“That extra element that would have been Michael Jordan would have put us over the top” – Phil Jackson believes the Bulls would’ve won four in a row if MJ didn’t retire in 1993

The Bulls had just become the first team since the 1960s Boston Celtics to win more than two championships, consecutively, winning three in a row from 1991 to 1993. But after Jordan’s sudden decision to retire, Chicago did not make it past the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1989 and was dethroned without having the chance to defend their title in the NBA Finals.

As good as they were without Mike, Bulls head coach Phil Jackson thinks that Jordan’s presence would have made that team win four in a row in 1994.

“Without Michael, we had a great season next year. We really played well. I think going into the last weekend of the year, we were tied for first place in the Eastern Conference and you know, the team’s dynamic showed, and their structures showed, the idea that they know how to play together showed. And that extra element that would have been Michael Jordan would have put us over the top,” said Jackson.

The 1993-94 Bulls were two wins short of their win total from the previous year

Without Jordan, the trio of Scottie Pippen, B.J. Armstrong and Horace Grant stepped up big time, averaging career-highs in scoring. All three were named to the Eastern Conference team, with Pip and B.J. as starters and Scottie winning All-Star Game MVP honors. As a team, the Bulls finished with a record of 55-27, just two games off the top seed in their conference and also just two games shy of their 57-win total with MJ one season earlier.

The Bulls, however, were eliminated in the second round of the 1995 Playoffs by the New York Knicks in a thrilling series that went the full seven-game route. With three of the Knicks’ four wins by a margin of five or fewer points, it’s easy to make an argument that Jordan, in Phil’s words, would have put them over the top. However, the “Zen Master” said it was not meant to be.

“But it turned out to be what was necessary in his life,” added Phil. “He had gone through hardship with his father dying murdered on the road; the situation was really devastating.”

“The Jet” said the Bulls would have had no answer for “Dream”

But of course, the Houston Rockets would beg to disagree with Phil that Jordan would have made a difference that year. Rockets guard Kenny Smith, who was MJ’s teammate at the University of North Carolina, argued that the Bulls were too small for Hakeem Olajuwon, and they had shooters who would make the Chicago defense pay if they doubled “Dream.”

“One of the things Phil Jackson did not want to do — he doesn’t like them double-teaming,” Smith said. “Hakeem would go crazy, and everybody, in the third quarter, they would be like: ‘Aight, let’s go double them.’ And then: ‘Splash! Splash! Splash!”

Both Phil and Kenny are entitled to their opinions on this mythical matchup, as are the other members of both squads, who gave their respective takes in different interviews. But while Smith is correct that Olajuwon would have been a problem for the Bulls, so would have been prime MJ for the Rockets. And don’t forget that during their dynasty run, the Bulls did not lose in the playoffs when “His Airness” played the full season.