Category: Bulls History

LeBron James catching up to Michael Jordan in The Athletic’s GOAT poll

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan was voted on by players as the GOAT, but LeBron James is catching up.

The Athletic has conducted a yearly poll with anonymous NBA players for years, and one of the questions they ask is simply, “Who is the GOAT?” Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan has led the poll since the question started getting asked, but this year’s numbers continue the trend of years past: LeBron James is catching up.

“Do you think MJ’s getting nervous? King James almost took his (player poll) GOAT crown this time around, and he’ll do just that next year if this voting trend continues,” wrote Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “In this endless debate, His Airness has experienced serious slippage for the third consecutive poll. Jordan had a huge edge in 2019 (73 percent to LeBron’s 11.9 percent) and was still nearly doubling him in 2023 (58.3 percent to 33 percent). Now the gap is only 3.8 percent.

“It makes some sense, though, as James is doing things at this late stage of his career that players this age have never done. And these many feats, it’s quite clear, are changing the way some players see this debate. Consider the highlights of his past 14 months…”

In the poll, Jordan earned 45.9% of the votes, but James was right behind him with 42.1% of the vote. Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Magic Johnson, and Paul Pierce also received votes.

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Pair of Michael Jordan game-worn kicks from 1996 NBA Finals Game 5 sells for nearly half-million

It seems that MJ’s old kicks are seen as an increasingly sound investment.

It probably should not surprise that sneakers won in games by the man behind Nike’s Jordan Brand go for a lot of money at auction. But once again, a pair of game-worn kicks that Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer Michael Jordan just returned a boatload of cash, per recent reporting from Cllct Media’s Darren Rovell.

A pair of sneakers worn in Game 5 of the Bulls’ 1996 NBA Finals series vs. the Seattle SuperSonics has been reportedly auctioned off by Sotheby’s for a mere $482,600. The phenomena of His Airness’ game-worn kicks getting sold for huge sums is almost so regular as to stop being newsworthy at this point.

Culminating in the sale of a package of game-worn Jordan sneakers that sold for a whopping $8 million, it seems that MJ’s old kicks are seen as an increasingly sound investment.

But then, when it was your transcendent skill on the court and business acumen off it that built the Jordan Brand into what it is today, that his shoes are so valued by collectors and fans alike makes sense.

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Bulls have been one of the worst teams over the last 25 years

The Chicago Bulls have been one of the worst franchises in the NBA for the past 25 years.

The regular season has come and gone, and with it, another year of Chicago Bulls basketball is in the books. They still have to go through the Play-In Tournament, starting with the nine-ten game against the Atlanta Hawks, but the first 82 have come and gone. Chicago finished the year at 39-43.

It marks their second season in a row with a below-.500 record, and the sixth time in seven seasons that they have failed to crack that mark. Outside of the Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose years, the Bulls have failed to put together a legitimately competitive team, and of those two, only Rose managed to take the team past the first round.

The Chicago Bulls Central YouTube channel recently spoke about how the Bulls have been one of the worst teams in the league in the past 25 years.

In the last 25 years, the Bulls have the eighth-worst winning percentage in the NBA.

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Former Chicago Bulls player, exec Billy McKinney’s Northwestern jersey retired

“It’s a tremendous way to be recognized,” said McKinney.

Former Chicago Bulls player and executive Billy McKinney had his collegiate jersey retired by Northwestern University this week, according to recent reporting from Sports Illustrated’s Stephen Beslic. That honor makes him the first such athlete to be so honored in the history of the school, and that is not the only first McKinney has on his résumé.

The former Wildcat guard also became the first-ever African-American executive with the Bulls organization, joining the team’s front office after retiring as a player with the club after the 1985-86 season.

“It’s a tremendous way to be recognized … something that I’ve never thought about,” said McKinney of the honor from his alma mater via ABC 7’s Dionne Miller. “And for it to happen now, at this stage in my life … when I can really appreciate it and understand the magnitude of what it means … it’s surreal.”

“”It’s amazing to be in that environment and feel like I’m home,” he added.

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Chicago Bull get first road win vs. Golden State Warriors since 2015

The Bulls’ improbable 125-122 road win over the Dubs is not the sort of thing that Chicago fans see very often these days.

The last time that the Chicago Bulls won a game on the Golden State Warriors‘ home court, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Jimmy Butler, Bobby Portis, and Nikola Mirotic were on the team. That is another way to say that the Bulls’ improbable 125-122 road win over the Dubs is not the sort of thing that Chicago fans see very often these days.

It’s also true that it is a sign of the Bulls’ internal development in spite of the rash of injuries that have taken key players out of Chicago’s rotation this season. Coby White had 20 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals, while Ayo Dosunmu put up 14 points, 6 assists, and 2 blocks to help the Bulls nab an unlikely win in a more unlikely setting.

To talk it over, the hosts of the “Locked On Bulls” podcast, Haize and Pat The Designer, sat down and walked us through the victory on a recent episode.

Check it out in the clip embedded above!

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Gilbert Arenas rips Chicago alum Scottie Pippen’s ‘No Bull’ tour

Pippen will be joined by former Bulls teammates Horace Grant and Luke Longley to refute ‘The Last Dance’.

When “The Last Dance” came out on Netflix, most of us were just thankful to have something about the NBA to watch in the absence of live basketball games. But for those depicted in the documentary focused on covering the end of the Chicago Bulls‘ dynasty under Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the documentary was neither kind nor accurate.

Pippen, in particular, took umbrage with how he was framed in the film, as did former Chicago teammates Horace Grant and Luke Longley. Now, that trio has announced they will go on what they are billing as the “No Bull” tour to refute some of the things portrayed in “The Last Dance” that they do not agree with.

Former NBAer Gilbert Arenas recently weighed in on the news on his “Gil’s Arena” podcast, and shared how he is not into this move by Pippen and Co.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear why.

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Scottie Pippen is taking his beef with Michael Jordan on tour

Pippen is launching his “No Bull” tour with teammates Horace Grant and Luke Longley to tell, as they frame it, their version of the events behind “The Last Dance.”

By now, it is no secret that there is no love lost between the main stars from the Chicago Bulls dynasty era of the 1990s and early 2000s that were fueled by the excellent play of His Airness Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Even before “The Last Dance” Netflix documentary on MJ and the Bulls that kept us all sane in the depth of the pandemic, rumbles abounded about the distaste those stars all held one another in, especially Pippen and Jordan.

But now, Pippen has taken things to a new level, launching what he is describing as his “No Bull” tour with teammates Horace Grant and Luke Longley to tell, as they frame it, their version of the events behind “The Last Dance,” and not everyone is feeling it.

To talk it over, the hosts of the “Locked On Bulls” podcast, Haize and Pat The Designer, sat down and drilled deep on a recent episode.

Check it out above!

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Scottie Pippen, ex-Bulls doing ‘No Bull Tour’ to talk The Last Dance

Former Chicago Bulls Scottie Pippen, Luc Longley, and Horace Grant are embarking on the “No Bull Tour” to discuss “The Last Dance.”

In 2020, “The Last Dance” took over the world. Everyone wanted to learn about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, and the documentary provided an inside look unlikely anything the sports world has seen. It was an incredible viewing experience, but not everybody felt that way by the time it concluded.

Some of Jordan’s teammates, most notably Scottie Pippen, weren’t huge fans of “The Last Dance.” In the years following, Pippen, in particular, has gone on a rampage, slewing Jordan and the doc every chance he gets. And now, he’ll have a chance to tell his side of the story on a much grander scale.

In partnership with the NBL, Pippen and former Bulls teammates Luc Longley and Horace Grant are embarking on the “No Bull Tour” to discuss the documentary, among other things.

The tour will begin in Tasmania on February 23 before making stops in Sydney and Melbourne. It’s sure to produce plenty of viral quotes.

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Chicago alum Nate Robinson on the trend of NBA players doing their own media

“As players, and I could probably speak for every player that’s ever played, we just got tired of the media saying stuff about us,” said Robinson.

Chicago Bulls alum Nate Robinson recently opened up about how he and other former NBAers have been taking to the airwaves themselves to cover the sport they rose to fame in with their own podcasts and YouTube channels.

Robinson recently sat down with HoopsHype’s Sam Yip to talk about that growing media trend, and what has been driving it. “As players, and I could probably speak for every player that’s ever played, we just got tired of the media saying stuff about us and saying stuff about our craft and what we do, and they’ve never done it,” said the former Bulls guard.

“So now that we can be our own media source, it’s way better,” he added. “Because we actually did it, we actually put in the work, we actually have done the things that we’re talking about.”

Pointing to his own work, Robinson said “I’m a student of the game and I know what’s up, and I encourage more players to do it because then that’s more opportunities and more jobs and more knowledge for us to have.”

“They always want to change your words. They always want to make you sound like you said something that you really didn’t. Now we can be our own source, we are the source, and I love that.”

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Chicago alum Joakim Noah on the growth of overseas basketball and his Bulls legacy

Noah recently opened up in an interview about his time with Chicago and the growth of the sport abroad.

Back when he was winning national titles with the University of Florida, it was clear that former Chicago Bulls big man Joakim Noah would carve a career out for himself at the next level, and he found fame with the Bulls, who drafted him ninth overall in the 2007 NBA draft.

Noah would go on to make two NBA All-Star teams (2013 and 2014), All-NBA First Team (in 2014), All-Defensive First Team (2013 and 2014), All-Defensive Second Team (2011), and several other honors while playing for the Bulls. A Chicago legend in his time with the team, the New York City native recently took some time to sit down with the hosts of the “Point Forward” podcast, Evan Turner and Andre Iguodala.

The trio of former NBAers shared their thoughts on the league of today as well as Noah’s career in Chicago, among various other topics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbX7og2N_og

To hear what they had to say for yourself, check out the clip embedded above, or click here to play it on YouTube.

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