June 16, 1996: Michael Jordan Completes His Comeback

June 16, 1996: The Chicago Bulls defeat the Seattle SuperSonics 87-75, to take Game 6 and the NBA Championship.

Michael Jordan thus completes his comeback from his "exile," after the death of his father, James Jordan; his not-really-a-suspension, due to his gambling addiction; and, as comedian Jordan Peele would later say, "your baseball career, now that was a tragedy!"

He sat out the 1993-94 season, and the Bulls lost the Eastern Conference Semifinal to the New York Knicks, who then lost the NBA Finals to the Houston Rockets. In March 1995, Jordan returned, or was allowed to, but, like Muhammad Ali, fighting Joe Frazier after only 2 tuneup fights, may have needed more time: The Bulls got swept in 4 straight by the Orlando Magic, who then got swept in the NBA Finals by the Rockets.

But in 1995-96, the Bulls dominated the NBA all season long, winning 72 games for a new regular-season record. With Phil Jackson coaching them, and Jordan, 1991-93 "threepeat" holdover Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Ron Harper, Luc Longley and Toni Kukoc, the Bulls swept the Miami Heat in 3 straight, beat the Knicks 4 games to 1, and swept the Magic in 4 straight to win the Eastern Conference title, setting up a Finals against the Seattle SuperSonics.

It surprised no one that the Bulls won the 1st 3 games, 107-90 and 92-88 at the United Center in Chicago, and 108-86 at the KeyArena in Seattle. The Sonics took Game 4 at home, 107-86. But when the Sonics also took Game 5 in Chicago, 89-78, it put more than just the Bulls' status as a contender for the title of "greatest team of all time," but their title this time. People began to talk about the Sonics maybe becoming the 1st team to come back in the Finals from 3-0 down to win it. Only the 1951 Knicks had even forced a Game 7 before losing.

Game 6 was played in Seattle on Sunday, June 16 -- Father's Day, a fact not lost on Jordan. He scored 22 points, and led the Bulls to an 87-75 victory, and their 4th title in 6 years. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals for the 4th time, but it was the title he cared about, as the TV cameras caught him in the locker room, tearfully hugging the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

The Bulls would go on to make it 6 NBA Championships in 8 years, with Jordan being named Finals MVP every time. Then, general manager Jerry Krause began to break them up, thinking he could build a new dynasty without Jordan -- or Jackson, for that matter. He was wrong: He was fired as GM after the 2003 season, and died in 2017. In the 26 seasons since, the Bulls have won just 5 Playoff series, reaching the Conference Finals twice, in 2011 and 2015, after Krause left.

The Sonics? They ceased to exist in 2008, without ever having been to another Finals (the only one they won was in 1979), and were moved to become the Oklahoma City Thunder (where they reached the Finals and lost in 2012).

(UPDATE: The Thunder won the NBA Championship in 2025. The Bulls still haven't made the NBA Finals, and the Conference Finals only twice.)

The Bulls' 72-10 regular-season record was surpassed by the 2016 Golden State Warriors, who went 73-9, but lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Were the '96 Bulls the greatest team of all time? The argument in their favor is Jordan.

But the question in comparing them to other teams is not, "Who's going to guard Jordan?" On the 1967 Philadelphia 76ers, Hal Greer. On the 1970 New York Knicks, Walt Frazier. On the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry West. On the 1983 76ers, Maurice Cheeks. On the 1985 Lakers, Magic Johnson. On the 1986 Boston Celtics, Larry Bird would personally take up the challenge. On the 1989 Detroit Pistons, the man who shut Jordan down better than anyone, Joe Dumars. On the 2000 Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant. On the 2012 Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade.

No, the real question, for any Bulls team with Jordan, whether it's the 1st threepeat with Bill Cartwright at center or the 2nd one with Luc Longley, is, against those teams, is, how are they going to stop, respectively: Wilt Chamberlain, Willis Reed, Chamberlain again, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish, Bill Laimbeer, Shaquille O'Neal or LeBron James.

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June 16, 1996 was, as I said, a Sunday -- Father's Day. Football was out of season. Hockey season had ended 6 days earlier, when the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup, completing a 4-game sweep over the Florida Pnathers.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-4 at Yankee Stadium. Andy Pettitte outpitched Dennis Martínez. At that point, Martínez had won 239 games in the major leagues, Pettitte 23. When their careers were over, Pettitte had won 256, Martínez 245.

Bernie Williams went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Tino Martinez went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Rookie Derek Jeter did not start, entered the game as a defensive replacement, and went 0-for-1.

* The New York Mets lost the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. The Mets took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the 8th, and blew it.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 10-9 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Reds bat the Montreal Expos, 7-0 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Roger Salkeld pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 8-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Tony Gwynn went 0-for-3 with a walk, and had an RBI on a fielder's choice.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals, 13-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Brady Anderson, in his outlier year, went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs, a walk and 5 RBIs. Cal Ripken went 3-for-5 with a walk.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-9 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the California Angels, 6-4 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-6 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Edgar Martínez went 2-for-3 with a walk and 4 RBIs. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with a walk.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 8-7 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 0-for-4 with a walk. For the Astros, Derek Bell went 4-for-4 with 3 RBIs.