1993–94 Chicago Bulls season

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 two threepeats in the 1990s.

1993–94 Chicago Bulls season
Head coachPhil Jackson
OwnersJerry Reinsdorf
ArenaChicago Stadium
Results
Record55–27 (.671)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Central)
Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishEast Conference Semifinals
(Lost to Knicks 3–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWGN-TV
SportsChannel Chicago
RadioWMAQ

In the offseason, the Bulls signed free agents Steve Kerr, Bill Wennington and Pete Myers. This was the first season without star guard Michael Jordan since the 1983–84 season, who retired during the offseason. Instead, the Bulls were 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 across the street 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, Scott Williams signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, and John Paxson retired.

Off-season

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 three months earlier 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
Roster listing
Chicago Bulls roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PG 10 Armstrong, B. J. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Iowa
PF 44 Blount, Corie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Cincinnati
C 24 Cartwright, Bill 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 245 lb (111 kg) San Francisco
SG 3 English, Jo Jo 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) South Carolina
PF 54 Grant, Horace 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Clemson
SG 8 Johnson, Dave 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Syracuse
PG 25 Kerr, Steve 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Arizona
SF 7 Kukoc, Toni 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Croatia
C 13 Longley, Luc 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 265 lb (120 kg) New Mexico
SG 20 Myers, Pete 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Little Rock
PG 5 Paxson, John 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Notre Dame
C 32 Perdue, Will 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Vanderbilt
SF 33 Pippen, Scottie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Central Arkansas
C 34 Wennington, Bill 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) St. John's
PF/C 42 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-Indiana Pacers 4735.5731029–1218–2315–13
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 4735.5731031–1016–2516–12
Charlotte Hornets 4141.5001628–1313–2812–16
Detroit Pistons 2062.2443710–3110–314–24
Milwaukee Bucks 2062.2443711–309–329–19
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Atlanta Hawks5725.695–
2 y-New York Knicks5725.695–
3 x-Chicago Bulls5527.6712
4 x-Orlando Magic5032.6107
5 x-Indiana Pacers4735.57310
6 x-Cleveland Cavaliers4735.57310
7 x-New Jersey Nets4537.54912
8 x-Miami Heat4240.51215
9 Charlotte Hornets4141.50016
10 Boston Celtics3250.39025
11 Philadelphia 76ers2557.30532
12 Washington Bullets2458.29333
13t Milwaukee Bucks2062.24437
13t Detroit Pistons2062.24437

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.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  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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