1996 NBA Finals

1996 basketball championship series February 2024 1996nbafinals.jpg NBA 1996 Seattle SuperSonics George Karl 2 Chicago Bulls Phil Jackson 4 June 5–16 Michael Jordan(Chicago Bulls) Bulls:Michael Jordan (2009)Toni Kukoc (2021)Scottie Pippen (2010)Dennis Rodman (2011)SuperSonics:Gary Payton (2013)Coaches:Phil Jackson (2007)George Karl (2022)Tex Winter (2011)Officials:Dick Bavetta (2015)Danny Crawford (2025)Hugh Evans (2022) Bulls defeated Magic, 4–0 SuperSonics defeated Jazz, 4–3 The 1996 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1995–96 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics (64–18) played the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls (72–10), with the Bulls holding home court advantage. The teams' 136 combined regular season wins shattered the previous record of 125, set in 1985 between the Los Angeles Lakers who won 62 games and the Boston Celtics who won 63 games in the past regular season. The series, the 50th NBA finals in league history, was played under a best-of-seven format. This was the first championship in the Chicago Bulls' second three-peat.http://www.nba.com/history/bulls_dynasty.html NBA.com: The Bulls Dynasty NBA.com September 13, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20131209024614/http://www.nba.com/history/bulls_dynasty.html December 9, 2013 dead Chicago won the series 4 games to 2. Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP, his fourth time winning the award. Background Chicago Bulls 1995–96 Chicago Bulls season The Bulls were coming off a season where they lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Orlando Magic. Heading into the upcoming season, Chicago was no longer the same team as they were in their most recent championship season of 1993, having lost key members of their first three-peat core in John Paxson and Bill Cartwright, both of whom retired, while Horace Grant, B. J. Armstrong, Stacey King, Will Perdue, and Scott Williams all left via free agency. In their place was a new core of players such as Luc Longley, Toni Kukoč, Steve Kerr, Ron Harper, Jud Buechler, Bill Wennington, and Randy Brown. A notable addition to the team was Dennis Rodman, a nine-year veteran and four year rebounding champion. However, his addition to the team was slightly panned due to his unpredictability and controversial actions on and off the court.Isaacson Melissa August 11, 2011 Bulls had right chemistry for Rodman https://www.espn.com/chicago/nba/story/_/id/6854942/dennis-rodman-addition-put-bulls-top 2026-06-12 espn.com The result of this ensemble was perhaps the greatest regular season of any team in NBA history at the time, as the Bulls won a record-high 72 games, which would be broken by the Golden State Warriors in the 2015–16 season.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ihXJ85MNak The Warriors RECORD-BREAKING 73 Win Season Was Legendary 2026-04-13 Golden State Warriors 2026-06-22 YouTube They continued to gain momentum in the playoffs, beginning with a sweep of the Miami Heat in the first round, followed by a five-game defeat of the New York Knicks in the second round. The conference finals was a rematch of the previous season's series with the Orlando Magic, but it was a no-contest, as the Bulls swept the Magic to gain entry into the Finals.1995-96 Chicago Bulls Schedule https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/1996_games.html 2026-06-22 Basketball-Reference.com Due to the win-loss record, Jordan's first full season back from baseball, and the star power of Dennis Rodman, arguably the most well-known player in the NBA outside of Jordan due to his relationship with Madonna, the Bulls began to be treated like global rock stars.Page 2 June 21, 2008 Bandwagons that even you may have jumped on http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=bandwagonhistory/080619 2026-06-12 This created an unprecedented frenzy among away fans in opposing cities. Rather than animosity, their road trips triggered massive fanfare, ticket sellouts, and cultural pandemonium wherever they played, which had not occurred before then with any other NBA team.Pickman Ben 2020-04-30 Tales from the Bench of the 1990s Chicago Bulls https://www.si.com/nba/2020/04/30/1990s-bulls-bench-players-rockstar-treatment 2026-06-12 SI en-US Seattle SuperSonics 1995–96 Seattle SuperSonics season The SuperSonics were led by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, with George Karl as head coach. The team was considered a perennial title contender throughout the mid-1990s, but the closest they came to reaching the finals was in 1993, when they lost to the Phoenix Suns in seven games in the Western Conference finals.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzz8X3mFkc8 Sonics @ Suns 1993 WCF Deciding Game 7 (NBA On NBC) 2025-02-04 MDBBall 2026-06-22 YouTube Two straight first-round exits followed, including the stunning 1994 loss to the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets (the Sonics were the first seed in that playoffs).Spyropoulos Eric May 7, 2020 Denver Nuggets Legendary Moments: 1994 upset of Seattle SuperSonics Denver Nuggets https://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/nuggets-legendary-moment-1994-sonics-050720 2026-06-22 NBA.com Motivated by a successive string of early playoff losses, Seattle finished the 1996 regular season with a franchise-record 64 wins. Seattle began its playoff run with a four-game win over the Sacramento Kings, followed by a dominant sweep of the defending champion Houston Rockets, headed by a 33-point win in Game 1 where they held Hakeem Olajuwon to 5 points.Staff SI 2016-08-01 Teams That Had A Chance To Three-Peat And Failed https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2016/08/01/teams-had-chance-three-peat-and-failed 2026-06-22 SI en-US They then beat the Utah Jazz in seven games in the western finals to advance to its first NBA championship round since 1979. Road to the Finals 1996 NBA playoffs Seattle SuperSonics (Western Conference champion) Chicago Bulls (Eastern Conference champion)SEA1st seed in the West, 2nd best league recordRegular seasonCHI1st seed in the East, best league recordDefeated the (8) Sacramento Kings, 3–1First roundDefeated the (8) Miami Heat, 3–0Defeated the (5) Houston Rockets, 4–0Conference semifinalsDefeated the (5) New York Knicks, 4–1Defeated the (3) Utah Jazz, 4–3Conference finalsDefeated the (2) Orlando Magic, 4–0 Regular season series The teams split their two meetings, each game won by the home team: #fff November 26, 1995 Chicago Bulls 92 Seattle SuperSonics |score2=97 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington January 10, 1996 Seattle SuperSonics 87 Chicago Bulls |score2=113 United Center, Chicago, IllinoisAs Chicago went on to break the win-loss record with 72 wins and just 10 losses, the SuperSonics were one of nine teams to defeat the Bulls in the regular-season on November 26, 1995, in Seattle (Indiana defeated Chicago twice). In the game, Gary Payton stole the ball from Jordan with 20 seconds left in the game, with Seattle up, 94–92. Sam Perkins and Detlef Schrempf added free throws in the remaining seconds that iced the game.Press Associated 1995-11-27 IN RETRO PERFORMANCE, MILLS'S 3 ROCKS ROCKETS https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1995/11/27/in-retro-performance-millss-3-rocks-rockets/15d96dc2-a1bd-4d6b-b0c3-bd7545af4442/ 2026-04-22 The Washington Post en-US 0190-8286 1996 NBA Finals rosters Chicago Bulls Chicago Bulls 1995–96 0 Randy Brown basketball G 6 2 190 1968–05–22 New Mexico State 30 Jud Buechler G/F 6 6 220 1968–06–19 Arizona 35 Jason Caffey F 6 8 255 1973–06–12 Alabama 53 James Edwards basketball C 7 0 225 1955–11–22 Washington 54 Jack Haley basketball F 6 10 240 1964–01–27 UCLA 9 Ron Harper G 6 6 185 1964–01–20 Miami (OH) 23 Michael Jordan G 6 6 215 1963–02–17 North Carolina 25 Steve Kerr G 6 3 175 1965–09–27 Arizona 7 Toni Kukoc F 6 11 220 1968–09–18 Croatia 13 Luc Longley C 7 2 265 1969–01–19 New Mexico 33 Scottie Pippen F 6 8 218 1965–09–25 Central Arkansas 91 Dennis Rodman F 6 6 220 1961–05–13 Southeastern Oklahoma State 22 John Salley F 6 11 230 1964–05–16 Georgia Tech 8 Dickey Simpkins F 6 9 248 1972–04–06 Providence 34 Bill Wennington C 7 0 245 1963–04–26 St. John's Phil Jackson Jim Cleamons Jim Rodgers John Paxson Tex Winter Seattle SuperSonics Seattle SuperSonics 1995–96 #004725 #FFFFFF #A71B28 #FFFFFF 2 Vincent Askew F/G 6 6 210 1966–02–28 Memphis 34 Frank Brickowski F/C 6 9 240 1959–08–14 Penn State 1 Sherell Ford F 6 7 210 1972–08–26 UIC 33 Hersey Hawkins G 6 3 190 1966–09–29 Bradley 50 Ervin Johnson C 6 11 245 1967–12–21 New Orleans 40 Shawn Kemp F/C 6 10 230 1969–11–26 Trinity Valley CC 10 Nate McMillan F/G 6 5 195 1964–08–03 North Carolina State 20 Gary Payton G 6 4 180 1968–07–23 Oregon State 14 Sam Perkins F/C 6 9 235 1961–06–14 North Carolina 55 Steve Scheffler F/C 6 9 250 1967–09–03 Purdue 11 Detlef Schrempf F/C 6 9 214 1963–01–21 Washington 3 Eric Snow G 6 3 190 1973–04–04 Michigan State 25 David Wingate basketball F/G 6 5 185 1963–12–15 Georgetown George Karl Dwane Casey Tim Grgurich Terry Stotts Bob Weiss Series summary Game Date Road team Result Home team Game 1 June 5 Seattle SuperSonics 90–107 (0–1) Chicago Bulls Game 2 June 7 Seattle SuperSonics 88–92 (0–2) Chicago Bulls Game 3 June 9 Chicago Bulls 108–86 (3–0) Seattle SuperSonics Game 4 June 12 Chicago Bulls 86–107 (3–1) Seattle SuperSonics Game 5 June 14 Chicago Bulls 78–89 (3–2) Seattle SuperSonics Game 6 June 16 Seattle SuperSonics 75–87 (2–4) Chicago Bulls All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). Game 1 #eee June 5 9:00 et United Center, Chicago, Illinois NBC Seattle SuperSonics 90 Chicago Bulls |score2=107 https://web.archive.org/web/19961027101941/http://www.nba.com/finals96/game1_story.html October 27, 1996 Recap 18–24 30–29 29–26 13–28 Shawn Kemp 32 Michael Jordan 28 Gary Payton 10 Dennis Rodman 13 Gary Payton 6 Ron Harper 7 24,544 No. 43 Danny Crawford No. 17 Joey Crawford No. 15 Bennett Salvatore Chicago leads the series, 1–0 Although Chicago was not playing well offensively, they were able to compensate with superb defense. Frustration set in for Seattle when Frank Brickowski was ejected after committing a flagrant foul against Dennis Rodman, then promptly getting charged with two consecutive technical fouls. Chicago was leading by only 2 at the end of the third quarter, but in the final quarter, shots by Toni Kukoč and 2 key steals by Ron Harper clinched the Bulls' Game 1 win. Shawn Kemp was a bright spot for Seattle, scoring 32 points, but ended up fouling out midway through the fourth quarter. Michael Jordan led the way for the Bulls with 28 points, while Scottie Pippen chipped in with 21 points. Seattle captain Nate McMillan ended up leaving the game due to a debilitating back injury in the 2nd quarter. Dennis Rodman pulled down 13 rebounds for the Bulls, while Toni Kukoč chipped in off the bench with 18 points.1996 NBA Finals Game 1: SuperSonics vs Bulls, June 5, 1996 https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199606050CHI.html 2026-06-22 Basketball-Reference.com Game 2 #eee June 7 9:00 et United Center, Chicago, Illinois NBC Seattle SuperSonics 88 Chicago Bulls |score2=92 https://web.archive.org/web/19961027101953/http://www.nba.com/finals96/game2_story.html October 27, 1996 Recap 27–23 18–23 20–30 23–16 Shawn Kemp 29 Michael Jordan 29 Shawn Kemp 13 Dennis Rodman 20 Payton, Schrempf 3 each Michael Jordan 8 24,544 No. 42 Hue Hollins No. 20 Jess Kersey No. 4 Ed T. Rush Chicago leads the series, 2–0 Game 2 started well for Seattle with a 27–23 first quarter lead. However, Seattle would once again lose the lead before halftime. Despite Shawn Kemp's 29 points and 13 rebounds, Chicago triumphed with a final score of 92 to 88. In the victory, Dennis Rodman tied an NBA Finals record with 11 offensive rebounds and made a clutch free throw near the end of the game to seal the Bulls victory. Michael Jordan once again led the Bulls with 29 points, while Shawn Kemp continued his strong play by scoring 29 points for Seattle.1996 NBA Finals Game 2: SuperSonics vs Bulls, June 7, 1996 https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199606070CHI.html 2026-06-22 Basketball-Reference.com Game 3 #eee June 9 7:30 et KeyArena, Seattle, Washington NBC Chicago Bulls |score1=108 Seattle SuperSonics 86 https://web.archive.org/web/19961027102005/http://www.nba.com/finals96/game3_story.html October 27, 1996 Recap 34–16 28–22 13–23 33–25 Michael Jordan 36 Detlef Schrempf 20 Dennis Rodman 10 Brickowski, Payton 7 each Scottie Pippen 9 Gary Payton 9 17,072 No. 27 Dick Bavetta No. 25 Hugh Evans No. 29 Steve Javie Chicago leads the series, 3–0 The Sonics, owners of a 44–5 home record (including playoffs),Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvISgDdoiEc SuperSonics x Bulls 1996 Finals Game 3 YouTube suffered a 22-point blow-out in their return to Seattle, giving the Bulls a seemingly insurmountable 3–0 series lead. Frustration would once again set in for the Sonics, as Frank Brickowski was ejected for committing a flagrant foul on Dennis Rodman. Michael Jordan led the way for the Bulls with 36 points.1996 NBA Finals Game 3: Bulls vs SuperSonics, June 9, 1996 https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199606090SEA.html 2026-06-22 Basketball-Reference.com Game 4 #eee June 12 9:00 et KeyArena, Seattle, Washington NBC Chicago Bulls 86 Seattle SuperSonics |score2=107 https://web.archive.org/web/19961027102027/http://www.nba.com/finals96/game4_story.html October 27, 1996 Recap 21–25 11–28 31–31 23–23 Michael Jordan 23 Shawn Kemp 25 Dennis Rodman 14 Shawn Kemp 11 Scottie Pippen 8 Gary Payton 11 17,072 No. 17 Joey Crawford No. 13 Mike Mathis No. 21 Bill Oakes Chicago leads the series, 3–1 Seattle did not want to suffer the ignominy of a sweep. In an attempt to spark his team, Coach George Karl gave Jordan's defensive assignment to Gary Payton, a move which showed immediate results.How putting Gary Payton on Michael Jordan sooner could have changed the 1996 NBA Finals https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fancy-stats/wp/2014/08/21/how-putting-gary-payton-on-michael-jordan-sooner-could-have-changed-the-1996-nba-finals/ Washington Post Seattle succeeded with a 107–86 win over the Bulls, and Sonics fans taunted the Bulls players with homemade signs reading "Sweepless in Seattle". https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1996-06-13-9606130215-story.html SWEEPLESS IN SEATTLE – Orlando Sentinel June 13, 1996 The Sonics were helped by the return of team captain Nate McMillan whose presence entering the game brought the KeyArena crowd to its feet. Seattle's victory prevented the NBA Finals from being swept in two consecutive years (something which, as of 2026, has never occurred).https://fansided.com/2021/07/06/complete-list-of-nba-finals-sweeps/ Complete list of NBA Finals sweeps July 6, 2021 Game 5 #eee June 14 9:00 et KeyArena, Seattle, Washington NBC Chicago Bulls 78 Seattle SuperSonics |score2=89 https://web.archive.org/web/19961027102040/http://www.nba.com/finals96/game5_story.html October 27, 1996 Recap 18–18 24–25 18–19 18–27 Michael Jordan 26 Gary Payton 23 Dennis Rodman 12 Shawn Kemp 10 Scottie Pippen 5 Gary Payton 6 17,072 No. 42 Hue Hollins No. 20 Jess Kersey No. 4 Ed T. Rush Chicago leads the series, 3–2 Seattle would once again deny the Bulls the championship, stretching the series to six games. Payton had this to say: "We feel great. We knew we could play with this team. It just took too long. We should have come with this a little earlier."http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19951996.html NBA.com: Bulls' Record-Setting Season Ends in Victory NBA.com March 30, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20120222154955/http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19951996.html February 22, 2012 dead Shawn Kemp's performance in this game was considered by many to be his best in a Seattle uniform. This game marked the last NBA Finals game played in Seattle. Game 6 #eee June 16 7:30 pm United Center, Chicago, Illinois NBC Seattle SuperSonics 75 Chicago Bulls |score2=87 https://web.archive.org/web/19961027102055/http://www.nba.com/finals96/game6_story.html October 27, 1996 Recap 18–24 20–21 20–22 17–20 Detlef Schrempf 23 Michael Jordan 22 Shawn Kemp 14 Dennis Rodman 19 Gary Payton 7 Michael Jordan 7 24,544 No. 27 Dick Bavetta No. 25 Hugh Evans No. 29 Steve Javie Chicago wins the NBA Finals, 4–2 Chicago won the series four games to two on Father's Day, in what would be the last time the Sonics played a Finals game before relocating to Oklahoma City and being renamed the Thunder. The Bulls' victory was partly due to the stellar performance of power forward Dennis Rodman,2 February 2025 George Karl hinted that Dennis Rodman was the MVP of the 1996 NBA Finals https://www.basketballnetwork.net/old-school/george-karl-hinted-that-dennis-rodman-was-the-mvp-of-1996-nba-finals Basketball Network who delivered a repeat of his Game 2 performance with 19 rebounds, tying his own NBA Finals record. Bulls star Michael Jordan finished the game with 22 points and collected his fourth Finals MVP.NBA FINALS 1996 https://www.nba.com/watch/list/collection/1996-nba-finals-supersonics-vs-bulls 2026-06-22 NBA.com An emotional Jordan clutched the game ball and broke down sobbing on the locker room floor, dedicating the win to his father, who was murdered in 1993. It was Jordan's first title without his father present.Young Ryan 2020-05-11 'The Last Dance' ends fourth night with Michael Jordan's most human moment https://sports.yahoo.com/the-last-dance-michael-jordan-crying-after-winning-1996-nba-finals-seattle-supersonics-dad-death-fathers-day-034218703.html 2026-06-22 Yahoo Sports As of the conclusion of the 2026 playoffs, no NBA team has ever overcome a 3–0 playoff series deficit, and only four teams have forced a Game 7 after losing the first three contests: the New York Knicks (1951), Denver Nuggets (1994), Portland Trail Blazers (2003), and Boston Celtics (2023).https://www.fanduel.com/theduel/posts/teams-to-come-back-from-3-1-and-3-0-series-deficits-in-nba-playoffs-01dd179xj6ya Teams to Come Back from 3-1 and 3-0 Series Deficits in NBA Playoffs June 10, 2019 https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2023/05/27/celtics-heat-eastern-conference-finals-game-6-live-updates-score/?p1=hp_secondary Derrick White's putback at the buzzer wins Game 6 for Celtics and forces Game 7 www.boston.com Sixteen teams, including the Sonics, have managed to extend a 3–0 series to a Game 6.Stats of Playoff Series with a 3-0 Lead https://www.landofbasketball.com/statistics/playoff_series_3_0.htm Player statistics Chicago Bulls Chicago Bulls |- | align="left" | Randy Brown basketball || 6 || 0 || 8.2 || .500 || .500 || .500 || 0.3 || 0.9 || 0.7 || 0.0 || 2.8 |- | align="left" | Jud Buechler || 6 || 0 || 5.6 || .222 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.2 || 0.7 || 0.0 || 0.7 |- | align="left" | Ron Harper || 6 || 4 || 19.3 || .375 || .308 || .917 || 2.3 || 1.7 || 0.7 || 0.3 || 6.5 |-! style="background:#FDE910;" | align="left" | Michael Jordan || 6 || 6 || 42.0 || .415 || .316 || .836 || 5.3 || 4.2 || 1.7 || 0.2 || 27.3 |- | align="left" | Steve Kerr || 6 || 0 || 18.8 || .303 || .182 || .857 || 0.9 || 0.8 || 0.2 || 0.0 || 5.0 |- | align="left" | Toni Kukoč || 6 || 2 || 29.5 || .423 || .313 || .800 || 4.8 || 3.5 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 13.0 |- | align="left" | Luc Longley || 6 || 6 || 28.3 || .574 || .000 || .727 || 3.8|| 2.2 || 0.6 || 1.8 || 11.7 |- | align="left" | Scottie Pippen || 6 || 6 || 41.3 || .343 || .231 || .708 || 8.2 || 5.3 || 2.3 || 1.3 || 15.7 |- | align="left" | Dennis Rodman || 6 || 6 || 37.5 || .486 || .000 || .579 || 14.7 || 2.5 || 0.8 || 0.2 || 7.5 |- | align="left" | John Salley || 5 || 0 || 3.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.2 || 0.4 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | Bill Wennington || 6 || 0 || 7.0 || .667 || .000 || .500 || 0.5 || 0.2 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.9 Seattle SuperSonics Seattle SuperSonics |- | align="left" | Vincent Askew || 4 || 0 || 15.5 || .222 || .200 || 1.000 || 2.5 || 0.5 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 1.8 |- | align="left" | Frank Brickowski || 6 || 3 || 11.3 || .222 || .200 || .000 || 2.0 || 0.5 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 0.8 |- | align="left" | Hersey Hawkins || 6 || 6 || 38.3 || .455 || .273 || .923 || 3.5 || 1.0 || 1.2 || 0.2 || 13.3 |- | align="left" | Ervin Johnson || 3 || 3 || 6.7 || .333 || .000 || .000 || 2.3 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 1.3 |- | align="left" | Shawn Kemp || 6 || 6 || 40.3 || .551 || .000 || .857 || 10.0 || 2.2 || 1.3 || 2.0 || 23.3 |- | align="left" | Nate McMillan || 4 || 0 || 12.8 || .429 || .600 || 1.000 || 2.8 || 1.5 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 2.8 |- | align="left" | Gary Payton || 6 || 6 || 45.7 || .444 || .333 || .731 || 6.3 || 7.0 || 1.5 || 0.0 || 18.0 |- | align="left" | Sam Perkins || 6 || 0 || 31.7 || .377 || .235 || .810 || 4.7 || 2.0 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 11.2 |- | align="left" | Steve Scheffler || 4 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | Detlef Schrempf || 6 || 6 || 39.7 || .443 || .389 || .875 || 5.0 || 2.5 || 0.5 || 0.2 || 16.3 |- | align="left" | Eric Snow || 6 || 0 || 1.5 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | David Wingate basketball || 6 || 0 || 8.0 || .500 || .500 || 1.000 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.5 Broadcasting The Finals was aired in the United States on NBC. Bob Costas hosted the pre-game, halftime and post-game show with analysts Julius Erving and Peter Vecsey. Games were called by Marv Albert, Matt Guokas and Bill Walton, while Ahmad Rashad and Hannah Storm served as sideline reporters. The local NBC stations of the participants were WMAQ-TV (Chicago) and KING-TV (Seattle). Aftermath thumb|1996 Chicago Bulls in 1997 during their White House visit with President Bill Clinton This was the SuperSonics’ last Finals appearance during their time in Seattle, as the team moved to Oklahoma City in 2008 and became the Oklahoma City Thunder. They would make the finals four years later after the move, losing to the Big Three-led Miami Heat in five games. In 2025, the Thunder won their second championship over the Indiana Pacers in seven games. This was George Karl's only Finals appearance in his entire 27-seasons as an NBA head coach.George Karl https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/george-karl 2026-06-22 The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame The Bulls came close to winning 70 games for the second straight year, but lost three of their last four games and instead settled for a 69-win campaign in 1997.1996-97 Chicago Bulls Schedule https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/1997_games.html 2026-06-22 Basketball-Reference.com Nonetheless, the Bulls repeated as champions, defeating the Karl Malone and John Stockton-led Utah Jazz in six games in the first of two finals matches between Chicago and Utah. In the off-season that preceded Scottie Pippen became the first person to win the NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year twice, playing for Team USA at the Atlanta Olympics.DREAM TEAM'S SLEEPWALK ENDS WITH GOLD MEDAL August 4, 1996 Sam Smith Chicago Tribune 1 The Bulls' combined 87 wins in the regular season and postseason would stand as an NBA record until the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors, coached by former Bull Steve Kerr, broke it with 88 total wins (thanks to the first round using a best-of-7 format instead of the best-of-5 in 1996), including a 73–9 regular season mark. However, the Warriors lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals, failing to repeat as champions after beating the same Cavaliers in the previous Finals. This was the first NBA Finals to feature a Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy patch on each team's uniforms. This would continue until the 2009 NBA Finals, though from 1998 to 2001, the uniform patch was of the NBA Finals logo itself. Starting with the 2010 NBA Finals, the patch would switch to a gold basketball containing the NBA logo and the Finals logo inside; this replaced the regular NBA logo on the team's uniforms.2025-06-26 NBA Finals Patch Guide (1990s–Now) — Read This Before You Add One to Your Jersey - Hoop Jersey Store https://hoopjersey.com/blogs/nba-jersey-wiki/nba-finals-patch-guide-1990s-now-read-this-before-you-add-one-to-your-jersey/ 2026-06-22 hoopjersey.com See also 1996 NBA playoffs The Last Dance (miniseries) Notes and references External links http://www.nba.com/finals96/ Official website of the 1996 NBA Finals NBA.com June 13, 2011 bot: unknown https://web.archive.org/web/19961027084008/http://www.nba.com/finals96/ October 27, 1996 NBA.com's History of 1996 NBA Finals Category:NBA Finals Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals Category:Basketball competitions in Seattle Category:Basketball competitions in Chicago NBA Finals Category:Events at United Center