1996 NBA Finals

Chicago Bulls

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

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

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):

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

Game 1

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

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

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

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

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."^[2] 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. 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.