson (Notre Dame) Tex Winter (Southern California) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Seattle SuperSonics

1996 Seattle SuperSonics Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. DOB From G/F 7000200000000000000♠2 Askew, Vincent 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966–02–28 Memphis F/C 7001340000000000000♠34 Brickowski, Frank 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1959–08–14 Penn State F 7000100000000000000♠1 Ford, Sherell 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1972–08–26 Illinois G 7001330000000000000♠33 Hawkins, Hersey 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–09–29 Bradley C 7001500000000000000♠50 Johnson, Ervin 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1967–12–21 New Orleans F/C 7001400000000000000♠40 Kemp, Shawn 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–11–26 Trinity Valley CC G/F 7001100000000000000♠10 McMillan, Nate 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1964–08–03 North Carolina State G 7001200000000000000♠20 Payton, Gary 7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–07–23 Oregon State F/C 7001140000000000000♠14 Perkins, Sam 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1961–06–14 North Carolina F/C 7001550000000000000♠55 Scheffler, Steve 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1967–09–03 Purdue F/C 7001110000000000000♠11 Schrempf, Detlef 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1963–01–21 Washington G 7000300000000000000♠3 Snow, Eric 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1973–04–04 Michigan State G/F 7001250000000000000♠25 Wingate, David 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–12–15 Georgetown	Head coach George Karl (North Carolina) Assistant coach(es) Dwane Casey (Kentucky) Tim Grgurich (Pittsburgh) Terry Stotts (Oklahoma) Bob Weiss (Penn State) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Series summary

Game	Date	Home Team	Result	Road Team
Game 1	Wednesday, June 5	Chicago Bulls	107–90 (1–0)	Seattle SuperSonics
Game 2	Friday, June 7	Chicago Bulls	92–88 (2–0)	Seattle SuperSonics
Game 3	Sunday, June 9	Seattle SuperSonics	86–108 (0–3)	Chicago Bulls
Game 4	Wednesday, June 12	Seattle SuperSonics	107–86 (1–3)	Chicago Bulls
Game 5	Friday, June 14	Seattle SuperSonics	89–78 (2–3)	Chicago Bulls
Game 6	Sunday, June 16	Chicago Bulls	87–75 (4–2)	Seattle SuperSonics

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).

Game 1

NBC

June 5 9:00 et

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 1996)

Seattle SuperSonics 90, Chicago Bulls 107
Scoring by quarter: 18–24, 30–29, 29–26, 13–28
Pts: Shawn Kemp 32 Rebs: Gary Payton 10 Asts: Gary Payton 6		Pts: Michael Jordan 28 Rebs: Dennis Rodman 13 Asts: Ron Harper 7
Chicago leads the series, 1–0

United Center, Chicago, Illinois Attendance: 24,544 Referees: No. 43 Danny Crawford No. 17 Joey Crawford No. 15 Bennett Salvatore

Although Chicago was not playing well offensively, they were able to compensate with superb defense. Chicago was leading only by 2 at the end of the third quarter, however in the final quarter shots by Toni Kukoč and 2 key steals by Ron Harper clinched the Bulls a win.

Game 2

NBC

June 7 9:00 et

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 1996)

Seattle SuperSonics 88, Chicago Bulls 92
Scoring by quarter: 27–23, 18–23, 20–30, 23–16
Pts: Shawn Kemp 29 Rebs: Shawn Kemp 13 Asts: Payton, Schrempf 3 each		Pts: Michael Jordan 29 Rebs: Dennis Rodman 20 Asts: Michael Jordan 8
Chicago leads the series, 2–0

United Center, Chicago, Illinois Attendance: 24,544 Referees: No. 42 Hue Hollins No. 20 Jess Kersey No. 4 Ed T. Rush

Game two 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.

Game 3

NBC

June 9 7:30 et

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 1996)

Chicago Bulls 108, Seattle SuperSonics 86
Scoring by quarter: 34–16, 28–22, 13–23, 33–25
Pts: Michael Jordan 36 Rebs: Dennis Rodman 10 Asts: Scottie Pippen 9		Pts: Detlef Schrempf 20 Rebs: Brickowski, Payton 7 each Asts: Gary Payton 9
Chicago leads the series, 3–0

KeyArena, Seattle, Washington Attendance: 17,072 Referees: No. 27 Dick Bavetta No. 25 Hugh Evans No. 29 Steve Javie

The Sonics suffered a 22-point blow-out on their return to Seattle, giving the Chicago Bulls a seemingly insurmountable 3–0 series lead.

Game 4

NBC

June 12 9:00 et

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 1996)

Chicago Bulls 86, Seattle SuperSonics 107
Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 11–28, 31–31, 23–23
Pts: Michael Jordan 23 Rebs: Dennis Rodman 14 Asts: Scottie Pippen 8		Pts: Shawn Kemp 25 Rebs: Shawn Kemp 11 Asts: Gary Payton 11
Chicago leads the series, 3–1

KeyArena, Seattle, Washington Attendance: 17,072 Referees: No. 17 Joey Crawford No. 13 Mike Mathis No. 21 Bill Oakes

Seattle did not want to suffer the ignominy of a sweep. Going into this game, the SuperSonics were looking to rebound from the deficit. They succeeded with a 107–86 win over the Bulls. The series would now go to five games. The Sonics were helped by the return of team captain Nate McMillan whose presence entering the game brought the KeyArena crowd to its feet.

Game 5

NBC

June 14 9:00 et

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 1996)

Chicago Bulls 78, Seattle SuperSonics 89
Scoring by quarter: 18–18, 24–25, 18–19, 18–27
Pts: Michael Jordan 26 Rebs: Dennis Rodman 12 Asts: Scottie Pippen 5		Pts: Gary Payton 23 Rebs: Shawn Kemp 10 Asts: Gary Payton 6
Chicago leads the series, 3–2

KeyArena, Seattle, Washington Attendance: 17,072 Referees: No. 42 Hue Hollins No. 20 Jess Kersey No. 4 Ed T. Rush

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."^[1] Shawn Kemp's performance in this game was considered by many to be his best in a Seattle uniform.

Game 6

NBC

June 16 7:30 pm

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 1996)

Seattle SuperSonics 75, Chicago Bulls 87
Scoring by quarter: 18–24, 20–21, 20–22, 17–20
Pts: Detlef Schrempf 23 Rebs: Shawn Kemp 14 Asts: Gary Payton 7		Pts: Michael Jordan 22 Rebs: Dennis Rodman 19 Asts: Michael Jordan 7
Chicago wins the series, 4–2

United Center, Chicago, Illinois Attendance: 24,544 Referees: No. 27 Dick Bavetta No. 25 Hugh Evans No. 29 Steve Javie

Chicago won the series 4 games to 2 on Father's Day. The victory was partly due to the stellar performance of the Bulls power forward Dennis Rodman, who repeated his Game 2 performance of 11 offensive rebounds, tying his own NBA Finals record.

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Chicago Bulls

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Randy Brown	6	0	8.2	.500	.500	.500	0.3	0.9	0.7	0.0	2.8
Jud Buechler	6	0	5.6	.222	.000	.000	0.0	0.2	0.7	0.0	0.7
Ron Harper	6	4	19.3	.375	.308	.917	2.3	1.7	0.7	0.3	6.5
Michael Jordan	6	6	42.0	.415	.316	.836	5.3	4.2	1.7	0.2	27.3
Steve Kerr	6	0	18.8	.303	.182	.857	0.9	0.8	0.2	0.0	5.0
Toni Kukoč	6	2	29.5	.423	.313	.800	4.8	3.5	0.8	0.3	13.0
Luc Longley	6	6	28.3	.574	.000	.727	3.8	2.2	0.6	1.8	11.7
Scottie Pippen	6	6	41.3	.343	.231	.708	8.2	5.3	2.3	1.3	15.7
Dennis Rodman	7	6	37.5	.486	.000	.579	14.7	2.5	0.8	0.2	7.5
John Salley	5	0	3.0	.000	.000	.000	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.0
Bill Wennington	6	0	7.0	.667	.000	.500	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.0	2.9

Seattle SuperSonics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Vincent Askew	4	0	15.5	.222	.200	1.000	2.5	0.5	0.5	0.0	1.8
Frank Brickowski	6	3	11.3	.222	.200	.000	2.0	0.5	0.2	0.2	0.8
Hersey Hawkins	6	6	38.3	.455	.273	.923	3.5	1.0	1.2	0.2	13.3
Ervin Johnson	3	3	6.7	.333	.000	.000	2.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	1.3
Shawn Kemp	6	6	40.3	.551	.000	.857	10.0	2.2	1.3	2.0	23.3
Nate McMillan	4	0	12.8	.429	.600	1.000	2.8	1.5	0.5	0.0	2.8
Gary Payton	6	6	45.7	.444	.333	.731	6.3	7.0	1.5	0.0	18.0
Sam Perkins	6	0	31.7	.377	.235	.810	4.7	2.0	0.5	0.0	11.2
Steve Scheffler	4	0	2.0	.000	.000	.000	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Detlef Schrempf	6	6	39.7	.443	.389	.875	5.0	2.5	0.5	0.2	16.3
Eric Snow	6	0	1.5	.000	.000	.000	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0
David Wingate	6	0	8.0	.500	.500	1.000	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.5

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 and 1998, but fell to the second round of the playoffs each time. The series was George Karl's only Finals appearance in his coaching career to date. In 2008, the Sonics franchise moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. They would make the finals four years later after the move.

This was also the last time a Seattle-based team played for a major professional sports championship until Super Bowl XL in 2006, when the Seattle Seahawks lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Seahawks would go on to handily defeat Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014 and lose to the New England Patriots the following year in Super Bowl XLIX. In terms of overall sports leagues, the city would later enjoy three championships when the WNBA's Seattle Storm, a one-time SuperSonics sister team, won both the 2004 and 2010 WNBA Finals.

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 Utah Jazz in six games of the 1997 NBA Finals. 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 at the Atlanta Olympics.^[2] The Bulls would also defeat the Utah Jazz 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, failing to repeat as champions after beating the same Cavaliers in the previous Finals. The Warriors (with the addition of Kevin Durant, who had played for the Sonics in their final season in Seattle and for the Thunder until he became a free agent in 2016) and Cavaliers met for the third consecutive time in the 2017 NBA Finals, which the Warriors won in five games.

See also

• 1996 NBA Playoffs

Notes and references

1. 
   ^ http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19951996.html
   


2. 
   ^ Smith, Sam (August 4, 1996). "DREAM TEAM'S SLEEPWALK ENDS WITH GOLD MEDAL". Chicago Tribune. p. 1. 
   

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

External links

• 
  "Official website of the 1996 NBA Finals". Archived from the original on 1996-10-27. Retrieved 2011-06-13. CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  


• NBA.com's History of 1996 NBA Finals

v t e NBA Finals
*_O'Brien_Trophy *_Most_Valuable_Player_Award *_Brown_Trophy *_Championship_ring *_Broadcasters *_Game_sevens *_Droughts *_Streaks *_TV_ratings"> Champions O'Brien Trophy Most Valuable Player Award Brown Trophy Championship ring Broadcasters Game sevens Droughts Streaks TV ratings
1940s	1947 1948 1949
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
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1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

v t e Chicago Bulls 1995–96 NBA champions
0 Brown 7 Kukoč 9 Harper 13 Longley 22 Salley 23 Jordan (Finals MVP) 25 Kerr 30 Buechler 33 Pippen 34 Wennington 53 Edwards 91 Rodman
Head coach: Jackson
Assistant coaches: Winter Rodgers Cleamons Paxson
Regular season Playoffs

v t e Chicago Bulls
*_Based_in_Chicago,_Illinois"> Founded in 1966 Based in Chicago, Illinois
Franchise	Franchise Expansion Draft All-time roster Draft history Seasons Records Broadcasters Head coaches Current season
Arenas	International Amphitheatre Chicago Stadium United Center
Personnel	Owner: Jerry Reinsdorf Vice president of basketball operations: John Paxson General manager: Gar Forman Head coach: Fred Hoiberg
Culture	Air Jordan Jumpman Tommy Edwards Benny the Bull "Sirius" Ray Clay Jordan Rules Triangle offense Ashland Green/Pink Line Station Tex Winter The Spirit (Michael Jordan statue)
Lore	Phantom Buzzer Game The Shot Championship riots Trent Tucker Rule Disputed foul against Scottie Pippen 72–10 Michael Jordan's last shot
Rivals	Cleveland Cavaliers Detroit Pistons Miami Heat New York Knicks
Retired numbers	4 10 23 33 Coach General Manager
G League affiliate	Windy City Bulls
NBA Championships (6)	1991 1992 1993 1996 1997 1998
Eastern Conference Championships (6)	1991 1992 1993 1996 1997 1998
Division titles (9)	1975 1991 1992 1993 1996 1997 1998 2011 2012
Hall of Famers	George Gervin Artis Gilmore Phil Jackson Michael Jordan Robert Parish Scottie Pippen Jerry Reinsdorf Guy Rodgers Dennis Rodman Jerry Sloan Rod Thorn Nate Thurmond Chet Walker Tex Winter
Media	TV WGN (through WGN Sports) NBC Sports Chicago CN100 Radio WSCR Announcers Neil Funk Stacey King Chuck Swirsky Bill Wennington

v t e Oklahoma City Thunder
*_Formerly_the_Seattle_SuperSonics_(1967–2008) *_Based_in_Oklahoma_City,_Oklahoma"> Founded in 1967 Formerly the Seattle SuperSonics (1967–2008) Based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Franchise	History 1967 Expansion Draft All-time rosters SuperSonics Thunder Draft history Franchise achievements Seasons Head coaches Current season
Arenas	KeyArena at Seattle Center Kingdome Tacoma Dome Chesapeake Energy Arena
General Managers	Richman Vertlieb Houbregs Russell Volchok Habegger Wilkens Whitsitt Walker Sund Presti
G League affiliate	Oklahoma City Blue
Administration	Owner Professional Basketball Club (Clay Bennett, Chairman) Executive Vice President & General Manager Sam Presti Head coach Billy Donovan
Retired numbers	1 10 19 24 32 43 MIC
NBA Championships (1)	1979
Western Conference Championships (4)	1978 1979 1996 2012
Culture and lore	Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City Howard Schultz Wheedle Squatch Rumble the Bison "Supersonics" Sonicsgate Thunderstruck "Thunder Up" "Can't Hold Us"
Media	TV Fox Sports Oklahoma Radio The Sports Animal (98.1 FM) 640 ESPN Radio Announcers Brian Davis Michael Cage Matt Pinto

v t e 1995–96 NBA season by team
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Commentators	All-Star Game NBA Finals WNBA Finals
Key figures	Marv Albert Mike Breen Bob Costas Don Criqui Jerry Doggett Dick Enberg Marty Glickman Jim Gordon Curt Gowdy Greg Gumbel Tom Hammond Dan Hicks Jim Lampley Joel Meyers Bob Neal Lindsey Nelson Bill O'Donnell Bud Palmer Paul Sunderland Bob Wolff Color commentators Quinn Buckner P. J. Carlesimo Doug Collins Chuck Daly Mike Dunleavy Sr. Cotton Fitzsimmons Mike Fratello Matt Guokas Dan Issel Steve Jones Magic Johnson Joe Lapchick Ron Rothstein Isiah Thomas Bill Walton Sideline reporters Jim Gray Lewis Johnson Andrea Joyce Lisa Malosky Ahmad Rashād Hannah Storm Studio analysts Pat Croce Julius Erving Kevin Johnson Pat Riley John Salley Tom Tolbert Peter Vecsey Jayson Williams
NBA Finals	1955 (Games 2, 6) 1956 (Game 1) 1957 (Games 1, 7) 1958 (Game 1) 1959 (Games 1-2) 1960 (Games 1, 3-4, 7) 1961 (Games 1, 3-4) 1962 (Games 1-2) 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 WNBA Finals 1997 (Game 1) 1998 (Games 1-2) 1999 (Games 2-3) 2000 (Game 2) 2001 (Game 2) 2002 (Game 2)
All-Star Game	1959 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002
Music	"All Fired Up" "An American Symphony" "Cliffhanger Theme" "Crockett's Theme" "Desert Ride" "Fly Away" (1999 NBA Finals) "Gettysburg" (main theme) "How's It Going to Be" "I Believe I Can Fly" (1997 NBA Finals) "Return to Innocence" "Roundball Rock" "The Dream Is Still Alive (1991 NBA Finals) "These Are Days" "Titan Spirit" "To the Flemish Cap" "Unbelievable" "Winning It All" (1992-1996)
Lore	Christmas Day O.J. Simpson's low-speed freeway chase The Clock Incident Clutch City Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals Memorial Day Miracle Rivalries Bulls–Knicks Jazz–Rockets
Website: NBA - NBC Sports

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