1992–93 Chicago Bulls season

NBA professional basketball team season (won championship)

NBA professional basketball team season

The 1992–93 NBA season was the Bulls' 27th season in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The Bulls entered the season as the back-to-back defending NBA champions, having defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1992 NBA Finals in six games, winning their second NBA championship. In the off-season, the team acquired Rodney McCray from the Dallas Mavericks,^[2][3][4] and signed free agent Trent Tucker.^[5][6][7] At midseason, the team signed Darrell Walker, who was previously released by the Detroit Pistons.^[8][9] After two straight championships, the Bulls would make changes to their lineup, replacing John Paxson at point guard with B. J. Armstrong after Paxson went down with a knee injury, and only played 59 games.^[10][11][12] The team won nine of their first eleven games, and posted a 7-game winning streak between December and January,^[13] holding a 35–17 record at the All-Star break.^[14] The Bulls posted another 7-game winning streak between February and March,^[15] and would yet again have another successful season finishing in first place in the Central Division, and second overall in the Eastern Conference with a 57–25 record.^[16] They also advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive season, becoming the first team since the 1987–88 Boston Celtics to do so.^[17]

Michael Jordan once again led the league in scoring averaging 32.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, while Scottie Pippen averaged 18.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. Both players were selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game.^{[18][19][20][21][22]} In addition, Horace Grant averaged 13.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Armstrong provided the team with 12.3 points per game.^[23] Jordan also finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting,^{[24][25][26][27]} and tied in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.^[28][29][30]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Bulls swept the Atlanta Hawks in three straight games.^{[31][32][33][34]} In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in four straight games.^{[35][36][37][38]} Then after losing the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals to the top-seeded New York Knicks,^[39][40][41] the Bulls would win the next four games of the series.^{[42][43][44][45]} Then they would then go on to win their third consecutive NBA championship, defeating regular season MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in six games in the 1993 NBA Finals.^{[46][47][48][49][50]} This was the last title the Bulls won while playing at Chicago Stadium.

Chicago's off-season was also marked by Jordan's sudden retirement.^{[51][52][53][54][55]} Also following the season, McCray, Tucker, and Walker were all released to free agency.^[56] For the season, the Bulls slightly changed their uniforms, which remained in used until 2004, when they added their secondary logo on the back of their jerseys.^[57][58]

Offseason

NBA draft

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

Player stats

Regular season

Playoffs

NBA Finals

The 1993 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1992–93 NBA season, featuring the Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, and the Phoenix Suns, winners of 62 games and led by regular season MVP Charles Barkley. The Bulls became the first team since the legendary Boston Celtics of the 1960s to win three consecutive championship titles, clinching the "three-peat" with John Paxson's game-winning 3-pointer that gave them a 99–98 victory in Game 6. The road team won five of the six games, with Chicago winning at home in Game 4, 111–105.^[59]

• The Phoenix Suns won game 3 in 3OT, 129–121.^[60] Suns Head Coach Paul Westphal was the only person to appear in both triple-overtime NBA finals games. The first was the classic 1976 contest against Boston, in Game 5 as a player. His Suns also played in that year's finals, thus becoming the only team to appear in two triple-overtime finals games. Back in 1976, the Suns lost 126–128 against Boston.
• The Bulls got off to a good start in Game 6 but struggled in the fourth quarter, wasting a double-digit lead to trail 98–94. Michael Jordan made a layup to cut the margin to 2 points, and the Suns missed a shot on their next possession. Trailing 98–96 and facing a Game 7 on the road if they lost that day, John Paxson took a pass from Horace Grant and buried a three-point shot with 3.9 seconds left, giving the Bulls a 99–98 lead. The victory was secured by a last-second block from Horace Grant.^[46]
• Michael Jordan, who averaged a Finals-record 41.0 points per game during the six-game series, became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Finals MVP Awards. He joined Magic Johnson as the only other player to win the award three times. The NBA started awarding the Finals MVP in 1969.

(W1) Phoenix Suns vs. (E2) Chicago Bulls: Bulls win series 4–2

• Game 1 @ America West Arena, Phoenix (June 9): Chicago 100, Phoenix 92
• Game 2 @ America West Arena, Phoenix (June 11): Chicago 111, Phoenix 108
• Game 3 @ Chicago Stadium, Chicago (June 13): Phoenix 129, Chicago 121 (3OT)
• Game 4 @ Chicago Stadium, Chicago (June 16): Chicago 111, Phoenix 105
• Game 5 @ Chicago Stadium, Chicago (June 18): Phoenix 108, Chicago 98
• Game 6 @ America West Arena, Phoenix (June 20): Chicago 99, Phoenix 98

1993 NBA Finals roster

1993 Chicago Bulls

Head Coach:Phil Jackson
Michael Jordan |Scottie Pippen |Horace Grant |B. J. Armstrong |Scott Williams |Bill Cartwright |Stacey King |Trent Tucker |John Paxson |Will Perdue |Rodney McCray |Ricky Blanton |Darrell Walker |Corey Williams |Jo Jo English |

1993 Phoenix Suns

Head Coach:Paul Westphal
Charles Barkley |Dan Majerle |Kevin Johnson |Tom Chambers |Danny Ainge |Richard Dumas |Negele Knight |Oliver Miller |Mark West |Jerrod Mustaf |Frank Johnson |Tim Kempton |

Award winners

• Michael Jordan, Associated Press Athlete of the Year
• Michael Jordan, All-NBA First Team
• Scottie Pippen, All-NBA Third Team
• Michael Jordan, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• Michael Jordan, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Scottie Pippen, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Horace Grant, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

NBA All-Star Game

• Michael Jordan, Guard
• Scottie Pippen, Forward

Transactions

References

1. "1992-93 Chicago Bulls Roster and Stats".
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4. Smith, Sam (September 19, 1992). "Bulls Get McCray for Houston". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
5. Isaacson, Melissa (October 6, 1992). "Bulls Sign Tucker for Backup Role". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
6. Araton, Harvey (October 28, 1992). "ON PRO BASKETBALL; Bashing and Trashing Becoming the Word". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
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54. Berkow, Ira (October 7, 1993). "Suddenly, Michael Doesn't Play Here Anymore". The New York Times. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
55. Downey, Mike (October 7, 1993). "Without 'Anything Else to Prove,' Jordan Retires: Sports: The Bulls' Star Says the Sense of Motivation Is Gone. But He Doesn't Rule Out a Return to the NBA". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
56. "1992–93 Chicago Bulls Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
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58. "Chicago Bulls Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
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60. "PRO BASKETBALL; After Three Overtimes, the Suns Say Not Yet!". The New York Times. June 14, 1993. Retrieved January 17, 2022.

• Bulls on Database Basketball
• Bulls on Basketball Reference