Worst moment in each NBA franchise’s history
By Brad Rowland
Chicago Bulls – MJ Retires for the first time
We are really stretching to find misery with the Chicago Bulls franchise. After all, this is a group that won six championships in eight years under the leadership of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson, and since then, the Bulls haven’t exactly been a dumpster fire, with the glaring and understated exception of the Tim Floyd years.
As a result, we will go back to the shock and awe of Jordan’s first retirement from the league. At the tender age of 30, “Air Jordan” had led the Bulls to three consecutive titles (in dominant fashion, I might add), and he was easily the most popular and transcendent athlete in the universe. As such, Jordan’s decision to retire from the NBA and to play Minor League baseball was absolutely inconceivable. If it happened today, the entire internet would melt in a matter of moments.
To be fair, the Bulls were pretty good without him, as Pippen ascended to near-MVP levels while carrying Chicago to playoff appearances in both seasons in which Jordan was not fully available. Still, the shock of Jordan walking away in his prime won’t ever be forgotten, and there will always be a raging debate about whether the Bulls could have won eight consecutive championships if MJ had elected to stick around.
Oh, and there is that long-standing rumor about a gambling suspension issued to Jordan from the hand of NBA commissioner David Stern. We won’t talk about that.
Next: Cleveland Cavaliers