Chicago Bulls: The franchise before and after Michael Jordan
By Todd Dudas
The Chicago Bulls franchise was very much different before and after the arrival of Michael Jordan.
They say of the greatest players in sports that they are often imitated but never duplicated. We will never see another Michael Jordan in the NBA. Just like we will never see another Tom Brady in the NFL. Fans and sports announcers alike will always want to make comparisons when a new superstar comes along.
The city of Chicago has always been infamous for several things when we look back into the history of the Windy City. Much like the poem entitled: “Chicago,” produced in 1914 by Carl Sandburg.
Chicago deep-dish pizza, the evolution of Jazz music, and during the 1990s, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Arguably, and perhaps most importantly for sports fans, the best team ever. With the greatest basketball player ever.
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Jordan not only changed the trajectory of the Bulls franchise, but he had a massive impact, almost single-handedly, in the Chicago economy. The Bulls franchise went from being valued at $18.7 million to over $105 million in 1985.
In that same article, in another mind-blowing revelation, Jordan directly or indirectly contributed to the city and franchise so much that the Bulls are now estimated at over $3 billion.
On the court, his impact is not mistaken. Before Jordan arrived in Chicago, the Bulls were anything but good. From 1975-1984 (the year Jordan was drafted), the Bulls only made the playoffs twice and only advanced to the second round once. They had no title in their franchise’s history before Jordan.
After winning six NBA titles in eight years with Jordan (a feat that we may very well never see again), the Bulls have not even reached the NBA Finals. They’ve only made the conference finals once.
Since Jordan retired, the Bulls haven’t been able to get back to contender status. They had one magic run with Derrick Rose, during his MVP season in 2010-11, but, predictably, haven’t been able to replicate that same success.
The hope is that recent changes will begin to change that tide. The Bulls hired Arturas Karnisovas to become the team’s new Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and Marc Eversley as the team’s new General Manager.
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Chicago, over the last few decades, has emerged as one of the world’s most exciting cities. That’s at least in part due to Michael Jordan. At one point, he was just a kid with a dream. Now, he’s known as the greatest player to ever play in the NBA and an icon around the world.