Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were the scourge of the NBA in the 90s, winning 6 NBA titles in 8 years. That Bulls team was a dynasty and several star players of that era went without ever winning a title thanks to their dominance. One team is an exception to that though. Between The Bulls’ two three-peats, the Houston Rockets won back-to-back championships led by Hakeem Olajuwon.
However, there are a lot of people that claim that they would never have won those championships if not for MJ’s retirement after the first three-peat. Jordan came back after a year and a half, but the Bulls couldn’t generate the momentum to go right back to the NBA finals. And now Robert Horry, a key member of those Rockets teams, has spoken out on the Parkins and Spiegel show, saying the Rockets would have won those titles even if Jordan was still in the league.
He’s not the first to say, Scott Brooks also shared the same opinion, but it’s still quite interesting to hear Horry’s reasoning.
.@MattSpiegel670 was contractually obligated to ask Robert Horry about a hypothetical Bulls-Rockets matchup in mid-1990s, and Horry was contractually obligated to respond.
Listen to full interview. Horry also broke down biggest NBA playoffs storylines: https://t.co/FIjuLrGfFU pic.twitter.com/JJwj7OoKth
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) April 20, 2022
“I think you should go back and look at that and understand that I know MJ is the GOAT and I played for Phil (Jackson) and I know how Phil coaches,” Horry said. “There’s no way the Chicago Bulls would’ve beat the ’94 or the ’95 Rockets. So take that.
“I think, sometimes, people realize Michael Jordan is the GOAT, but the GOATs can be beat. You forget in ’95, he was back. … He wasn’t in shape? You just dropped a double nickel (55 points) in New York and you’re trying to say you wasn’t ready? Your team wasn’t good in ’95?”
There is no way to tell if the Chicago Bulls would’ve been able to win 4 or 5 championships on the trot, considering the amount of effort it took to make it happen. Horry saying the Rockets would’ve won confidently also seems a bit excessive, after all, it would be ridiculous to bet against Michael Jordan in the 90s.
