Former Chicago Bulls assistant coach Jim Cleamons once said that the team was better after Michael Jordan’s shock retirement in 1993.
“Scottie’s all-around game became very polished and very professional because he had more leadership,” Cleamons said, in an interview with Sportscasting.
“We had balanced scoring, our team defense became more cohesive, and we just became a better all-around basketball team. So, when Michael came back, yeah he had some rust on him and had to learn to become more familiarized with the other players that he had not played with, but at the same token, though, other guys stepped up, and he didn’t have to do as much.”
In the absence of the legend, the Bulls went 55-27 in the 1993-94 regular season, and the players stepped up. Scottie Pippen took over the leadership role with 22 points per game, while Horace Grant and BJ Armstrong chipped in with 15.1 and 14.8 points, respectively.
However, their journey ended with a series loss to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
While MJ’s absence was surely felt as he was playing baseball, and the Bulls didn’t win the 1993-94 and the 1994-95 seasons, the rest of the players came into their own and that meant a more cohesive unit when Jordan indeed returned the following season.
Michael Jordan Would Not Have Returned In 1995 If The Bulls Had Traded Scottie Pippen
Michael Jordan made his stance clear that Scottie Pippen would have to be part of the Bulls when he announced his massive comeback to the NBA after his hiatus.
MJ revealed in an interview with Cheryl Raye-Stout that he would never have returned to the Bulls if the team traded his co-star.
“It seems to be a mutual respect,” Jordan told Raye-Stout. “Two years ago, the triangle (of Scottie, Grant & MJ) wasn’t always a perfect triangle. I think two-thirds of it was pretty intact. The other third wasn’t always intact. On the court, you could never tell that. Off the court, we went our separate ways. Now, we’re on the court, we’re off the court. We go together on the court, we stick together.”
Prior to a month before MJ’s return, Pippen wanted to be traded to Suns. But that was a move that never materialized, and the rest, as they say, is history after Jordan returned to the Bulls fold.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
