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72-10

April 21st, 2020 | by Sam Smith

1996-97

Record: 69-13
(First Place)

Roster

Left to Right: (front row): Luc Longley, Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Ron Harper. (middle row): Jud Buechler, Jason Caffey, Toni Kukoc, Bill Wennington, Robert Parish, Dickey Simpkins, Steve Kerr, Randy Brown. (back row): Equipment Manager John Ligmanowski, Assistant Coach Frank Hamblen, Assistant Coach Jimmy Rodgers, Head Coach Phil Jackson, Assistant Coach Tex Winter, Trainer Chip Schaefer. Not pictured: Brian Williams and Assistant Coach Bill Cartwright.

Team Leaders (avg)

29.6

Points

Michael Jordan

156

3pt FGs

Scottie Pippen

16.1

Rebounds

Dennis Rodman

7.0

Assists

Scottie Pippen

1.88

Steals

Scottie Pippen

1.12

Blocks

Luc Longley

Regular season

Finished season at 69-13, tying the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers for the second-best regular season record in NBA history ... set club record for most consecutive games won at the start of the sea- son (12-0) ... Bulls reached the 100-win milestone at the United Center on 03/22/97 with a 103-88 victory over Detroit ... surpassed the 1966-68 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1984-86 Boston Celtics for most wins in back-to-back seasons with a record of 131-19 ... Jordan set a club record for most starts (11) in season openers ... Jordan scored his 25,000th career point on 11/30/96 at San Antonio, reaching the plateau faster than any player in NBA history except Wilt Chamberlain ... on 04/06/97 at Orlando, Jordan scored his 26,711th point, passing Oscar Robertson for fifth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list ... Robert Parish played his NBA-record 21st season ... Dennis Rodman grabbed his 10,000th career rebound vs. Washington on 01/14/97 to become the 24th player in league history to reach the milestone ... Jordan, Pippen and Parish named to NBA’s 50 all-time greatest players list ... Phil Jackson named as one of the league’s all-time 10 greatest coaches ... Pippen (35), Toni Kukoc (31) and Jordan (30) became the first Bulls to score 30-plus points in the same game on 12/17/96 vs. L.A. Lakers.

Draft

First round, Travis Knight (Connecticut).

Playoffs

Won franchise’s second consecutive and fifth NBA title in seven years by defeating Utah 4-2 in the NBA Finals ... swept Washington 3-0 in the first round ... defeated Atlanta 4-1 in Eastern Conference Semifinals ... defeated Miami 4-1 in Eastern Conference Finals.

Honors

Michael Jordan captured his ninth scoring title with a 29.6 average ... Jordan named to NBA All- Star Team for the 11th time and chosen as 1997 NBA Finals MVP ... Dennis Rodman captured sixth consecu- tive rebounding title with a 16.1 average ... Scottie Pippen named a starter to the 1997 NBA All-Star Game ... Jordan and Pippen selected to 1996-97 All-NBA First Team ... Jordan and Pippen selected to 1996-97 NBA All-Defensive Team ... Jordan became the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double in an NBA All- Star Game (14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists) ... Steve Kerr won the AT&T Shootout during NBA All-Star Weekend...Bulls' home sellout streak reached 489.

Photo Gallery