NBA Time Capsule: Ranking every NBA Finals series since 1990

25.1996 – Chicago Bulls over Seattle Supersonics (4-2)

Since the NBA community had a meeting and decided the 1995 playoffs didn’t actually happen, I’ll say this is M.J.’s official return to basketball so I don’t get a bounty put on me by the M.J. mob.

This is the record-setting (until 2016) Bulls team that won 72 games but that’s really the only case I can make to watch this series. It’s probably M.J.’s worst Finals, and after the Bulls go up 3-0 you’re just waiting for it to end so you can move on.

Seattle does end up applying a little pressure once coach George Karl finally thinks “hey, I should probably put Gary Payton, winner of the Defensive Player of the Year, on Michael Jordan.” The brilliant move worked as Payton guarded Jordan as well as anyone can and helped them win two straight games, but Karl’s head-scratching delay to make that move until they were down 3-0 cost them any chance to pull off the upset.

24. 1991 – Chicago Bulls over Los Angeles Lakers (4-1)

The constant barrage of “6-0” and stories like the ones told in “The Last Dance” documentary paint the 90’s Bulls as an invincible, perfect team. But there was a time in 1991 where they hadn’t won anything yet and still had to prove themselves.

The Bulls of the late ’90s were arguably the most poised team in NBA history. When the other team made a run, they didn’t panic – they’d been through it too many times. But this Bulls team isn’t like that. They’re obviously talented, but they’re also young and at times erratic, which actually makes them more interesting to me.

Game 3 is the one to watch. Tied 1-1 and headed to L.A. for a high-pressure game, the Bulls clearly get rattled in the third quarter in a way that you won’t see in any other series they play. The Los Angeles Lakers go on a run, and the Bulls are turning it over, taking bad shots, and suffering defensive lapses.

The fourth quarter is, I think, a really important quarter for their entire dynasty. M.J. gets going and hits a jumper to tie the game with 3 seconds left, carrying the momentum into overtime for a big win on the road.

The Bulls cruised the rest of the series over a Lakers team holding on to the final years of their dynasty, but the Bulls were just a better team. This series is also unexpectedly Magic Johnson’s last full season in the NBA, which provides an interesting sub-plot in hindsight.