1993–94 Chicago Bulls season

1993–94 Chicago Bulls season
Head coach Phil Jackson
Owner(s) Jerry Reinsdorf
Arena Chicago Stadium
Results
Record 55–27 (.671)
Place Division: 2nd (Central)
Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish East Conference Semifinals
(Lost to Knicks 3–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television WGN-TV
SportsChannel Chicago
Radio WMAQ

The 1993–94 NBA season was the Bulls' 28th season in the National Basketball Association.[1] The Bulls entered the season as the three time defending NBA champions, having defeated the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals in six games, winning their third NBA championship, their first of second threepeats in the 1990s. In the offseason, the Bulls signed free agents Steve Kerr, Bill Wennington and Pete Myers. Without star guard Michael Jordan, who retired during the offseason, the Bulls were now led by Scottie Pippen. The team continued to play solid basketball winning ten straight games after an 8–8 start. Midway through the season, they traded Stacey King to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Luc Longley. The Bulls posted another 10-game winning streak between March and April finishing second overall in the Central Division, and third overall in the Eastern Conference with a 55–27 record. However, they would not be able to win a fourth consecutive NBA championship. After sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in three straight games in the first round, they would lose in the second round of the 1994 NBA Playoffs to the New York Knicks in seven games.[2]

This was also the Bulls' last season at Chicago Stadium before moving to the new United Center. Following the season, Horace Grant signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic, Bill Cartwright signed with the Seattle SuperSonics and John Paxson retired.

Offseason

Jordan’s Retirement

On October 6, 1993, Michael Jordan announced his retirement at age 30, citing a loss in his desire to play the game. Jordan later stated that the murder of his father earlier in the year shaped his decision.[3] James R. Jordan, Sr. was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, found in a creek on August 3, murdered by two teenagers, Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery. The assailants were traced from calls they made on James Jordan's cellular phone,[4] caught, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Jordan was close to his father; as a child he had imitated his father's proclivity to stick out his tongue while absorbed in work.

Those close to Jordan claimed that he had been considering retirement as early as the summer of 1992, and that the added exhaustion due to the Dream Team run in the 1992 Olympics solidified Jordan's burned-out feelings about the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. Jordan's announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.[5]

Jordan then further surprised the sports world by signing a minor league baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox. He reported to spring training and was assigned to the team's minor league system on March 31, 1994.[6] Jordan has stated this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who had always envisioned his son as a major league baseball player.[7] The White Sox were another team owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan's basketball contract during the years he played baseball.[8] He had an unspectacular professional baseball career for the Birmingham Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm team, batting .202 with 3 HR, 51 RBI, 30 SB, and 11 errors.[9] He also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League.

NBA Draft

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 25 Corie Blount PF  United States Cincinnati
2 41 Anthony Reed F  United States Tulane

Roster

Chicago Bulls roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PG 10 United States Armstrong, B. J. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Iowa
PF 44 United States Blount, Corie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Cincinnati
C 24 United States Cartwright, Bill 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 245 lb (111 kg) San Francisco
SG 3 Germany English, Jo Jo 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) South Carolina
PF 54 United States Grant, Horace 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Clemson
SG 8 United States Johnson, Dave 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Syracuse
PG 25 United States Kerr, Steve 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Arizona
SF 7 Croatia Kukoc, Toni 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Croatia
C 13 Australia Longley, Luc 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 265 lb (120 kg) New Mexico
SG 20 United States Myers, Pete 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Little Rock
PG 5 United States Paxson, John 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Notre Dame
C 32 United States Perdue, Will 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Vanderbilt
SF 33 United States Pippen, Scottie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Central Arkansas
C 34 Canada Wennington, Bill 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) St. John's
PF 42 United States Williams, Scott 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) North Carolina
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Most experts did not predict the Bulls to even make the playoffs after winning their third straight championship the season before because of Jordan's departure. But the team, led by Scottie Pippen and an increased role from both Horace Grant and B. J. Armstrong were able to lead the Bulls to a 55-win season, only 2 wins less than the 1992-93 team, which had Jordan. The Bulls finished two games behind the Atlanta Hawks in the Central Division and earned the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Pippen and Armstrong were both voted to start in this season's All-Star game, and Grant was also picked as a reserve.

Season standings

Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Atlanta Hawks 5725.695–36–521–2021–7
x-Chicago Bulls 5527.671231–1024–1721–7
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 4735.5731031–1016–2516–12
x-Indiana Pacers 4735.5731029–1218–2315–13
Charlotte Hornets 4141.5001628–1313–2812–16
Detroit Pistons 2062.2443710–3110–314–24
Milwaukee Bucks 2062.2443711–309–329–19

Record vs. opponents

1993-94 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —4–04–12–33–12–01–14–00–21–13–21–11–13–15–02–01–32–23–14–01–11–12–01–11–11–14–0
Boston 0–4—0–42–21–32–01–13–11–11–10–41–11–12–33–11–11–40–42–24–11–11–11–10–20–20–23–2
Charlotte 1–44–0—1–41–41–11–14–00–21–12–21–12–01–33–22–02–23–12–23–12–00–21–10–20–21–12–2
Chicago 3–22–24–1—1–32–01–15–02–01–14–12–01–12–24–02–03–11–32–23–11–10–21–11–11–12–04–0
Cleveland 1–33–14–13–1—2–01–13–22–00–22–32–01–11–33–22–02–20–42–24–00–22–02–00–21–11–13–1
Dallas 0–20–21–10–20–2—1–41–10–41–40–20–40–40–20–25–10–20–20–20–20–41–32–20–50–40–51–1
Denver 1–11–11–11–11–14–1—2–01–33–21–13–13–11–12–04–11–11–11–10–21–31–32–22–42–21–41–1
Detroit 0–41–30–40–52–31–10–2—0–20–21–41–10–22–21–42–01–30–41–31–31–10–21–11–11–10–22–2
Golden State 2–01–12–00–20–24–03–12–0—0–41–14–15–02–02–02–20–21–11–11–12–33–24–12–21–43–12–0
Houston 1–11–11–11–12–04–12–32–04–0—1–14–03–12–01–14–12–02–01–12–02–24–04–02–32–23–31–1
Indiana 2–34–02–21–43–22–01–14–11–11–1—2–00–23–13–12–03–10–42–22–21–11–12–00–21–11–13–1
L.A. Clippers 1–11–11–10–20–24–01–31–11–40–40–2—2–31–11–11–31–10–21–11–10–52–33–21–31–41–31–1
L.A. Lakers 1–11–10–21–11–14–01–32–00–51–32–03–2—1–12–03–10–20–22–01–13–20–51–40–40–52–21–1
Miami 1–33–23–12–23–12–01–12–20–20–21–31–11–1—4–02–02–32–22–34–10–20–21–10–21–11–13–1
Milwaukee 0–51–32–30–42–32–00–24–10–21–11–31–10–20–4—0–21–30–41–31–30–21–11–10–20–20–21–3
Minnesota 0–21–10–20–20–21–51–40–22–21–40–23–11–30–22–0—1–10–21–12–00–40–42–21–40–41–40–2
New Jersey 3–14–12–21–32–22–01–13–12–00–21–31–12–03–23–11–1—4–10–53–10–20–21–11–11–11–13–1
New York 2–24–01–33–14–02–01–14–01–10–24–02–02–02–24–02–01–4—3–23–21–12–02–01–11–10–25–0
Orlando 1–32–22–22–22–22–01–13–11–11–12–21–10–23–23–11–15–02–3—4–01–12–02–00–21–12–04–1
Philadelphia 0–41–41–31–30–42–02–03–11–10–22–21–11–11–43–10–21–32–30–4—0–20–20–20–20–21–12–3
Phoenix 1–11–10–21–12–04–03–11–13–22–21–15–02–32–02–04–02–01–11–12–0—3–24–13–12–32–22–0
Portland 1–11–12–02–00–23–13–12–02–30–41–13–25–02–01–14–02–00–20–22–02–3—4–11–31–41–32–0
Sacramento 0–21–11–11–10–22–22–21–11–40–40–22–34–11–11–12–21–10–20–22–01–41–4—1–30–51–32–0
San Antonio 1–12–02–01–12–05–04–21–12–23–22–03–14–02–02–04–11–11–12–02–01–33–13–1—0–40–52–0
Seattle 1–12–02–01–11–14–02–21–14–12–21–14–15–01–12–04–01–11–11–12–03–24–15–04–0—3–12–0
Utah 1–12–01–10–21–15–04–12–01–33–31–13–12–21–12–04–11–12–00–21–12–23–13–15–01–3—2–0
Washington 0–42–32–20–41–31–11–12–20–21–11–31–11–11–33–12–01–30–51–43–20–20–20–20–20–20–2—

Player starters and stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
C - Bill Cartwright4215257882355.6
PF - Horace Grant707692367484105715.1
SF - Scottie Pippen7262940321158158722.0
SG - Pete Myers8218124578206507.9
PG - BJ Armstrong82170323809121214.8

Playoffs

East First Round

(3) Chicago Bulls vs. (6) Cleveland Cavaliers: Bulls win series 3-0

  • Game 1 @ Chicago Stadium, Chicago (April 29): Chicago 104, Cleveland 96
  • Game 2 @ Chicago Stadium, Chicago (May 1): Chicago 105, Cleveland 96
  • Game 3 @ The Coliseum, Richfield (May 3): Chicago 95, Cleveland 92 (OT)

Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Chicago won 4-0)

East Conference Semifinals

(2) New York Knicks vs. (3) Chicago Bulls: Knicks win series 4-3

Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Eastern Conference Finals (Chicago won 4-2)

Awards and records

NBA All-Star Game

  • Scottie Pippen
  • B.J. Armstrong
  • Horace Grant

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-14. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
  2. ↑ "PRO BASKETBALL; Knicks March On After Bulls Fall Down and Break Their Crown". New York Times. May 23, 1994. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  3. ↑ Berkow, Ira. "A Humbled Jordan Learns New Truths", The New York Times, April 11, 1994, accessed January 16, 2007.
  4. ↑ Mitchell, Alison. THE NATION; "So Many Criminals Trip Themselves Up", The New York Times, August 22, 1993, accessed March 23, 2008.
  5. ↑ Thompson, Ian and Ted Rodgers. Europe loses a role model; even in countries where basketball is a minor pursuit, Jordan's profile looms large - includes related article on Jordan's stature in Japan, The Sporting News, October 18, 1983, available at findarticles.com, accessed March 7, 2007.
  6. ↑ Michael Jordan Chronology, sportsillustrated.cnn.com, January 12, 1999, accessed March 15, 2007.
  7. ↑ Michael Jordan A Tribute, sportillustrated.cnn.com, accessed March 7, 2007
  8. ↑ Araton, Harvey. BASKETBALL; "Jordan Keeping the Basketball World in Suspense", The New York Times, accessed March 23, 2008
  9. ↑ Michael Jordan: The Stats, infoplease.com, accessed March 15, 2007.
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