There are few sporting dynasties more famous than the Chicago Bulls.
During the 1990s, the team won six NBA championships in eight seasons, made up of two three-peat title runs either side of Michael Jordan‘s brief retirement.
The 1990 Bulls, lead by Jordan, were one of sports greatest-ever dynastiesGettyThe second of those three-peats, from 1996-98, is widely considered better than the first run from 91-93.
Chicago had a higher winning percentage during those years, while leaders MJ and Scottie Pippen were considerably older, which made their play only more impressive.
The quality of teams the Bulls had to get through was also seen as tougher too.
They beat the Shaquille O’Neal-Penny Hardaway Orlando Magic in 1996 en-route to the NBA Finals, where Chicago then overcame the Shawn Kemp-Gary Payton Seattle SuperSonics.
Legend Kemp has since famously said that it was Dennis Rodman who was actually more valuable than Jordan during that series.
The Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers also took them to seven games in the 1998 Eastern Conference finals, and the John Stockton-Karl Malone Utah Jazz gave them a battle in two-straight Finals.
While the competition in the later years was of a higher standard, the Bulls were also given an almighty fright by the New York Knicks in the 1993 playoffs.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, it was the Knicks who took a two game lead.
Led by Patrick Ewing, Doc Rivers and John Starks, New York secured a 98-90 win in Game 1 at Madison Square Garden on May 23.
They returned two days later and laid down a marker with 96-91 victory.
Ewing, Oakley and Starks gave the Bulls a scare in the 1993 Eastern Conference finalsGetty The Knicks took a two-game lead in the series, thanks to Starks’ late dunkGettyEwing, who fellow NBA legend Shaq once shed tears discussing, led the scoring for the Knicks that night, but his teammate Starks stole the headlines.
With 50 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, and New York leading 91-88 in a tight game, the physical shooting guard had the ball in the right corner of the court, closely guarded by BJ Armstrong.
Ewing came to set a screen for Starks, who faked to the left, as if to exploit the screen, but then drove along the baseline and, with his left hand, dunked over Horace Grant as MJ came over to help.
The incredible play has become known simply as ‘The Dunk’ — and propelled New York to their second win against Chicago.
It became Starks’ signature moment from the 1993 season, and one that was compared to something MJ himself would have done.
On the TV broadcast, John Andariese claimed: “That’s as Jordan-like as any other player in the NBA can get!”
Starks began his iconic play on the right corner of the courtBasketball Action He slammed the ball down over Bulls stars Grant and MJBasketball ActionIn the locker room, Rivers marveled: “That’s something I couldn’t do on a six-foot hoop. It was Michael Jordan, except in a New York uniform.”
Years later, Starks also recalled his famous slam.
“The noise was deafening,” he told the New York Post.
“People were going crazy, absolutely crazy, and my teammates were ecstatic, Patrick beating on my chest and (Charles Oakley) beating on my chest.
“If one of those plays happens in Chicago, it’s just another play. The fact that it happened at the Garden made it very special.
“In that moment, we thought we had them. We thought we were going to beat Michael Jordan.
“We thought we were on our way.”
The Knicks, indeed, won that game. But the rest, as they say, is history.
Starks was compared to Jordan after his iconic dunk against the BullsGetty After losing the first two games, Chicago turned the series around to win 4-2GettyNew York went on to lose the next four, and the series, to the Bulls.
Chicago advanced to the 1993 NBA Finals, where they beat regular-season MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in six games to win their third-straight championship.
Fast forward to 2025 and they’re locked in a first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons.
New York leads the series 3-2 with a pivotal Game 6 set for Thursday night at MSG.
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