Michael Jordan’s Untold Struggles In The 1996 NBA Finals

[@davidschmidt1793]

In no point in the series Payton exclusively guarded Jordan and contrary to popular belief, Jordan's drop in efficiency was mostly due to what you called 'strategic double teams'. In the last 3 games of the series, Jordan shot 7/14 against Payton and was sent to the line 6 times by him, shooting 11/11 from the line. The Sonics simply had an amazing perimeter defensive team with Mcmillan,Vincent Askew,Payton and Hawkins and doubled/tripled him very well with most of his makes coming closer to the rim in those games 4 and 5g. Payton definitely tired Jordan out, which may have affected his shooting even more(he shot 50% from the field in game 5, but had only 1 point in the 4th quarter), but people grossly overrate Payton's defense on Jordan in that series by saying he was the main reason Jordan's FG% went down, which is not the case. Jordan had great numbers going 1v1 against Payton in the entire series.

[@warkunitale]

Well said

[@armondlandrum919]

Facts.

[@zxcvb3772]

Yep, people saw a few highlights of Payton aggressively denying Jordan the entry pass and saw his lowered efficiency and thought it was all Payton. Supersonics trapped Jordan as a team, wasn't just Payton. What's missed from that game was Scottie Pippen shooting 34% from the field.

[@ryanr20091]

you must be Jordon's attorney or man notice how you bring up Pippen to deflect off Jordans unusual poor performance.

[@emmapeel38]

@@ryanr20091 Ryan, using Pippen (as usual) as a Trojan Horse, to indirectly help boost up LeBron. I've seen enough of your posts in recent videos. Ryan's projecting with "you must a Jordon's attorrney" when it's he that acts on behalf of LeBron.

[@Groszozo]

So basically Jordan's "worst playoff series" is what any other player would dream to average in an NBA final

[@kanyecrazy7440]

Wish yall had that same energy for Lebron and not just daddy Mike. MJ still the undisputed Goat tho.

[@danieldrewbustillos3380]

No one would want to average 41% from the field.

[@romanch2]

@@danieldrewbustillos3380 No one would want to lose 6 times in the Finals either:)

[@davidca96]

​@@kanyecrazy7440We can't because they aren't even in the same league. Lebron is an absurdly good basketball player who's ability to play for so long gets my ultimate respect....but his personality towards the game is what to me will never put him up in the top of the list.

[@brockst9190]

Exactly haha

[@akselmarazyan4613]

That supersonics team was very underrated they won 64 games they were 8th best in offense and 2nd best in defense. They had prime payton who was averaging 19 and 7.5 asists who also won dpoy along with shawn kemp who was an all star and a double double machine along with a good supporting cast like hawkins and schrempf And they swept the defending champs hakeem and clyde led rockets in round 2. If they didn't face arguably the greatest team of all time they would've gone down as definite champions and a legendary team.

[@armondlandrum919]

Facts.

[@xavierb9061]

Team led by payton not special..weak conference

[@VanessaWong-yi5pe]

They were the best defensive team in the 1990s.

[@saltymonkey8874]

​@@xavierb9061Stupid comment.

[@pawemaliszewski9324]

And I will never forgot Sonics. Such young, fast paced, enthusiastic team ... and Shawn effing Kemp. Once I seen him play, I watched every Sonic game TNT broadcasted.

[@JahNuhThunDeeTheOneAndOnly]

As a Kings fan, I still miss the Sonics in the NBA. Who else besides me does?

[@claytonphillips85]

The sonics should have never left Seattle

[@antonioconley1147]

We all wish they stayed in Seattle

[@Dr_Brown_Bro]

I 100% do. I’m a Blazers fan and to say I and the rest of the fans miss the I-5 rivalry is the understatement of the year.

[@AirRusher1992]

I do 💯. I actually have a Shawn Kemp jersey. I will definitely rock that once I step foot in OKC.

[@willdiesel8431]

​@claytonphillips85 it's weird because some stat sheets don't acknowledge Seattle as a franchise. For example they'll read that Ewing played for OKC when that clearly was never the case.

[@parawill7074]

MJ "Almost blowing the finals" is ridiculous and I actually watched the series live. Look, MJ didn't shoot well in 2 games (Games 4 and 6), but the other 4 games, he played just fine. Yes, he struggled with his shooting in Game 6 and it took a team effort to close out the series, but it doesn't matter. The Bulls won the series in 6 games, so MJ wasn't close to blowing anything in that series. MJ and the Bulls never went to a Game 7 in the finals, so no team has ever put them on the edge of a cliff and that reinforces the dominance of MJ and the Bulls teams during their runs (2 3peats in 8 yrs). The Sonics were tough, but like all the other teams, the Bulls always found a way to beat them within 6 games.

[@capbruhcorn]

Right, these social media takes be so out of pocket and just revisionist history. This was never the narrative or post game analysis in real time. Yes the switch of GP on Jordan affected him somewhat but the Bulls won game 6 going away if I remember correctly and Jordan still got his.

[@bobjoes3593]

The sonics did not play to the strength of their strategic double teaming I saw mentioned nor to their identity as pass lane defenders which in series like Denver in 94 and Lakers in 95, teams that lacked a specific player or offensive variable to target strategically and/or offensive system which could be effectively disrupted by the doubles and the pass lane defense, which led to losses in 94 and 95. (Think of Utah without their pick and roll, tough team still but not great). What is interesting about this series is for several games Seattle did not play the same style that made them great for years, probably due to their own concern about the non specified movements and sequences of the triangle which meant the sonics could not, or felt as such strategically target the bulls for offensive disruption due to the triangles actual design execution being predicated by what the defense did,should a defense present a tactical threat. In reality had the sonics in fact played with that kind of game plan which was their identity, and it saw them as a team not once but twice eliminate Houston directly before and after the rockets championships, defeat Utah at its near peak and in this series it's thought that had they played their style not in games 1,2 and three suggests, along with analytics which have since become relevant, that Seattle, by many core mathematic measurements used to determine efficiency and a teams success rate could have alactually won this. The bulls non choreographed offense was actually very acutley such and thus, could have been disrupted and was in situations where the cuts, movements passes were much less natural as just as they weren't a typical offensive target the sonicw were a non typical as well defense which meant and was shown could effect the effectiveness of the triangle. Just as the bulls adjusted in game 6 to the sonics game 4 and 5 success I believe had Seattle played 1 through 3 as has been speculated they should have, the bulls also would have adjusted in that case and would have won.

[@parawill7074]

@@bobjoes3593 - You have a lot to say, so I would recommend that you break your comment down into paragraphs. We won't read a wall of text, bruh.

[@MALLYGEEZ1]

MJ definitely didn't almost blow this finals

[@leechrec]

Ikr. Bulls were never in danger. People were really just like, can these fools just finish em off already, the parade is waiting.

[@SuperNASCARrocks]

MJ almost blowing that finals had to do with the fact that they put one of the most toughest defenders on Jordan in Gary Payton. Payton was no slouch when it came to defense. One of the toughest individual players to defend ever.

[@willdiesel8431]

Not really. GP was a beast but he didn't exactly put up pedestrian type numbers. Rodman's rebounds put them over the top.

[@rjdez3589]

The glove was the DPOY in 96.

[@AntiRevisionistHHH818]

Pretty sure the Bulls lost that second game on purpose so they could celebrate at home.

[@willdiesel8431]

@@AntiRevisionistHHH818 that was it and it was Father's Day.

[@rektz2457]

Excuses. MJ gotta be the most overrated player in history. LeBron is better

[@elboogie2324]

I watched this series live. This was his "worst" series by Jordan's standards. Any player would kill to put the numbers up that Jordan averaged in that series.

[@trenboloneytony7609]

Right. Lol. Imagine 27 pts and 41% fg being his ”worst” performance. Proves how great he was… 6/6 for a reason.

[@emmapeel38]

Also, when they talk about Jordan's "bad" games, they're just talking about his shooting percentages. He had some games where it wasn't dropping for him (Indiana in '98), but he was still moving the chains, doing everything else to put his teams in position to win. He always brought in on defense; as well as being sound off-ball or being a secondary playmaker on offense. I never felt cheated watching Jordan, which is why I and MANY other people (with a memory) are such staunch defenders of his game.

[@legacytv2453]

​@@emmapeel38Seattle Supersonics forced Jordan to get all his points off freethrows. If it even looked like he would score, they would hard foul him. The reason most teams dont do this is because Seattle began to focus so hard on Michael Jordan that they allowed everyone else on Chicago to score. Imagine a team 5 on 1 guarding Steph Curry. Sure, you affect Curry's efficiency. But would you allow all his teammates to score and win the game just to say you affected Curry's percentage? Seattle's method on Jordan is the reason they lost big on Game 6

[@devinbaldon5937]

​@@trenboloneytony760941% from the field is horrible. Nobody has to dream of putting up better numbers than that, lmfao.

[@stevanchez1122]

​@@devinbaldon5937LeBron has shot 41% or lower in 2 Finals(2007,2015), Steph in 3 Finals(2016, 2018, 2019), Kobe in 5(2000, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2010), Duncan shot 41% in the 2005 Finals, Kareem shot 41% in the 1988 Finals, Magic shot 40% in the 1983 Finals, and Bird shot 41% in the 1981 Finals. All the greatest player of all-time have had a Finals' series like this. Many of them multiple.

[@mickmcfarland7976]

As a Jordan fan for the vast majority of my life, I do appreciate the honest look at a tough Finals for him. It was a slightly deeper look at what worked defensively against him. On the emotional side, I remember him winning this championship on Father’s Day. I actually said (like NBC heard me), “Get the camera off him”, as he cried on the floor afterwards, missing his Dad.. I do remember Rodman came up huge in this Finals

[@getoffthisrocktravel2054]

There was alot of physical handchecking in that 96 finals. James Harden would be screaming for his 30 free throws not get a call lol

[@dynamic6645]

Handchecking never ever happened that's a myth, same for your physical defense myth: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b36QfHarod99p8k kzbin.info/www/bejne/o57Pl5yDebqHh5Y James Harden getting some calls is nothing compared to this lol

[@leechrec]

Gary's pushing and shoving MJ in the past always stood out to me.

[@ArthPedro]

11FTA by MJ btw

[@iamthem.a.n.middleagednerd1053]

I remember this series crystal clearly. The Bulls DOMINATED the first 3 games, and then all of a sudden Seattle starting playing out of their minds in games 4,5, and 6. I remember game 4 in particular thinking it was just a formality, and Seattle stifled the Bulls inside and forced them to take a lot of outside shots; 3 point shooting as a team was a big weakness lf their's. With the exception of Steve Kerr, their 3 point shooting was Fair at best. Game 6 was a dog fight too. Seattle came VERY close to forcing a game 7.

[@jesuscage]

Game 6 the Sonic's got there ass kicked

[@hielogogo9109]

Jordan average still game 4 - 22pts, game 5 - 26pts on 50% shooting and game 6 - 23pts. Sure not as good as normal but in the end still average 27.3 pts a game + ring, for example LeBron had a finals with only average 18.5pts a game without a ring, to compare it with other superstars, Jordan played also all 82 games that season and this finals his defence was also solid. And Jordan said it had nothing to do with Payton but that he was very emotional this finals because of fatherday and his father got murdered about 3 years before, you can also see after this finals Jordan breaks down in the locker room. That Jordan played less than normal in the offence is correct but that he almost blew this finals is of course not true if you seen the Finals and that's why he also won mvp. Rodman did also a great job with rebounding but got also wrecked a couple of times by Shawn Kemp who was very good this finals. Two best players were in this finals were Jordan and Kemp and 3rd Rodman, 4th Pippen.

[@sideshowbobsaget8876]

Payton was better than Pippen & Rodman in the 96-Finals. You can argue Detlef over Pippen.

[@pp-vf8ls]

it was clearly slowing down Jordan, not stop him, his task was just that on the other hand, Pip is just dissapointing, not alarmed that Jordan is slowing down (probably Phil too)

[@mikekillagreen9432]

What does Lebron have to do with this. You guys are obsessed with him. Its pathetic.

[@JD-iu6rv]

Everyday we get closer to the return of the SuperSonics!

[@shermanngjazz]

Hopefully by 2025-26

[@TheHarmAge]

Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp were an awesome duo.. Being a Bulls fan I was surprised Bulls went up 3-0. In the end was happy that it didn't go past game 6. =)

[@mikekillagreen9432]

I don't know why. Kemp wasn't a winning player. A dunking maching with a low basketball I.Q

[@trenboloneytony7609]

Jordan’s worst finals performance was 27 pts and 41% FG. That is greatness… and people try to compare Lebron to him😂 he’s 6/6 for a reason

[@Lakersforlif]

5-1 He pushed Russell

[@justinherrera1700]

couldn’t be a michael jordan comment section without somehow attacking lebron💀

[@devinbaldon5937]

27 points on 41% shooting isn't "greatness."

[@KidAndretti]

@@justinherrera1700awww you distressed or something 🤣🤣

[@justinherrera1700]

@@KidAndretti Nah just funny how a cult fanbase is so self conscious about 1 player that they push him down any chance they get😂 plus the original comment is talking about “greatness” when shooting 41% is quite poor

[@showtimenick824]

Jordan's final stat line is impressive for that being his worst. Also, Hersey Hawkins still did guard Jordan in the last 3 games of the Finals, just not exclusively. There were still plenty of possessions where Payton was on the floor but nowhere near Jordan on defense. It was really a team effort and I'm really glad you mentioned the double teams.

[@thewildformosanformosan]

For those who watched these games it was quite clear that Rodman was the difference maker in this series, hence why Phil Jackson mentioned Rodman specifically in the post game 6 interview

[@AirRusher1992]

Still waiting for your videos about the Nuggets winning the 2023 title and your own thoughts about the offseason.

[@jp3813]

The narrative is that MJ got his way in the first three games but then GP locked him down in the last three. The problem w/ that logic is it ignores the fact that the Sonics' defensive strategy throughout the ENTIRE series was to rotate different defenders on MJ every few minutes (not just McMillan as the alternative). Contrary to popular belief, GP was already included in that defensive rotation by Game 3, putting up a promising resistance against MJ's best performance of the series. Game 4 was GP's best case since he set the defensive tone against MJ from the opening tip, and would try to do the same for the rest of the Finals. MJ quickly bounced back in Game 5, except he didn't shoot much in the 4th quarter despite being mostly guarded by Hawkins the rest of the way. Father's Day was MJ's most inefficient performance against the majority of Sonics defenders, but he did well against GP. In the regular season, MJ averages 30.5 ppg on .470 fg% w/ 3.7 apg & 2.7 tov against the GP-led Sonics. What people often don't take into account is that Kemp dominated Rodman & Longley in this series. Offensive rebounding became critical, but the latter two could've evened that out by causing more misses.

[@darshin95]

Jordan’s worst finals performance was 27 pts and 41% FG, still the best player in the series

[@Amick44]

And easily the most feared.

[@danieldrewbustillos3380]

Not saying MJ didn't deserve it, but some would argue Shawn Kemp deserve it even in a losing effort.

[@timmyheatz12]

Damn I remember this nba finals like yesterday. I'm from Seattle and this was the squad back in 95-96 which was a good season hands down. Still hurts that we haven't had the sonics in 15 years but I have a feeling we'll be back! #bringbackthesonics

[@brucelau2023]

I mean like that is an understatement of the mid 90s MJ nearly blowing a 3-0 lead in the 1996 finals just proves that sonics head coach, George Karl made the adjustments. He did to put Gary Payton on Michael Jordan. Unfortunately, it was too late for them to even come back when he could’ve put Payton on MJ in the beginning

[@tajgibson8776]

Stop the copy n paste in the comments section LOL

[@matthieusaade3616]

Jordan literally shot 50% when guarded by Payton . It's the double and triple team that took his efficiency down a little bit

[@Celothxu]

You highlighted the Sonic's key injury, but didn't mention that Harper was out a game or two as well. That's why McMillan gets rightfully clowned.

[@chrislewis5069]

I really like that you point out things that are overlooked and under appreciated performances and interesting things about the game

[@eappleby9702]

If you play like that against the Spurs Warriors or Dallas you will lose Jordan was blessed to play in that era

[@x-man9473]

Dallas, Spurs, and Warriors don't have the defense of the Sonics. So that wouldn't happen. Bron struggled because of his poor leadership and weaknesses as a player. MJ wouldn't have that problem.

[@2playschemeo.p.croutes724]

The great Seattle defense stopped MJ from playing his normal hero ball. But MJ was still able to put on a catch and shoot clinic. His best game was game 3. 36 points and all he did was basically catch and shoot. 3/4 from 3. And 11 of 23 from the field

[@mackoverseer3639]

Video suggestion: it would be great if you turned this into a series where you examine all the Bulls Finals opponents during the 90's!

[@YuriWulff]

Just here to appriciate Andy's effort. Highest quality NBA content here.

[@26bisket50]

Jordan’s averages this series is the same as Kobe’s career averages in the finals 😅 Bulls were never in danger of losing this series

[@yoofij4724]

Terrible take

[@paintb0x]

​@@yoofij4724nice counter argument 🤡

[@step-p4j]

@@yoofij4724 I swear man

[@mak23997]

exactly. Up 3-0 they went on cruise control for the inevitable.

[@youtubedick-tators1991]

​@@yoofij4724Truth hurts

[@highlightboy23]

These are the type of videos that make me wanna watch Andy Hoops again after him featuring so many recent NBA stories and events.

[@frankdudek6242]

MJ is the goat. This Bulls team is the best sports team every assembled. They were just tired. Remember in this era everyone played as many games as they could. Just fortunate have lived through the best era in basketball

[@cameronpalmer401]

Like he said in the Last Dance... I had no problem with The Glove.

[@smolaether]

Basketball needs the Sonics back. It’s criminal what they did to Seattle.

[@Maxjuliann]

Why are they not a team anymore

[@smolaether]

@@Maxjuliann the new owner decided to move them to OKC.

[@zarah1363]

Life in general, is a struggle. Struggle is simply a part of life. At the end of the day, struggles are inevitable and there's nothing you can do to stop this. We're all going to struggle in life or feel lost at times, whether you like it or not. However, struggle is always what makes the reward much more satisfying. The struggle may not be fun, but it's necessary for growth and the development of deeply important skills like problem-solving, persistence, and self-regulation. It also fosters confidence and growth mindset. The benefits that MJ gain from struggling far outweigh the downsides. Keep this in mind, you can't go wrong.

[@twentyseven2948]

Andy, in what universe are Payton and McMillan the best defensive back court in the history of NBA??? Joe Dumars / Isiah Thmas MJ / Ron Harper Mookie Blaylock / Steve Smith Dereck Harper / John Starks Kobe / Fisher Marcus Smart / Avery Bradley Tony Allen / Mike Conley Ben Simons / Matisse Thybulle

[@frankytarheel]

As a sonics fan, the series was never in doubt. We got 2 games but there was no hope against MJ

[@stickitin7518]

Andy posting another dub

[@phenomenal-fitness]

I knew all this and went back and watched it. Jordan did struggle and Seattle played him the best. Jordan still deserved the Finals MVP. Kobe had a worst final game against the Celtics and LeBron struggled against the GS Warriors in 2015. It happens, but he didn’t choke.

[@AirRusher1992]

I mean MJ nearly blowing a 3-0 lead in the 1996 NBA Finals has to do with the fact that then-Sonics heas coach George Karl made an adjustment before Game 4 putting Gary Payton on Jordan which is something he should've done right at start of the series.

[@Jay2u81]

This is why i say Payton over Stockton for best PG of the 90's. He just bring more to the table. IMO

[@atsk3281]

How near it was actually? Sonics didn't even made to game 7! I think that 'nearly blowing finals' is over blow. Jordan scored 23, 26 and 22 in last three games. I wouldn't call that struggle. Heat nearly blowed they 3:0 lead in this years Eastern finals. Bulls where far from that.

[@tajgibson8776]

Yes, GP was a great defender! But I think MJ struggling in the 2 games had more to do with the fact he was thinking about his deceased father, than GP guarding him.

[@parawill7074]

@@atsk3281 - Bruh, I know. The dude is taking 2 rough shooting nights (Games 4 and 6) and talking about MJ struggling and nearly blowing the series. They won in 6 games! You can't make that statement and believe that it makes sense. MJ's overall series stats look great, except the 2 bad shooting nights impacted his FG%, which doesn't matter. No one cares about a superstar having a couple of bad scoring games in a series. All about winning and playing great overall. That is all that matters in the finals.

[@chillzwills6523]

The sonics defensive scheme got better throughout that series.. the sonics were a great defensive team. These were 2 great teams offensively and defensively. The refs let the sonics physically rough the bulls up. People underrate just how good that sonic team was at almost every position

[@roibalbarino9928]

imagine your worst finals ave is 27 ppg, thats crazy

[@freddysaucedo8650]

Almost blew those finals 😅😅 4-2 Payton did good but didn't shutdown Jordan Any other player would kill to have those numbers in the finals that's why He's the Goat

[@jimkoenig5026]

It's funny they show a picture of him holding.

[@mrkooter]

Aaaaaaand they still won it all, good work.

[@kl2389]

I watched game 6 man Rodman is a monster in the offensive boards.

[@AirRusher1992]

Yeah 11 offensive boards which equals a Finals record for the most in a single game held by Elvin Hayes and he also did that in Game 2 as well not just in Game 6. Man I wish anybody broke this but I'm not sure maybe Kevon Looney since he's been a rebounding machine in today's league.

[@kennethli8]

Shawn Kemp guarded MJ in parts of the Finals series and MJ struggled to score while the rest of the Bulls players were getting easy baskets due to MJ's defensive pull from the Sonics.

[@johns9498]

Yep! no one here in the comments seems to have actually watched the series play by play. And that's part of why he earned three finals mvp votes, was his great defense on Jordan. Rodman got away with so much BS fouling kemp on d, this series was sent to the Bulls with how Rodman was allowed to foul Kemp while Jordan got every single trip to the line for any bump. Kemp was the second best player of the 90s honestly, and this was his prime series

[@xdavidliu]

0:39 wow is that Keith Olbermann? He looks young there.

[@samgarcia7848]

Jordan wanted to extend the series so they would win the title on Father's day.

[@Menelik23]

I hate the fact that people (media especially) act like MJ had no bad games/ series... We need more vids like this...

[@csuszi11]

do you realise that his "bad" performance was better than all other players' average? better than kobe, lebron, kareem etc he socred 27.3 per game ffs

[@showtimenick824]

I'm glad you mention Pippen's struggles too!

[@orvillewright122]

Jordan shot 50% in game 5 even when Payton guarded him but didn’t get the calls throughout the game because the league wanted a longer series. The Bulls were complacent after getting the 3-0 series lead and the Sonics were desperate. In game 6 the Bulls won because the role players like Pippen and Rodman played better than they did in the previous game and closed out the series. MJ lit up Payton with over 40 points the next time the teams faced each other in 1996-‘97 season in Seattle. MJ is the reason for the Bulls winning 72 games and being up 3-0 in the finals.

[@lilscrappy50cent20]

Sonics never get there due period! Thank you for making this video!

[@nbapbaupdate8338]

Sonics need back NBA in the future if their plan 2 team expansion 💪💪💪

[@johngittings4673]

That Sonics team was very good but I wouldn’t say they were the 90s Bulls toughest Finals opponent. I’d say the Jazz were a bit better.

[@goku..7]

Those number can be of any prime player to be honest- by Jordan standard is low. Like for example those number are better than Lebron’s 2011 finals

[@mr.kwamid-86_43]

The efficiency was shit ass, bro

[@orvillewright122]

MJ was very emotional after the final game of the 1996 season and playoffs because his father and closest confidant was not there with him for the championship victory like he was for the previous 3. He started to cry when talking with the reporter after the game and then was seen crying in the locker room holding the ball 🏀 like a pillow.

[@marilyncatterall402]

All these things are relative. Jordan's worst play-off series was still better than most players' best.

[@mareyounotheone]

W vid like always

[@TheAcer1981]

An avid Sonics fan here since 1993, and not even mad, we lost to the greatest team of all time, it's amazing that Seattle even managed to beat them 3 times ; once at the regular season and twice at the Finals.

[@Classicbasketballdvds]

the beat them in the preseason as well that year, so a total of 4 times. As a Bulls fan, that Sonics team was scary good. Any other opponent other than Chicago, Seattle wins the 96 Finals. Imo, the Sonics were better than Orlando that year.

[@halfshot253]

Here's what you forgot to mention. MJ did not post up Gary and there is no way Gary can guard him one on one. He'll be in foul trouble in the second quarter

[@showtimenick824]

From watching the games, I don't remember McMillan ever really guarding Jordan but I do remember the talk about McMillan would've had more defensive assignments on Jordan had he not been hurt. I know Hersey Hawkins and even sometimes David Wingate would sometimes guard Jordan. I know McMillan's presence alone gave the Sonics new life though.

[@marcusbryant2007]

thank you for the laughs. i needed that.

[@grega4231]

The glove didn't really do anything against Jordan though. Even when the glove actually guarded him, they had help. Many of Jordans misses were him just missing jumpers he usually makes and it wasn't because the defense was tight on him. All you have to do is watch the games to see how effective the glove really was and he really wasn't.

[@hardwoodgems]

Wasn't he still the best player that series. I remember there was a case for Rodman though.

[@crashlight54]

Yeah, Jordan was still the best guy on the floor. Everyone was bad on offense that series, and while Pippen had more rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks than Jordan, his scoring was so bad there was no chance of him winning MVP

[@SowerOfMustardSeed]

Always been telling young folks (I’m 44) that this series was the toughest of all of the Chicago dynasty. But they all just simply looked at the 3-0 and idiotically dismissed this take. I was like whatever. You didn’t watch this series. I did. All-time MJ the GOAT fan here. There’s no agenda behind this take. Just purely basketball plays.

[@nathanjohnson2382]

Defensive teams and performances like this get overlooked. 2004 pistons come to mind but the narrative for that series was Kobe and Shaq having beef with each other

[@orvillewright122]

The role players often struggle on the road and the 1996 finals was no exception MJ had the most points and highest scoring average in the series. After his dominance in the first 3 games capped by the 36 points in game 3 he had to come to grips with the fact that he was about win the championship and for the first time since his father died and he and his family were making Father’s Day preparations. The proof that Payton was not the reason MJ didn’t close out the series in game 4 or 5. Rodman and the other role players were better at home than on the road.

[@hawaj23]

I'm sorry for nitpicking but Sonics set their franchise record in 93-94 season with 63 wins. Great video nevertheles :)

[@davidtran2026]

And the 1996 Sonics won 64 games which is the franchise record, so what's your point?

[@jahneeragex5992]

@@davidtran2026 he got his two cents in but we’re rejecting his deposit with that statement

[@hawaj23]

Yep I'm sorry my mistake.

[@pmpm7235]

I believe, when they got 3-0 lead, that Jordan and the Bulls relaxed when they didn't get the chance to sweep the Sonics in '96 Finals and they just wanted to win it at home in Chicago during Father's Day as well. There's also stories that MJ and some Bulls' players were just playing golf even they lose both games 4 & 5.

[@connorpena373]

Andy knows EXACTLY what I want to see

[@sumnahlennon5449]

*So let me get this straight. You criticize Jordan for beating an old Lakers/Pistons team. Yet you praise struggles an even OLDER Jordan had? The 1996 Bulls are much older than 1991 Lakers or Celtics. Jordan is 33 here. Rodman is 36 here. Magic was way younger in 1991. Rodman as an opponent was way younger when against MJ than when on his team.* I

[@sumnahlennon5449]

The 1996 Bulls are *much older* than the so-called "old" teams you said Jordan beat.

[@sumnahlennon5449]

If you want the context of this game, it was a defensive series where everyone was low percentage. Jordan was also older, at 33 here. Seattle Sonics under Gary Payton's guide decided to just double and triple team Jordan. Much like the 1980s Pistons, Sonics concluded that MJ was the only player worth guarding. Guarding mostly Jordan meant everyone else could score. Like a team that only focuses on guarding Steph Curry and they lose big since all the other players get to score

[@joeldriver-sp2rg]

One of the oldest things in sports that happens to teams happened to the Bulls in that series...they just kind of got complacent because they had a 3-0 lead and both they and the Sonics knew it was over. They didn't almost blow anything though even though they just kind of fell asleep from the boredom of domination and the Sonics got a couple of lucky wins but the Bulls still won the series 4-2. It didn't even go to a game 7. That's not "almost blowing" anything.

[@realdrizzy2k]

no such thing as lucky wins, you dont mistakenly shoot less than 43% as a team in 3 straight games

[@joeldriver-sp2rg]

@@realdrizzy2k Do teams shoot a lower percentage in the regular season or the playoffs? Let's see if you know anything whatsoever about hoops.

[@ImportAl]

Even if Karl put Glove on Jordan from Game 1, Phil would make MJ a playmaker like in 89 season and 91 Finals. Would have been even closer but Bulls still winning in 6.

[@pochen23]

This is solely looking at MJ's offense output. Yes, he struggled, but points were hard to come by for both teams. This is due to the tenacious defense the Bulls played, and MJ was a huge contributor to that and a huge part of his game. Another thing that is underplayed is that those two games were in Seattle after being up 3-0, the focus was just not there as you can see Seattle blew the Bulls out by scoring 107 points in Game 4. The Bulls didn't lose because MJ was struggling on offense, the entire Bulls defense struggled, and that's just due to lack of focus. Game 5 MJ played well, shooting 50% but the rest of the Bulls didn't show up. Game 6 MJ struggled mightily but they won with defense. So I don't think MJ was undeserving of the MVP or anything. To me, it was a wrap after game 3 and anything after that, fair or not fair, frankly don't matter.

[@RatedRex1]

When Jordan next played against Gary Payton the following season, he scored 45 points on 67% shooting to prove a point.

[@AguilaDeOnix85]

They talk about teams that would have won in the 90s if not for the Bulls, this is absolutely the one.

[@mjsup1]

Okay good video, a couple of points though, the last game was Father's Day, I think that had more of an impact on MJ than Payton, I do think Payton had 1 good defense game on MJ. Overconfidence and fatigue caught the Bulls remember they won 72 regular season games, seeing Golden State poop out in finals after their 73win season. Jordan scored on Payton and McMillan for his whole career I don't think those guys (look a the stats) really made that big of a difference. Finally watch the next game the following season against the Sonics, MJ had 40, where was the glove then?

[@danielvasquez3758]

Great video Andy!! Never knew this!

[@TobyKBTY]

Im glad Gary got a ring, even if it wasn’t during his prime. Dude had that dawg for sure.

[@seanzibonanzi64]

They were much closer matched than people give the Sonic's credit. For example, the 96 Bulls finished with a 72-10 regular season and 15-3 playoffs records for overall record 87-13. Of those 13 losses, Seattle was responsible for 3, nearly 1/4 of Chicago's losses for the entire year and they only played 8 times.

[@nicholas9472]

That's were we fucked up. We should've put Payton on Jordan from the start.

[@pgfnj0279]

Dennis Rodman was the X factor in the ‘96 Finals……he literally won Games 2 and 6 for Chicago…..the only game in that series where the Bulls were dominant was Game 3, that’s it…..

[@Classicbasketballdvds]

factz. i thought he shoulda been co-MVP that Finals

[@danielcurry4011]

My all time favorite NBA Finals 1995-96 Finals I was a fan of Seattle Supersonics. On the other end Bulls didnt have anyone who could stop Gary teammate Shawn Kemp who played well against Chicago.

[@michaelsciancalepore7669]

The adjustments were made 1 game too late. That was a good series !!! Life Time Sonics fan, let's get basketball in Vegas and back up in Seattle. Bring em Back, SONIC BOOM !

[@Classicbasketballdvds]

i still say till this day...this was the best & toughest defense MJ faced in all of his 6 trips to the Finals. From the 2nd half of Gm 3-6 the Sonics were swarming. It was like they had 6-7 guys on defense out there. The whole Bulls team sort of struggled this series from the field. Despite the excellent Sonics defense, MJ still put up 27.3 pts a game average and really only shot poorly from the field in Gms 4 & 6. The other 4 games, he was playing like Finals MJ normally plays, esp Gm 3. He dropped 36 and 27 in the 1st half. That's typical Finals MJ. The 27.3 ppg is pretty remarkable considering the defense he was up against. I think MJ said this was the toughest of the 6 Finals and his favorite. On anotha note, this is one of my fav NBA Finals and one of those 90s Sonics teams shoulda won a chip. Sooo good and entertaining

[@juanpakinabang4370]

This indeed the lowest in MJ final series, but that 27 PPG, was best in the series for both teams...

[@MrZillaman73]

Thats why its a TEAM SPORT

[@MrReese]

When 20+ points in every game and 27 ppg avg over a series in a time where scoring was significantly lower than it is today is seen as "bad" :D. Payton was a great defender, but he had an even bigger mouth and the result is that Jordan has 6 rings and he has one that he got thanks to Shaq and DWade in a finals series where Payton averaged 2.7 ppg, 2 rpg, 2 apg, and 1 spg in ~22 minutes per match, which is terrible.

[@botmonmon6089]

You get 1 of the greatest defenders ever and a whole season to prepare for jordan and the bulls, you get to study them and learn their habits. A whole season of game planning how you will beat them, developing a counter for every move they make and the best part is that they barely even know about you until about a month left. Then Michael Jordan shows up.

[@CzarsSalad]

The Bulls were never in danger of losing the series. The Phoenix Suns in 93 were far superior than this Sonics team

[@christiansoldier77]

First of all Nate McMillian didnt even play more than 51 minutes in the whole series . Plus Jordan didnt struggle he had two games shooting 50% one game about 47% and another 40% . It was just the two bad games that made his overall numbers look bad. Also Payton never guarded Jordan exclusively . This is one of the biggest myths about this series

[@yeahyuh123]

Yeah, Nate McMillian didn't play much cause he was struggling with injuries.

[@SunnyandFranky]

The thing I hate about the LeBron vs Jordan thing is people don't give credit to the teams jordan faced now. I watched those games live and the post game shows on cnbc saying how Jordan was struggling.Jordan is my favorite player of all time but the sonics were one of my favorite teams so I was hyped to see them play. It seems people forget how good Kemp played in that series and how much Rodman got in the heads of the whole sonic team. The sonics played jordan better then any other team but he still fought through bad games to help his team win. They did a good job on jordan but on offense it seemed like only Kemp was playing like they could win. I think the sonics cracked under the pressure of playing a 72 win team.

[@MALLYGEEZ1]

Idk how that Sonics team never won a chip. They were so tough. Both of those teams were so evenly matched.

[@DmT922ha]

Rodman was the MVP of those Finals.

[@leosmit8612]

Thankyou..

[@markjackson6431]

George Karl agrees

[@GaySolluminati]

No he wasn’t you didn’t watch the series. If MJ doesn’t put points on the board they lose that series he was playing great defense as well. Rodman had averaged 7 points per game. Mj shot the ball well in every game but 2.

[@kenrickkahn]

The reason why they went and got Rodman cause of Shaq/Penny and for The Supersonics.. People give LeBron James sh_t about his help but don't say nothing about Jordan getting some help for their second 3 peats.. Dennis should have been MVP not Michael..

[@bosyogurtlight]

So you and everyone liking your comment must agree that Iggy deserved the 2015 FMVP. Interesting

[@bjayapole8742]

Hey Andy, can you make a video about the 10teams who defeated this 72-10 team?

[@AAAASMAR]

The late great Chick Hearn used to say, “defense is your best offense.”

[@walterlv01]

This is the only Finals where MJ didn't have a signature game. In '91 there was the "OH! A spectacular move!!," in '92 there was the six 3-pointers and shrug, in '93 it was the 55-point game, in '97 the "Flu Game" and in '98 "The Shot." But that doesn't mean that he wasn't great in this series. You COULD argue that Rodman actually deserved to win MVP of the '96 Finals however.

[@tajgibson8776]

MJ almost blowing the finals had almost everything to do with the fact that he was thinking about his father's death and had a moment. Yes, GP was great defensively, which is why I laugh at Lebron fans when they say MJ played against weak teams in the NBA finals. But MJ said his mind was somewhere else, thinking about his father really messed with him.

[@MJIZZEL]

Jordan shot 50% from the field and 11-11 from the line when Payton guarded him 1 on 1. The double and triple teams is what really got Jordan.

[@vernonleewarren280]

Absolutely!

[@devinbaldon5937]

None of Jordan's finals competition compare to Lebron's though, that is a fact.

[@MJIZZEL]

@@devinbaldon5937 let me teach you something real quick. Your opinion on something doesn't make it factual. It's hard to fathom for people these days but, nope, the world doesn't revolve around you. Also, technically you are correct and didn't even know it, because even though you can compare their finals opponents to each other, they really aren't comparable. Why? Because Jordans finals opponents had a higher winning percentage than LeBrons. That is a fact! I often notice that you lebron fanboys who have bought completely in to the media hype (yes the media started catering to young audiences when they realized their core viewers watched online and thus were younger so they promote current players and era as better), tend to downplay the jazz as worthy opponents. That same jazz team took out the Duncan and Robinson led spurs, the Shaq, Kobe Lakers with 4 all-stars, the Hakeem, Barkley, and drexler led rockets, and the Payton Kemp sonics, to get to those finals. But yeah, lebron gets his excuses for losing. I get it.

[@devinbaldon5937]

@@MJIZZEL No one cares about your pathetic attempt at a lesson. It's the thought that counts I guess. The Spurs team that lost to the Jazz were not on the same level as the Spurs teams that beat Lebron. This should be obvious, it has nothing to do with downplaying competition. Having a better win% in the finals does not mean you are a better finals btw so I don't even know why you bothered with such a useless stat. Nice try though, and also nice try in assuming that I care about what the media thinks instead of watching actual games. The same can be said about Jordan who has lost in the playoffs many times also. You Jordan Fangirls love to keep making excuses of why he choked multiple playoff series because MJ is God and can do no wrong. Stop being a hypocrite and wake up to reality.

[@johndebono1870]

Payton definitely is the best defender to play against Jordan... But it's weird to reference George Karl on this considering he's the guy who let it get to 3-0 before thinking to put one of the best defensive guards against their opponent's best player.

[@WinnipegJetsTakeOff]

Gary Payton wasn't only a elite defender, he could drop a 3 pointer on you at the drop of a hat.

[@slimypickle19]

People never truly understood just how dominant that Bulls defense was though. Unlike today's superstars who just play offense (besides Giannis), that Bulls perimeter D was their fall back with Harper, MJ, Pippen, & Rodman. They made life complete hell for any backcourt, & their ppg allowed proved it. Sonics had 0 chance.

[@brucelau2023]

For once an Andy Hoops video that doesn’t talk about 16-17 year old kids but I do miss the “how good was X player videos”

[@leetorry]

He only talked about high school players just once, last video. You maoe it out like he talks about high schoolers all the time.

[@Zaghzackio]

It's the off-season man there's not much to talk about other than the Future and the Hisrory of the NBA