1994–95 Chicago Bulls season

1994–95 Chicago Bulls season
Michael Jordan returns
Head coach Phil Jackson
Owner(s) Jerry Reinsdorf
Arena United Center
Results
Record 47–35 (.573)
Place Division: 3rd (Central)
Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish East Semifinals
(eliminated 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television SportsChannel Chicago, WGN
Radio WMAQ
Chicago Bulls seasons
< 1993–94 1995–96 >

Contents

Offseason

NBA Draft

Main article: 1994 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 21 Dickey Simpkins F  United States Providence
2 49 Kris Bruton F  United States Benedict

Regular season

Jordan returns

In the 1993–94 season, the Jordan-less Bulls notched a 55–27 record,[1] and lost to the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs. But the 1994–95 version of the Bulls was a shell of the championship squad of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago needed a lift. The lift came in early 1995, when Jordan decided to return to the NBA for the Bulls.

On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two-word press release: "I'm back."[2] The next day, Jordan donned jersey number 45 (his number with the Barons), as his familiar 23 had been retired in his honor following his first retirement. He took the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points.[3]

Although Jordan had not played in an NBA game in a year and a half, he played well upon his return, which included a game-winning jump shot (against Atlanta in his fourth game back), and a 55-point game against the Knicks on March 29, 1995.[4] The Bulls made the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals against the Orlando Magic. At the end of the first game of the series, Orlando's Nick Anderson commented that "He didn't look like the old Michael Jordan,"[5] after which Jordan returned to wearing his old number (23). Jordan averaged 31.5 points per game in that series, but Orlando prevailed in six games.

Season standings

Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Indiana Pacers 52 30 .634 – 33–8 19–22 18–10
x-Charlotte Hornets 50 32 .610 2 29–12 21–20 17–11
x-Chicago Bulls 47 35 .573 5 28–13 19–22 16–12
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 43 39 .524 9 26–15 17–24 17–11
x-Atlanta Hawks 42 40 .512 10 24–17 18–23 9–19
Milwaukee Bucks 34 48 .415 18 22–19 12–29 13–15
Detroit Pistons 28 54 .341 24 13–28 8–33 7–21

Roster

1994-95 Chicago Bulls roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From
PG 10 Armstrong, B.J. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Iowa
PF 44 Blount, Corie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Cincinnati
SG 30 Buechler, Jud 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Arizona
SG 3 English, Jo Jo 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) South Carolina
PF 35 Foster, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Texas-El Paso
SG 9 Harper, Ron 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Miami (Ohio)
SG 45 Jordan, Michael 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) North Carolina
PG 25 Kerr, Steve 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Arizona
PF 42 Krystkowiak, Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Montana
SF 7 Kukoč, Toni 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Croatia
C 13 Longley, Luc 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 265 lb (120 kg) New Mexico
SG 20 Myers, Pete 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Arkansas-Little Rock
C 32 Perdue, Will 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Vanderbilt
SF 33 Pippen, Scottie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Central Arkansas*
PF 8 Simpkins, Dickey 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 248 lb (112 kg) Providence
C 34 Wennington, Bill 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) St. John's
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
B.J. Armstrong 82 186 244 84 8 1150 14.0
Corie Blount 68 240 60 26 33 238 3.5
Toni Kukoc 81 440 372 102 16 1271 15.7
Luc Longley 55 263 73 24 45 358 6.5
Will Perdue 78 522 90 26 56 621 8.0

Playoffs

Award winners

NBA All-Star Game

References

  1. ^ Chicago Bulls, databasebasketball.com, accessed January 16, 2007.
  2. ^ Michael Jordan, nba.com/history, accessed January 15, 2007.
  3. ^ "Michael Jordan returns to Bulls in overtime loss to Indiana Pacers - Chicago Bulls", Jet Magazine, April 3, 1995, available on findarticles.com, accessed January 15, 2007.
  4. ^ Michael Jordan bio, nba.com, accessed January 20, 2007.
  5. ^ Lawrence, Mitch. Memories of MJ's first two acts, espn.com, September 10, 1999, accessed March 8, 2009.
1994 NBA Draft • All-Star Game • Playoffs • Finals • Transactions
Eastern
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Atlanta • Charlotte • Chicago • Cleveland • Detroit • Indiana • Milwaukee
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