Before the Bulls won their first NBA championship in 1991, the Chicago Bulls had a severe problem. The team's offense relied on Michael Jordan, one of the greatest individual players ever. Jordan won numerous individual accolades but lacked the one thing that mattered most: a championship with his team. The Bulls were losing, and it seemed like they would never win. So, what went wrong?
The answer is simple: the system was centered around Jordan and needed to be more conducive to winning as a team. Jordan was a sensational player but couldn't win with his team because he didn't trust his teammates. He wanted to do everything himself, leading to the Bulls being eliminated from the playoffs yearly.
Former NBA coach Phil Jackson, who coached the Bulls during their championship runs, spoke to this issue in his book, "Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success." He said, "Michael was always the best player on the team, but we needed him to be a leader. He had to learn to trust his teammates and get them involved in the game. It wasn't until he did that that we started to win championships."
Former Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen also spoke to this issue in his book, "Unguarded." He said, "We knew Michael was the best player in the world, but he needed to learn to trust us. He couldn't do it all himself. We had to work together as a team if we were going to win."
Even Jordan himself acknowledged this issue in his Hall of Fame induction speech. He said, "One thing that I always prided myself on is that I never wanted to be outworked. But there's a flip side to that. When I go back and look at some of the footage, I'm amazed at how hard I worked but didn't involve my teammates enough."
The Detroit Pistons, the Bulls' biggest rivals during that era, exploited this weakness. They knew the Bulls would crumble if they could shut down Jordan. So, they developed the "Jordan Rules," a defensive strategy focused on shutting down Jordan and forcing him to pass the ball to his teammates. The Pistons won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990, eliminating the Bulls from the playoffs.
Former Piston Isiah Thomas spoke to this issue in an interview with ESPN. He said, "We knew that if we shut down Jordan, we could beat the Bulls. We focused our defense on him and made him pass the ball. He didn't trust his teammates enough to make them better players."
The lesson from this is that more than individual talent is needed to win championships. It takes a team effort; players must trust their teammates and work together. The Bulls learned this lesson, leading to six NBA championships in eight years.
In conclusion, the Chicago Bulls' struggles before winning their first championship in 1991 resulted from a system built around Michael Jordan. It needed to be more conducive to succeeding as a team. Jordan had to learn to trust his teammates and get them involved in the game. The Detroit Pistons exploited this weakness, leading to the Bulls being eliminated from the playoffs. The lesson learned is that more than individual talent is needed to win championships; it takes a team effort.
Sources:
"The Jordan Rules: The Inside Story of a Turbulent Season with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls" by Sam Smith (book)
"When Michael Jordan Bounced the Bad Boys from the Playoffs" by Jonathan Abrams, The New York Times (article)
"The Pistons and Bulls Rivalry: Detroit's 'Jordan Rules'" by David Astramskas, Ballislife.com (article)
"The Last Dance" (documentary series)
"Michael Jordan's Last Dance Wasn't the Whole Story" by Wright Thompson, The Bleacher Report (article)
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