Michael Jordan‘s return to basketball in 1995 was massive. But he didn’t find immediate success with the Bulls, as they were eliminated by the Magic in the playoffs. But they returned in the 1996 playoffs to sweep the Magic en route to the 1996 NBA championship. Penny Hardaway, who was on the Magic both years, explained on the ‘Out The Mud‘ podcast what the difference between Jordan in 1995 and 1996 was.
“We ain’t gonna discredit that MJ wasn’t at the top of his game, because how could you come from baseball and be at the top of your game? But MJ on the floor is MJ, right?”
“In the beginning, MJ was like, ‘We’ve been winning championships ever since the last few years that I played. I’m gonna come back and win the chip.’ And he didn’t. We beat him. That gave him extra motivation. Then he had the whole summer.”
“95′ MJ was good. 96′ MJ was ridiculous. He came back with a vengeance. Put the cape back on—the Superman, whatever you want to say—and he put the team on his back, and they went 72-10 and won the championship… You knew it was a difference because he had a whole summer to think about what had happened.”
Jordan returned to the Bulls in 1995 after a disappointing stint in baseball. He famously returned wearing the number 45. But after a quip from Nick Anderson of the Magic led to him changing back to his iconic number 23 jersey. But it wasn’t enough to get the Bulls the win in the series, as they lost 4-2 to the Magic.
Michael Jordan Vowed Revenge In 1996
Jordan would spend the rest of the off-season working out with his trainer, Tim Grover, to get himself ready for the following season. His improved conditioning, combined with the motivation of losing to the Magic, led Jordan to have his greatest season ever. He would help the Bulls achieve a 72-10 record in the NBA, the best in history at the time.
Jordan’s performances were enough to earn him the 1996 MVP award. The Bulls would then go into the playoffs as the best team in the league. They were set to face the Orlando Magic in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals. Hungry for revenge, Jordan and the Bulls would sweep the previous year’s NBA Finalists and go on to win the NBA championship.
Jordan seemed to struggle in 1995, as he had just returned from baseball and didn’t have the right conditioning and training to play physical basketball as the playoffs demanded. But having a full offseason to train and prepare gave him all the tools to find success the following season.
Jordan’s 1995-96 season is considered by many to be the greatest individual season by a player in NBA history. He was the catalyst for the Bulls to set an NBA record for the best regular season ever, a record that would stand for 20 years until the Golden State Warriors would eclipse it by going 73-9 in the 2015-16 season.
Few players in history have come close to the stellar season that Jordan had in 1996. And even though the NBA is seeing more and more great talent enter the league every year, it is hard to imagine another player being able to achieve what Jordan did that year.
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