1992 Chicago Bulls vs 1996 Chicago Bulls

[st0rmb11]

I found an old VHS of the Chicago Bulls' 6 Championships, and it got me thinking..which Bulls team was better? (as in, which team would win a game)

1992 Bulls (67-15)(led by Jordan, Pippen, Grant, Armstrong, Paxson, Cartwright, Perdue and King)

or 1996 Bulls (72-10)(led by Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Longley, Kukoc, Harper, Kerr, and Brown)

My vote would have to go to the 1996 team (and not for the obvious reason, that they won more games)

For one thing, while the 1992 Bulls had an in his prime Michael Jordan, the 1996 Jordan was a much more rejuvenated one. He was hungrier, he wanted to prove himself, he wanted to prove that he was back, and he was still pretty much in his prime.

Also, Scottie Pippen was in his prime in 1996. He had had to carry the Bulls for 2 seasons without MJ, and had matured as a leader and as a player, and in 1996 he was at his best. (before injuries slowed him in 1997 and 1998)

To me, Rodman and Grant could be considered a wash. While Rodman was by far the superior rebounder (averaging 14.9 to Grant's 10.0), Grant had Rodman by nearly 10 points per game (at 14.2 to Rodman's 5.5). Grant also out-blocked Rodman by 1 block per game, and averaged 0.2 more assists than Rodman. So, I think that these numbers, and Rodman clearly winning the "intangibles" argument because of his incredible hustle and hard nosed defense, these 2 cancel each other out.

I also see Longley vs Cartwright as a wash. The biggest thing to me, would be that Longley was younger and had fresher legs, but the 1992 Bulls could have easily combated this with Stacey King, Will Perdue, and Scott Williams off the bench (as well as Cliff Levingston).

What do you guys think? (Sorry if this has ever been asked before, I don't follow this board very "religiously", if you will"

[USF11]

1996 Bulls were more vicious on D and had a higher IQ.

[Altimus]

1996 Bulls. Toni Kukoc is one of the x factors IMO.

[King_B_Mack]

Yeah, I don't think the '92 team would have had an answer for Toni. Back to the Jordan point, while '92 Jordan was amazing, the return of Jordan for the second three peat was a more complete player and you should look no further than the complete domination and mastery of the fadeaway jumper that he added to his game at that time. While '92 Jordan was more explosive, '96 Jordan was smarter.

As also mentioned Scottie Pippen had completely come into his own by that time and was a much better player on both ends of the floor compared to the '92 version of himself. I would have to say that BJ Armstrong may have been a better option at the PG than Harper however. Though defensively Harper was definitely the better option for that team. Either way though, the '96 team wins this every time in my eyes.

[st0rmb11]

Yeah, I didn't mention it in my original post, but I felt that Kukoc being the 6th man he was, would be the determining factor. Not sure what answer the 1992 Bulls would have had for him.

I notice that 2 people have chosen the 1992 team. I would love to hear what led to your votes for that team. Perhaps you could sway me towards that year's team.

[youvalss]

The game would be tied, but then Stacey King would pass the ball right to the hands of 1996-Pippen...because he can't tell the difference. Game over.

[Anavar]

Quote: Originally Posted by Altimus

1996 Bulls. Toni Kukoc is one of the x factors IMO.

And Ron Harper's D.

[michaeljordanjr]

We're talking about the only team in sports history that could practically go undefeated, their dominance has never been and never will be matched.

MJ is our Einstein.