Phil Jackson

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Iconic moments, unforgettable memories, and untold stories: watch as some of
    your favorite Bulls and staff members during the 90s share stories behind the Chicago Bulls’ Championship years.

HAVING A BUD WITH STACEY KING AND HORACE GRANT

Which Bulls championship was your favorite? We sat down Stacey King and Horace Grant together to share some stories from
the 90s era, presented by Budweiser

Watch as Toni Kukoc and Bill Wennington share stories from what it was like playing during the 90s Chicago Bulls
dynasty, presented by Budweiser USA.

Bulls photographer Bill Smith shares some behind-the-scenes stories behind his
    photos from 1991 and 1992.

Bulls photographer Bill Smith shares some behind-the-scenes stories behind his
    photos from 1996.

Bulls photographer Bill Smith shares some behind-the-scenes stories behind his
    photos from 1998.

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Inside Stories of The 90's Bulls

chidmoriarty

Episode 7 of "The Last Dance" documentary spent a few minutes detailing Scottie Pippen's refusal to play the final 1.8 seconds of a playoff game against the Knicks. While that moment could've broken the team, Sam Smith details why part of Pippen's brilliance was succeeding while being in the storm.

Chicago sports owns some of the most famous numbers in sports history. There's obviously 23, which has been celebrated again with "The Last Dance" documentary Sunday on ESPN. There's 34 for Walter Payton, 14 for Ernie Banks, 51 for Dick Butkus. And, of course, 1.8.

But that polarizing and unthinkable Faustian moment when it seemed that Pippen had sold the soul of the team also represented the soul of Scottie Pippen, and what actually enabled him to become perhaps the most unexpected great player in NBA history.

Look, this guy was the clubhouse attendant as a college freshman, hanging on through a work/study program to a nowhere school walk-on athletic scholarship. It did appear Pippen was going to be an early one-and-done. You know, one year of college and done and on the way to the factory.

It couldn't have been more Pippen Sunday in the documentary to say of the infamous 1.8 moment, "It was one of those incidents where I wish it never happened…"

Now wait for the sine qua non that is so Scottie Pippen…

"But if I had a chance to do it over again I probably wouldn't change it."

As unexpected as the laconic Pippen's snake-like reach on defense and gliding balletic offensive strides toward the basket are, so are his responses to adversity and accusation. But it's also perhaps the most vital armor Pippen has, the callous that serves as his shield against the barbs and bites of life.

It perhaps emerges from that impoverished rural life in Arkansas, the youngest of 12 in a two-room house, a father and a brother handicapped and in wheelchairs. Still, Pippen's trait is unique, in some respects like Michael Jordan who became his only family member taller than six feet. There was something special and unusual with Scottie Pippen, a peculiarity that perhaps isn't politically correct. Obstinate, unyielding, sure. They generally aren't the attributes scouts look for. Yet, it's probably as much as any which enabled Pippen to emerge as the second that helped make all those championships possible. And for Michael Jordan to reach the destiny that at least he expected for himself.

Scottie Pippen simply refused to be who everyone expected him to be. For better or worse. And it didn't much matter to him what anyone said or thought about that.

It's also a unique skill to exceed despite that.

One of my favorite stories about Pippen was one few would recall, just another night in a long season before the Bulls were winning championships. The team was in Boston and Pippen, as has often been explained in the documentary, was predictably unhappy with general manager Jerry Krause about his contract. Pippen was forever lagging behind in salary because he always insisted on the security of long term contracts. Which in the vast escalation of salaries in the 1990s become outdated quickly.

Pippen, as Steve Kerr eloquently described in the documentary, was something of the antidote to Jordan's passion and wrath. At least during Kerr's Bulls tenure. By then, Pippen, buttressed by his Dream Team success and MVP-caliber 1993-94 season, had settled into his Robin-to-Batman role of facilitator to Jordan's finisher.

Pippen was the one during the second threepeat who always knew who was on the court a long stretch without a shot. He'd tell that player to relax, that he'd get him a shot. He often was the calm in Jordan's storm. Yes, that Scottie Pippen.

Doug Collins relied excessively on Jordan at a time when the roster was weak and in transition. But Collins also fought in vain to get the ball out of Jordan's hands to start possessions. He wanted Jordan to go downcourt to lure the defense. But Jordan was so distrusting of the other players, he insisted on carrying the ball and doing it all himself. The teamwork breakthrough for Jordan wasn't just the triangle offense, but the trust in Pippen to start and run the offense.

The athletic Bulls were taking flight then, better than the aging Celtics, who still had Larry Bird and Kevin McHale. And it was yet another night of Scottie feeling unappreciated and maintaining his petulance. So to some innocuous question, Pippen launched his frustration at Krause and the Bulls. It was another of those endless diatribes of volatile charges and accusations. Not quite to the 1997 level of the refusal to wear a Bulls jersey again, but newspaper headline stuff.

So the team is back in Chicago the next morning and Pippen is wondering what's going on as he enters the north suburban Berto Center practice facility. There are a half dozen TV trucks and media swarming around waiting for the court to open for interviews. Pippen sees coach Phil Jackson while in his casual amble toward the locker room. Pippen's thinking Jordan must have done something again.

"Phil," Pippen asks, "what's everyone doing here? What's going on."

Jackson smiles his smirk. "Scottie," he says, "They're here for you." 

"Because of what you said last night," Jackson explains.

Not that Pippen was suffering early Alzheimer's. But Pippen has the most unusual ability to compartmentalize unacceptable trespass and transgression without letting it affect his abilities.

Pippen, as Phil Jackson acknowledged in his play calling, wasn't the best shooter, scorer or finisher. Though Pippen did work himself up to the fifth pick in the 1987 draft, his overall basketball skills didn't impress that many.

Scottie Pippen's legendary slam over Patrick Ewing in the 1994 playoffs.

After sitting out that last 1.8, bringing teammate Bill Cartwright to tears over his sit down strike, giving the impression of quitting on his team and it becoming a national uproar and debate, Pippen goes out the next day in Game 4 and carries the Bulls to victory. Pippen goes for 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals. In the Bulls 95-83 victory, Pippen was the only player on either team to score at least 20 points and the only one other than Horace Grant on the Bulls to score more than 10. Before an ambivalent home crowd that included many shouting he was a quitter, Pippen carried the Bulls back into the series that would eventually go seven games and include Pippen's Game 6 dunk stepping over Patrick Ewing.

That's also toughness. OK, maybe some pigheaded in there.

Pippen's kind of behavior should have snapped the bands of collectiveness of a team. Instead, it was an unusual quality of being able to look beyond and even ignore the distraction that symbolized those Bulls as much as Jordan's special abilities.

It wasn't just Pippen's ideal fit as the cog that meshed with Jordan's special wheel of athletic brilliance. But also Pippen's ability to not only ignore the whirling funnel clouds media mayhem around him, but to perform at a high level despite being in the eye of the storm. Jordan's white hot talent that lit the fires around the Bulls seemed also to be cooled by Pippen's somewhat oblivious calm in the storm.

To the outside world it was a tornado that disrupted the sport sphere. To them, it was just the temperature.

That's how you survive getting a concussion in the opening minute of Game 6 of the 1989 conference finals and then the migraine headache in Game 7 of the 1990 conference finals that you could see from the documentary even Jordan still wondered about.

And then to come back in the clinching game Game 4 in 1991 even after Dennis Rodman's vicious attack and play a game high in minutes and record 23 points, 10 assists and three steals with a game high 12 free throw attempts. It was Pippen absorbing the blows. Literal this time, as well.

Which is hardly to suggest that Pippen didn't behave in a questionable manner often.

That postponement of surgery in 1997 so he could miss the first half of that season was discouraging. Not that Pippen ever offered any contrition. And yet there he was in the Finals against the Jazz with 28 points and nine rebounds in Game 4 to help the Bulls to the basically insurmountable 3-1 lead. He played at least 45 minutes in both Games 4 and 5—averaging 42.4 minutes in the first five games—before his back gave out and Jordan carried the Bulls down the stretch in the Game 6 clincher.

The Last Dance is the Michael Jordan story. It's also the Phil Jackson story in the remarkable way the erudite coach was able to manage and motivate this remarkable group of athletes and individuals through one of the most successful sports decades in history. And the Scottie Pippen story of how one man's idiosyncratic inflexibility proved to be ballast not just for the Bulls sometimes listing ship, but his own unusual career. Like a snap of the fingers. Which takes about 1.8 seconds.

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The Last Dance takeaway: Scottie Pippen thrived in the storm

Take a trip down memory lane with Bulls photographer Bill Smith as he recalls capturing some of the best photographic moments in Bulls History

Bulls photographer Bill Smith shares some behind-the-scenes stories behind his photos from 1998.

Bulls photographer Bill Smith shares some behind-the-scenes stories behind his photos from 1996.

Bulls photographer Bill Smith shares some behind-the-scenes stories behind his photos from 1991 and 1992.

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Through the Lens with Bill Smith

Sam Smith

Sam Smith reflects on the story of Dennis Rodman and how an outcast was accepted as a beloved figure in Chicago.

Being known as the Worm had nothing to do with behaving like an ugly, slimy, bothersome creature. It was because Dennis Rodman wiggled around so much when he was playing pinball machines.

This is the story, to me, that best defined and represents Rodman, whose turn comes Sunday with ESPN's continuing Last Dance tableau of the championship Bulls. Following a famously infamous and dysfunctional adolescence, the son of the eponymous Philander who supposedly fathered more than two dozen children with more than a dozen mothers, Dennis went to work cleaning cars in an Oldsmobile dealership and then as a janitor in the mammoth Dallas/Ft. Worth airport. It's why it was a 25-year-old Dennis finally being drafted in the second round by the Detroit Pistons in 1986.

Dennis' actual household wasn't very much, a mother who'd eventually toss him out and two athletically gifted sisters who played collegiate basketball. Dennis was awkward and unappreciated, cut from the football team, unable to dribble a basketball with any aptitude. He was clumsy and scrawny in poverty surrounded by relative successes. You know he was always hearing, "Can't you be like…." Dennis was barely 5-8 in high school with only an unexpected growth sport later sending him to his destiny.

The Detroit Pistons drafted Rodman in 1986.

It's fairly simple to envision someone forever seeking acceptance, security and attention. However he could get it. With an attention deficit disorder that apparently was so obvious I'd get unsolicited letters virtually every week when Dennis was with the Bulls from psychologists explaining the classic symptoms they recognized in his various outrages.

"I spent my whole childhood looking for an escape," he once said.

So Dennis got arrested while he was working at the airport.

Though I was something of a conservative scold toward Dennis when he was with the Bulls in my self assigned protection of the so called integrity of the game, Dennis asked me to write his biography when he was being inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2011. I walked with him the three blocks from the reception, social distancing before it was de rigueur, in certainly the most unusual entrance to the Symphony Hall ceremony. He was wearing a feather lined cowboy hat and large sunglasses before an adoring and cheering crowd lining the street. As Rodman wrote, as bad as he was, he was beloved. I believe people did see him for his innocence and naivety despite his numerous offenses.

That post high school airport offense was robbery. But there was a question of pressing charges. Could Dennis just return the stolen merchandise? So Dennis went around to his friends. He had given away all the watches he stole to his friends. He hadn't kept anything for himself.

It's also why during all those years with the Bulls, Dennis was closest with the ball boys and clubhouse workers, the people who rarely got a second glance and yearned for something better, something more. That's always who Dennis has been, just a kid straining for attention and acceptance, so anxious to please with that mischievous nature. Most of us are able to repress those urges into adulthood. Dennis eventually figured out with the inspiration of his mentor and girlfriend Madonna that to his delight this combination of insouciance and imp-like whimsey was both profitable and filled the void of love and attention.

Though it also shouldn't be confused with a lack of commitment despite the many times Dennis' hyperactivity distracted him. Dennis was a manic worker, strong and in condition at his wire 6-8. Despite a lack of academic interests, he was something of a basketball savant capable of absorbing the complex triangle offense principles with ease and analyzing the flight of the basketball so innately as to make him in one eight-year stretch the game's most prolific rebounder since Wilt Chamberlain.

Dennis was as competitive as Michael Jordan in his own way. Jordan yearned to a maniacal level for success and victory. Dennis did so perhaps more for acceptance.

Few people understood Dennis Rodman like Phil Jackson.

Dennis broke down almost immediately when he walked onto that stage in Springfield, grasping for presenter Phil Jackson for support as he would have for his previous guide, the late Pistons coach Chuck Daly. When the Pistons wanted to retire Dennis' jersey, he protested about attending without Chuck, the first father he believed he ever had. Chuck and the Pistons understood. They accepted Dennis for who he was. Just as the Bulls and Phil Jackson would years later. Who imagined it was Dennis the two bitter rivals would have in common.

So perhaps Dennis Rodman was the role model.

After all, what better rags-to-riches, success-from-rejection story is there than Rodman's rise from poverty and rejection to acclaim and fame? If not exactly the way you'd hope for all your children.

After all, Rodman has had his share of substance issues. Jackson even once participated in an intervention for Rodman. Which considering the issues in society at large also places Dennis in the unusual position of some normalcy.

Another delicious irony of the Bulls championship dynasty, especially in those last three seasons leading to the Last Dance, was that one of the guys in the Pistons' black and blue hat was the same guy with the rainbow hairstyle who was so enthusiastically and colorfully embraced during those last three championship years. Dennis was the guy who harassed Scottie Pippen to distraction to support Bill Laimbeer's cheap shot tactics and eventually viciously threw Pippen into the stands late in the Game 4 sweep in the 1991 conference finals. Little recalled about that famous Pistons walk off late in that concluding game was Michael Jordan's provocative media comments the previous day at practice, declaring the Pistons frauds and unworthy champions because of their tactics. Rodman became a co-instigator of the quick exit. And then a Chicago icon.

Dennis was just another rookie when he came to the Pistons in 1986, not playing much, about 15 minutes per game in the playoffs. And even a scorer. He averaged his most points per game within his first two years in the NBA. But his vulnerability was on display immediately. The path to his heart and trust was clear, if dangerous, and first Isiah Thomas and then Phil Jackson succumbed. When you commit to Dennis, he commits in return. That humiliating 1987 playoffs was when Thomas made the ill-fated inbounds pass Larry Bird stole. After the Pistons lost Game 7, Rodman blathered about Bird only being MVP because he was white. Thomas sitting nearby and sensing Rodman's error jumped in front of the bullet and agreed with Dennis. The NBA would eventually force Thomas to go to the Finals in LA and make a public apology. Even as he knew he was merely falling on the sword aimed at Rodman.

Similarly, when Rodman made his insulting comments about Mormons in 1997 and was fined heavily by the NBA, Jackson said: "To Dennis, a Mormon may just be a nickname for people from Utah. He may not even know it's a religious cult or sect or whatever it is."

Another guy to push Dennis out of the way and take the hit. It never was there for Dennis growing up, and it wasn't in San Antonio. Dennis could smile again. People cared.

I remember the fury among Chicago fans when Rodman head butted referee Ted Bernhardt during a game in the 1995-96 season. Rodman was suspended six games, which the Bulls and Chicago fans protested as inordinately severe. After all, wrestlers do stuff like that all the time. And then the Bulls merely continued on their way to win 72 games.

That perhaps more than anything was the strength of that second threepeat team. It had this remarkable ability despite the tumult of the games's greatest player, the game's most famous coach and the game's most outrageous player to march through the hail of distractions that would have leveled any other team. We're breaking you up! Sure, see if we care!

Rodman's atrocities may have been in some respects additional help rather than hindrance. Like Michael's legendary harsh demands and challenges during games and practices, there were Dennis' behavioral volatility that further helped anneal the group for the intense cauldron of the playoffs.

Condemnation of Mormons in Salt Lake City, kicking the sideline photographer, punching Joe Wolf in the groin, head butting Stacey King, then in Miami, suspended by the Bulls for profanities in a post game interview, sent home after missing practice after a night partying in Atlantic City. Rodman left the Bulls various times for Las Vegas getaways, even in the 1998 Finals.

"Dennis needs to dissipate energy sometimes," Jackson explained. "It builds up in him and he has to get rid of it. Whether it's on the dance floor or whatever. Sometimes Dennis plays a 40-minute game and then goes out and plays a 48-minute game afterward. He's got a perfect ability. I don't know what kind of biological clock he has in his system to do that kind of thing and bounce back and feel better."

Rodman was one of the best rebounders of all time.

Jackson once asked Steve Kerr and a few players to take Dennis to Atlantic City for a needed escape when the team was playing in Philadelphia. They only arrived back to Philadelphia the next morning straight to practice. It wasn't a very good practice.

That was part of the Dennis Rodman experience.

He was the ultimate underdog finally being, if not fully accepted, certainly appreciated by the big dogs.

Dennis didn't go out with Jordan or Scottie Pippen. He wasn't part of their famous workout Breakfast Club that last season with Jordan, Pippen and Ron Harper. Jordan would often say when he had to speak with Rodman he'd try to get him to focus like he did with his kids, stare into his eyes and reiterate, "Dennis, do you understand what I am saying!"

Dennis never really looked you in the eyes. When his dress wasn't spectacular, like when he wore a wedding gown walking Michigan Avenue to declare his intention to marry himself to promote a book, he often came to games wearing the logo shirt of a sanitation worker, security guard or truck driver. They were Dennis' people and he walked with them because they best knew his life on the inside despite what he showed on the outside.

Finally comfortable in the armor the Bulls' embrace provided, Rodman was an invaluable, irrepressible and irreplaceable part of those last three championships. Not that it was expected. General Manager Jerry Krause detested Rodman's behavior and was opposed to his signing. So was Phil Jackson, who was lobbying for Derrick Coleman because of his more versatile offensive game. But credit Krause for that buck stopping there. Krause approved, Jackson, Jordan and Pippen agreed to be patient, and Dennis was given the space he needed.

Suspensions and injuries cost Rodman 45 games those first two Bulls seasons. During the Last Dance, Dennis' attendance was nearly perfect while Pippen stewed. Dennis seemed to lose interest when Pippen returned in January, though likely he was more hurt as Michael's embrace returned to Scottie. But Dennis didn't disappoint when needed on the court, his amazing defense against Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone in the playoffs crucial to the Bulls success in that era. Rodman became such a skilled defender, he was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in Detroit despite still coming off the bench.

Rodman's defensive versatility enabled Jackson to be the first to successfully employ that ultimate five-player switching lineup that the Golden State Warriors popularized in recent years. Rodman averaged more than 15 rebounds per game his three Bulls seasons and more than 11 in the playoffs. In the 1996 Finals even though Jordan was MVP, Seattle coach George Karl said Rodman won two games virtually on his own.

Dennis has had his problems since leaving basketball with arrests, reality shows and the fantasy of international diplomacy in North Korea. "There's one thing people don't understand," he once said, "I like my character." Dennis has been in many ways pierced and tattooed in a multicolored life. That also has wormed its way into so many hearts.

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The Last Dance isn't complete without the colorful story of Dennis Rodman

Sam Smith explains how conflict between management, players, and coaches helped motivate that final championship season

Was it Jerry Krause who saved Michael Jordan's legacy as a winner? Stay with me here. That's probably not the narrative we're going to see in ESPN's much anticipated 10-part Last Dance documentary that begins Sunday night. Certainly a major arc of the story is going to be Phil Jackson's famous "Last Dance" designation for what became the inevitable end of the Bulls championship dynasty. "If you go 82-0 you're not coming back," Krause had told Jackson. "I'm not playing if Phil Jackson is not coach," Michael Jordan declared. And away everyone went through a season of constrained delight in their quest and despair about their future.

It seems like it's going to be a story well told, hagiography in which Jordan despite some apparent trepidation about his image finally will get to tell his story his way to his adoring public. It should make for a rollicking tale and perhaps the perfect final bow for a legend who appeared like he was taking that finale that season in Salt Lake City.

Kick back, kick up your heels and put your dancing shoes on.

It's time to save the Last Dance for Michael. And the rest of us.

But there's so much more to be over into this intricate patchwork.

Because Jordan and Phil Jackson probably understood better than any that to extend that dynasty another season beyond No. 6 probably meant Jordan going out a loser.

Would Michael have come back with the Wizards in 2001 if he left the Bulls being knocked out of the playoffs early? OK, maybe Michael.

Phil, the son of Pentecostal ministers, understood the attention span of a congregation. One of his greatest strengths was how he dealt with his players as an underrated strategist and spiritual guide, as well. Seven years was an exclamation point in his view for a group and its leader. The message would begin to blur. It was now going into year nine. Phil's internal alarm clock had rung. Scottie Pippen's commitment had reached its limit over perceived insecurities and the lack of financial security. He would even go AWOL for about three months. And Dennis Rodman's self medicating regimen finally seemed to become irreversible.

Perhaps the real phenomenon of all this — and maybe Jordan's greatest magic act — was turning this dysfunctional spectacle into a coherent convoy that requires the greatest of commitment, patience and perseverance.

That's how you truly earn the greatest designation. Not only by doing what is special, but by doing what should have been impossible.

The story of the 1997-98 Bulls began at the party for the 1996-97 champion Bulls, the conclusion of that singular two-year run of 72 and 69-win seasons, the latter in which Jackson pulled on the reins and lost three of the last four regular season games. Neither team got to a seventh game in any playoff series, a stunning 30-7 in the playoffs without ever trailing in any series.

But rumors were becoming murmurs, that with Jordan, Pippen and Rodman free agents among several others, management might short circuit their electric impact on the basketball world.

When the Bulls celebrated their now annual NBA title at lakeside Grant Park, team executives weren't introduced. Jackson spoke for about 20 seconds before players were introduced amid chants of "One more year!" and "Bring him back!"

"Hopefully in 1998 you guys can go out and celebrate and say we won No. 6," Jordan offered in brief remarks.

So Krause was planning, or at least considering when asked. The Celtics with coach M.L. Carr comfortably lost the most games for the Tim Duncan sweepstakes. The lottery balls came up tilt and the Celtics got the No. 3 pick in a one-player draft. So incoming coach Rick Pitino panicked. He needed to hit the ground running, so he reached out to the Bulls about Pippen. Boston had two of the top six picks and veterans to spare. Krause saw the future. He believed with Pippen needing yet another surgery, it was a rare opportunity to cash in a big name without that same big game anymore for the foundation for the future, Tracy McGrady as the lead figure. Plus, Krause believed the Bulls still could strain out another title with a veteran thrown into the deal. After all, the Bulls still had Jordan, Rodman, Toni Kukoc and a deep, hardened bench. Actually pretty smart. But managing partner Jerry Reinsdorf interceded. They should have the chance to defend. No deal.

Then comes the part where Krause, invariably, gets in his own way. Krause waned to be the guy to kick butt, which was difficult with his foot in his mouth.

Krause's daughter was married that summer. Jackson and his wife, June, heard about the wedding the Bulls staff was invited to when a friend asked what she was wearing to the wedding. "What wedding?" June responded. Iowa State coach Tim Floyd, whom Jackson came to call "Pinky," was a guest with his wife.

Jackson by now was, to paraphrase the rock band, comfortably numb. He'd hit his wall.

Krause and Jackson had become estranged as seasons wore on. But Krause also knew Jackson had enough. Reinsdorf made the rare trip to Montana to Phil's summer home to negotiate the new deal between just them. Reinsdorf talked about a multi-year extension. Phil said he wanted no part of a rebuilding program, which the Bulls obviously were close to given the ages. It was time for his sabbatical much as it was for Jordan after nine years in 1993. It was nine years for Phil after 1997-98.

Krause, as was his bumbling way, much too eagerly carried this information to the extreme in declaring Jackson done as they met before the opening media day session. Even 82-0 for emphasis! There was an unnecessary press release for further emphasis. And then Krause's infamous interview in which he, as usual, channeled our famous mayor Richard Daley who was known to never come out of the same sentence he entered. So organizations win championships. Krause was trying to give some credit to the others in the love affair with the players, and likely also to soothe his bruised ego with the credit he so demanded that was so much denied because it was so often demanded.

Jackson smiled wryly and said that sounded like Jerry.

Michael preferred big entrances. So he typically skipped media day and delivered his solo performance the next day.

Typical of Krause, the team deserved a chance to finish, he wasn't playing without Phil.

Phil's wry smile signaled much more. He had his theme for the season. What a gift! Though Phil's success was often excused and unappreciated because of the team's talent, no one other than Red Auerbach with talent like that ever saw it succeed for so long. Pat Riley wrote books and called it the Disease of Me. His only threepeat was from his copyright residuals.

Jackson knew this one would be the most difficult, just as it was in 1992-93 with the Bulls stretched that third time and Jordan talking openly to teammates during the playoffs of retiring from the strain. No one believed him.

But the fabric of this fine Bulls garment was not only showing internal wear, its threads were being stretched to breaking. Forever dissatisfied with his contract and then with the aborted trade, Pippen went on strike. He postponed his ankle surgery scheduled for June to September so he could enjoy the summer and then sit out the first half of the season following the surgery. So tit for tat, Krause denied Pippen permission to play in his own charity game that September. No one but Jordan had the Love of the Game play anytime clause. Two months later in an early season road trip even though he wasn't playing, Pippen announced he was never again playing for the Bulls because of the organization's mistreatment.

Rodman was a holdout asking the Bulls for a then huge $9 million deal. He'd missed 27 games the previous season with sundry suspensions and injuries and got a technical in every playoff game. His three-minute egg of a reprieve was cracking open.

Jordan's allegiance to Jackson was sincere even if they weren't exactly late night phone call confidantes. Phil understood early the daily demands on Jordan. So he made it a point never to ask Jordan for anything. No autographs for his kids or the neighbor. No pictures. No introductions. He was there to coach Michael. Michael, similarly, often felt he was being used, that so many were trying to get something from him. He realized Phil wasn't among them. Whereas early in their relationship Michael doubted the so called equal opportunity offense, he became a champion as much because of Phil's sincerity. Players more than anything want a way for you to help them improve and get what they want, be it money or fame. Michael saw Phil could do that with his sacrifice and sincerity.

Phil also understood better than most coaches the value of the group. It often was a theme and symbol of his coaching that was mocked by some because of the Native American and Eastern religion references. There weren't many Kipling readers on the team, but they knew, The strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.

But at its core was the congregational aspects learned from his parents.

Phil's team was his congregation, his flock. Those collections of individuals had varying personalities, strengths and weaknesses. And so they had to be treated special, similar and different. Horace Grant, whose goal it was as a kid to join the Marines, could handle drill sergeants. Pippen thought AWOL. So when Jackson sough to make a point to Pippen he chastised Grant. Later Kukoc. Which is why Pippen's infamous 1.8 seconds holdout in the 1994 playoffs was a distraction for about three hours. Jackson turned the matter over to the platoon knowing Pippen would only retreat from corporal punishment. Similarly, Jackson understood he had to allow Pippen to ease back on his own. Which Pippen would do in January, though his impact then unsettled Rodman.

Rodman, who never was close with Jordan or pretty much anyone on the team. From his broken childhood, he long sought that acceptance and father figure like he had in Detroit with Chuck Daly. With Scottie gone, it could be Michael. Dennis became as committed as he ever was with the Bulls. But when Scottie returned in January, Dennis felt abandoned once again, drifting in and out of his obligations. All those adolescent fears of betrayal seemed realized again. This was not a group of people with a long term promise of amity.

You sensed both Michael and Phil understood that the best.

So Phil had a theme he could use to bond the team and Michael had his motivation to drive him. It always had to be something for Michael, real or imagined. Cut from the high school team, Dean Smith keeping him off the cover of Sports Illustrated as a freshman, the All-Star freezeout, Jeff Van Gundy saying he was a conman, trash talked by Bryon Russell, unable to defend LaBradford Smith.

They're trying to break us up! We'll show them!

Sure, Michael was dedicated to Phil. But here was a guy who could change his mind like someone does their Air Jordans. I'm not playing in the 1992 Olympics. I'm never playing basketball again with the 1993 championship. I'm 99.9 percent sure with the Last Dance.

Jordan was close with Bulls assistant Frank Hamblein, a longtime Jackson aide and triangle acolyte. Tex Winter remained on the staff. Michael could pick his next coach and he knew that. If he wanted to he'd get another 10 percent raise on his $33 million contract and similar offers would be made to everyone else. After all, you're not giving multiyear deals if Jordan won't take one. But Pippen wanted his big deal at a time back issues kept him out of the end of the 1998 Finals and forced surgery after that season. The explosive athletic brilliance was gone after that. Pippen became a free agent burden with the Rockets. Rodman immediately became a destructive liability with the Lakers.

Michael went on to seriously injure a finger on his right hand with a cigar cutter during that 1998 lockout. It was questionable whether he'd even been able to play if he returned that season. Though no one knew all of that in the fall of 1997. But what Phil and Michael did likely sense was perhaps this was an unusual gift from Jerry Krause that might help lift them from the drudgery and ennui of a third championship slog once again. They knew how difficult it had been before.

The NBA locked its doors at the end of June after that 1998 Finals. It would be the longest labor action in league history that would last until January 1999. There was to be no team/player meetings. But David Stern was not about to push away Michael Jordan. So Jordan and Reinsdorf surreptitiously met in early July in downtown Chicago. Jordan said he was done. Reinsdorf counseled patience. It was a lockout after all. He didn't have to make a decision until it was over. No, Jordan said, that was it.

No more song and dance or fancy footwork. That was the Last Dance. It was a wonderful show and worth repeating. At least during the next several weeks.

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Kick up your heels and put your dancing shoes on for "The Last Dance"

The rivalry between the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons during the late 1980s and early 1990s was one of the most heated in all of pro sports. To say these two teams hated each other would be an understatement, for the truth is they despised one another.

Detroit was led by a native Chicagoan and future Hall of Famer, Isiah Thomas, and were considered the NBA's rising power team at the time. Thomas' fiery competitiveness was the engine that motivated a bruising frontcourt made up of Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn and Dennis Rodman. If ever the Pistons, who often referred to themselves as "The Bad Boys," sensed fear or uneasiness in an opponent, they would furiously pounce like a pack of wild junkyard dogs, bullying the opposition into submission.

Chicago was also on the upswing during this period, albeit the Bulls were younger than their Motor City counterparts. Chicago's style of play was also the opposite of Detroit's, as they often beat teams with grace, agility and athleticism behind the God-given abilities of superstars Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The only thing the Bulls lacked in comparison to the Bad Boys were enough physical players who could legitimately take control or at least hold their own whenever elbows and bodies would begin to be thrown.

Detroit considered the Bulls soft, a team they could easily push around. When Chicago looked at the Pistons, they saw a group of thugs and cheap shot artists who had to resort to dirty tricks because they weren't as talented. Add those beliefs to the fact that the Bulls and Pistons were also in the same division and would play each other five times during the year — well, that just added fuel to the fire.

1990 – Bill Laimbeer Blasts Scottie Pippen

There was also a personal side to this rivalry. As mentioned earlier, Isiah Thomas was born and raised in Chicago, so whenever Detroit came to town he was excited to be home and play in front of family and friends. However, the Bulls had a charismatic superstar of their own in Jordan, and by this time fans had all but adopted him as their own, whereas Thomas was often treated with indifference like any other out-of-town player.

Jealousy can make people do ill-advised things, and legend has it that Thomas instigated an alleged "freeze-out" of Jordan at the 1985 All-Star game during Jordan's rookie year. Here's the story: Irritated that Jordan chose to wear Nike warm-ups during the NBA's slam-dunk contest the day before the All-Star Game, Thomas and his agent worked behind the scenes to convince a group of veteran players on the East All-Star squad to ignore the Bulls rookie by refusing to pass him the ball. Jordan played 22 minutes, shot 2-of-9 and scored just seven points in his first ever All-Star game. Afterwards, Jordan deftly deflected talk of a freeze-out by repeatedly pointing out he was just a rookie, and all he wanted to do was blend into the mix. However, even if Jordan wanted to believe Thomas' freeze-out wasn't true and tried to let it go, the story simply wouldn't go away, as it kept coming up time and again. Enough so to give credence to its validity — which naturally would stoke Jordan's notorious competitive fires all the more.

By the start of the 1987-88 season Detroit looked to be on the verge of winning an NBA title. They had risen steadily under the direction of future Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly, jumping from 37 to 49 wins in Daly's debut season in 1983-84, to 54-28 and winning the Central Division crown by 1988.

Chicago also posted a 50-win season (50-32) in '87-88 under second year head coach Doug Collins. It was the Bulls' first 50-win season in 14 years (1973-74). Jordan captured his second consecutive scoring title, was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year, and also won his first NBA MVP award, while rookies Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant were starting to come into their own.

In fact, Pippen made his first career start in the deciding Game 5 of the first-round playoff series against Cleveland, scoring 24 points to help the Bulls to a 107-101 upset win to set up an Eastern Conference Semifinals series against Detroit.

That series would be the second playoff matchup between the two franchises, as the first took place in 1974, with Chicago coming out on top in seven games. This time however, Detroit would end up the victors in five.

Game 1 took place in Detroit where the Pistons coasted to a 93-82 victory. However Chicago ambushed Detroit in Game 2, stealing home court advantage with a 105-95 upset. That loss proved to be a wake-up call for the Pistons, as they suddenly got serious and very physical in Game 3 at the Chicago Stadium, blowing out the Bulls, 101-79. Game 4 took place a day later, also at the Stadium, and the Pistons didn't let up, pounding Chicago 96-77 in front of their home fans to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

1989 – Doug Collins next to the Bulls bench

Detroit closed out the series a couple of days later at home, winning Game 5, 102-95. However, during the game that night, frustrated at repeatedly being knocked down and bullied, Jordan struck back by popping Thomas with an elbow to the face that left Thomas unconscious for a minute.

Thomas eventually made it back onto the court to close out the game and series, but as the final horn sounded, it was clear to everyone a bitter rivalry was born.

The Pistons then went on to dethrone the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Boston Celtics, in the next round before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals in seven games.

The following year Detroit tore through the league, posting an NBA-best 63-19 record while the Bulls fell to fifth in the Central Division, going 47-35, despite Jordan winning another scoring title.

While the Pistons easily swept Boston and Milwaukee in the opening two rounds of the playoffs, Chicago needed a miraculous buzzer-beating jumper from Jordan in Game 5 to get by Cleveland in the first round, and then were hard-pressed to survive six brutal games against New York before meeting Detroit for a second straight year in playoffs — but this time in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Detroit's plan of attack was well choreographed. Their primary goal was to make the Bulls look over their shoulder and lose their poise at every opportunity by using every intimidating, dirty trick in the book. The Pistons believed if they could plant a seed of doubt into Jordan and Pippen's minds that if either drove in for a layup that they would repeatedly get thrown to the ground, then maybe they would start settling for jumpers far from the rim instead of attacking the basket and energizing their teammates?

The key for the Bulls was to not worry about all that stuff and simply go out and play their game. Easy to say, but very hard to do, especially for a young team that was coached by an equally fiery personality in the likes of Collins who could often get caught up in the emotions of the moment.

Daly and his staff masterminded strategy for slowing Jordan down. It was dubbed the "Jordan Rules," which basically came down to making Jordan fight for survival.

Detroit's goal was to funnel Jordan to the crowded middle of the floor where he would get physically assaulted from all sides while being double- and triple-teamed. Although technically Joe Dumars, who was a terrific one-on-one defender in his own right, was assigned to guard Jordan, all five Pistons on the floor were charged with keeping tabs on the Bulls superstar and given free rein to bump, trip and pop the NBA's best player whenever he came near.

1989-90 – Michael Jordan surrounded by Pistons

Detroit also set their sights on Pippen, labeling him soft and weak. Rodman and Laimbeer in particular went out of their way to set hard-nosed picks and contest his every move in the hopes of rattling Pippen.

At the start of the series Collins decided to move Jordan to the point, figuring the best way to get the ball into his hands for a shot was to allow him to bring the ball up the floor himself. This strategy caught the Pistons a little off guard in Game 1 as Chicago pulled off a 94-88 upset, snapping Detroit's 25-game home court winning streak, and giving them their first playoff loss of the year.

The two squads split the next two contests before Detroit decided to increase its defensive pressure another notch in Game 4, successfully limiting Jordan to just eight shots as they evened the series in defeating the Bulls, 86-80, at the Chicago Stadium.

That loss ended up having a major effect on Chicago's psyche, as for the second year in a row Detroit proved once again they could take the Bulls' best punch and not fall down.

Detroit went on to win Game 5 on their home floor, 94-85, and then closed out the series in Chicago in Game 6, 103-94. They would then go on to sweep Los Angeles in the Finals to claim the 1989 NBA Championship, while the Bulls and their fans grew more restless by the day.

Before the start of the 1989-90 season Chicago decided a change was in order as the Bulls replaced Collins as the team's head coach with one of his assistants, Phil Jackson. Like Collins, Jackson was also a former NBA player during the 1970s. But unlike Collins, he wasn't a highly touted and tightly wound former No. 1 overall draft pick, but was a calm, cerebral middle of the pack second round selection from University of North Dakota who was a backup player most of his career with the New York Knicks, including the year (1973) when New York won the NBA Championship.

One of the first moves Jackson did was hand over the offensive responsibilities to veteran assistant coach Tex Winter, who installed his famed triangle offense, giving the team a free-flowing framework in which to get more players involved in the action besides Jordan, and sometimes Pippen.

Detroit and Chicago went out and posted the top two records in the East that year, with Detroit winning the Central Division again with a record of 59-23, while the Bulls ended up in second place with a mark of 55-27. Once again it quickly became clear that these two teams were again destined to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals — and that's exactly what happened as Detroit lost just one game during the first two rounds while the Bulls fell only twice during that stretch.

1990 – Scottie Pippen drives on Dennis Rodman vs DET

By now the Bulls and Pistons truly hated one another. Chicago openly complained about Detroit's bullying, particularly the way the Pistons would routinely undercut opponents driving to the basket and how they'd attempt to trip and injure the opposition whenever the referees weren't looking. All that did was fire up Thomas and the rest of the Bad Boys who enjoyed irritating the Bulls at every opportunity.

Meeting in the playoffs for a third year in a row, the Bulls and Pistons battled tooth-and-nail over the first four games of the series, with the home team winning each time by single digits. Detroit took Game 5, 97-83, on their home floor, but Chicago turned the tables at the Stadium in Game 6 with a 109-91 thrashing to set up a deciding Game 7 back at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Chicago went into that street fight short-handed as starting point guard John Paxson was out of action thanks to a badly sprained ankle suffered in Game 6, and Pippen was struck with an excruciating migraine headache just an hour or so before tip-off. Jordan convinced Pippen to try to ignore the pain play through it, but Pippen was clearly not himself. Detroit sensed something was going on and amped up its defensive pressure at the start of the second quarter and quickly broke the game open with a decisive 31-14 run. By the time the dust had settled, Detroit had coasted to a 93-74 victory, earning a third straight trip to the NBA Finals. Pippen, on the other hand, logged 42 out of a possible 48 minutes that game, but connected on just 1-of-10 from the field for two points, as the entire Bulls team shot just poorly, going 28-of-90 (.311) from the field overall, including 2-of-19 (.105) from the 3-point arc. Detroit then went on to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers in five games to win back-to-back NBA titles.

Bound and determined to get over the hump and never fall short at the hands of the Pistons again, Chicago established the franchise's then all-time best won-loss record at 61-21 mark in capturing the 1990-91 Central Division crown. As it turned out, the key game of the season for the Bulls during occurred on February 7, 1991 — the last contest of a five-game road trip just before the All-Star break. Chicago went on to defeat Detroit 95-93 behind 30 points from Jordan, who later said, "That's when I knew we could beat them in the playoffs. Everything came together. I could feel it!"

Once the playoffs tipped off Chicago was a team on a mission, as they easily swept New York and then got past Philadelphia in five to set up another showdown with Detroit for a fourth straight season.

1990-91 – Bulls Timeout Huddle with Phil Jackson

With home-court advantage on their side, Chicago took care of business with a 94-83 victory in Game 1, and then posted a 105-97 win in Game 2 in front of the home fans at the Stadium to assume command of the series. Four days later the Bulls happily delivered a crushing blow to Detroit's hopes of a possible three-peat by running away with a 113-107 victory in Game 3 on the Pistons' home floor. The next morning Jordan boldly predicted a series sweep was on the horizon, while Thomas insisted it wasn't going to happen on his watch. Yet, Chicago went out and dominated from the start in Game 4, putting the Bad Boys out to pasture in stampeding to a 115-94 series sweeping road victory.

The game ended in controversy as a number of Piston players, led by Thomas, decided to leave the court, walking right past Chicago's bench during the closing seconds of the game, refusing to acknowledge, congratulate or wish the Bulls luck in upcoming the NBA Finals. That complete lack of sportsmanship seemed to sum up this rivalry, at least in Chicago's view. Many believed the Bulls victory over the Pistons was good overcoming evil. Naturally the media, both local and national, loved to play up this angle.

In any event, the rivalry was now dead. Chicago finally had exorcised their demons, as the Bulls went on to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games to capture the franchise's first of ultimately six NBA Championships.

bad-to-the-bone

Bad to the Bone

After finally burying their longtime archrivals Detroit during the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals and then stampeding past Los Angeles to claim the franchise's first World Championship, the Chicago Bulls were without a doubt the NBA's it team. However, they quickly came to the realization that they were no longer lovable underdogs, but rather they now sported a colossal bullseye on their back.

With Detroit nothing more than an afterthought, Chicago soon encountered a hungry, desperate and hardnosed New York Knicks crew. After Pat Riley took over as New York's head coach in the summer of 1991, the Bulls had a new and worthy rival.

In looking over the makeup of his roster, Riley decided to shape his squad along the lines of the Detroit Bad Boys, which was the opposite of how his Showtime Lakers teams achieved success during the 1980s — a free-wheeling, run-and-gun, entertaining style of basketball. Truthfully, it was the only thing he could do, as other than future Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing, there weren't any graceful scorers on the Knicks. What Riley had to work with was a bunch of brawny bruisers in the likes of Anthony Mason, ex-Bull Charles Oakley and Xavier McDaniel. The only way they could compete with Chicago was to slow the tempo whenever possible and stress defense and rebounding, focusing the team's offense around Ewing. Chicago, on the other hand, wanted to run with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen leading the break. And although Jordan could seemingly score at will, the Bulls' offensive scheme was intended to be a group effort thanks to the famed Triangle Offense.

Chicago and New York ended up meeting in the playoffs five times in six years. That kind of familiarity bred a great deal of bitterness between the two teams. There also seemed to be personal animosity between the two head coaches, as both Phil Jackson and Riley never passed up an opportunity to needle one another in the media. It was also a somewhat natural rivalry, in that Chicago had long been considered America's Second City to New York's Big Apple.

The first time the Bulls and Knicks met in the playoffs during this era was in 1991, but the series proved to be a cakewalk for Chicago. New York snuck into to postseason with a mark of 39-43, worst among all 16 qualifying teams. When they faced the top-seeded Bulls in the opening round, it was clear from the start they were unable of put up much of a fight.

Michael Jordan soars in the air through three Knicks.

Chicago destroyed the Knicks in the series opener 126-85. Chicago then closed out the best-of-five series by winning the next two easily, 89-79 and 103-94, respectively.

Riley arrived before the start of the 1991-92 season and the Knicks stormed to a 12-game improvement, jumping from 39 wins to 51. Chicago, however, dominated the league, posting an NBA-best 67-15 mark. In the opening round of the playoffs the Bulls swept Miami while New York outlasted Detroit in five to set up a second round matchup.

The Knicks successfully shut down the Bulls' running game (Chicago had averaged 117.3 points against Miami) in the opener, winning 94-89 at the Chicago Stadium. Chicago bounced back to capture Game 2, 86-78, although once again New York was able to keep the Bulls' high-powered offense in check.

Jordan broke out in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, notching 32 points to lead the Bulls to a 94-86 victory. The win recaptured home court advantage for Chicago, but the following day New York took it back thanks to a 93-86 victory of their own.

Mark Jackson holds the ball against Michael Jordan

In Game 5 at the Chicago Stadium, Jordan once again took command, relentlessly driving to the basket and either scoring at the rim or making his way to the charity stripe, tallying a game-high 37 points, as the Bulls won, 96-88. Afterwards Riley complimented Jordan by saying, "Michael's willingness to constantly go to the basket and challenge our defense tells you all you need to know."

The series shifted back to the Garden for Game 6 and Riley's renegades refused to lay down as they quickly stormed to a 24-17 lead in the opening 12 minutes, and closed with a 32-16 run in the fourth quarter to even the series with a 100-86 thumping of Chicago. Ewing and backup guard John Starks led all scorers with 27 points, supported by McDaniel's 24 while Jordan led Chicago with 21 and Pippen chipped in 18. New York held the Bulls to just 39.8% shooting and 3-of-11 (27.3%) from long distance, while the Knicks connected on 52% from the field and knocked down 21-of-26 from the free throw line.

In the series-deciding Game 7 at the Stadium, the Bulls took no prisoners, pounding New York 110-81. Chicago's Big 3 of Jordan (42 minutes), Pippen (45 minutes) and Horace Grant (41 minutes) barley left the court. Jordan led all scorers with 42 points, while Pippen posted a triple-double of 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Grant chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and four blocks.

The Bulls then went on to knock-off Cleveland and Portland, both in six games, to claim their second straight NBA title.

Riley drove the Knicks to a 60-win season and the Atlantic Division title the following year while Chicago coasted to 57-25 record. However, the start of the playoffs jumpstarted the Bulls as they went on to sweep both Atlanta and Cleveland before meeting the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

New York, who had dispatched Indiana (3-1) and Charlotte (4-1) in the opening two rounds, owned home court advantage over the two-time defending champs by virtue of their better regular season record. They maintained that edge by defeating the Bulls 98-90 and 96-91 in the first two games of the series. Jordan bitterly complained that New York was playing much like the old Pistons, endangering everyone's health and well-being with cheap shots and dirty play.

As if being down 0-2 wasn't bad enough, reports also began to surface that Jordan had been spotted gambling in Atlantic City in the early morning hours before Game 2. Chicago dismissed the topic, claiming Jordan knew how to take care of himself and was always ready to play..

Despite the circus swirling around them the Bulls were able to pound New York 103-83 in Game 3 at the Stadium. Pippen led all scorers with 29 points while Jordan made his way to the stripe for 17 free throw attempts in adding 22 points while also dishing 11 assists. Two days later Chicago continued its assault with a 105-95 series-knotting victory. Jordan poured in 54 points. And although the series was heading back to Gotham City for Game 5, momentum clearly had shifted to Chicago.

Scottie Pippen shoots against Charles Smith #54 of the New York Knicks

Game 5 is one contest Knicks fans will never forget. The game went back-and-forth, especially so down the stretch. But the most memorable moment occurred with under a minute to play when New York's Charles Smith failed to convert on several attempts while standing under the basket, with Pippen deflecting two of Smith's shots. The Knicks could only hang their heads afterwards as Chicago sprinted to the locker room with a 97-94 victory. Jordan had posted a triple-double of 29 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds while Pippen added a double-double of 28 points and 11 rebounds.

Back at the Stadium for Game 6 the Bulls methodically went about their business in winning their fourth straight game, 96-88, to close out the series. Chicago then went on to beat Phoenix to capture its third straight NBA World Championship.