1993–94 Chicago Bulls season

Off-season

During the off-season, the Bulls signed free agents Steve Kerr, Bill Wennington,^[5][6][7] and Pete Myers, who was signed to fill in the void left by Jordan at the shooting guard position.^[8][9][10] Croatian rookie small forward Toni Kukoč, who was drafted by the Bulls as the 29th overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft, made his debut in the NBA this season.^[11][12][13]

Regular season

With the addition of Kukoč, Myers and Kerr, the Bulls struggled, losing seven of their first eleven games of the regular season, but then won 14 of their next 15 games, including a 10-game winning streak in December. The team posted a seven-game winning streak in January, and later on held a 34–13 record at the All-Star break.^[14] At mid-season, the Bulls traded Stacey King to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Australian center Luc Longley.^[15][16][17] The Bulls posted another 10-game winning streak between March and April, and finished in second place in the Central Division with a 55–27 record, earning the third seed in the Eastern Conference.^[18] The team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the tenth consecutive year.^[1]

Scottie Pippen averaged 22.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.9 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and NBA All-Defensive First Team, while Horace Grant averaged 15.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and B. J. Armstrong provided the team with 14.8 points and 3.9 assists per game. In addition, off the bench, Kukoč provided with 10.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while Kerr contributed 8.6 points per game, Myers contributed 7.9 points per game as the team's starting shooting guard, Wennington averaged 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and Bill Cartwright provided with 5.6 points per game, but only played just 42 games due to injury.^[19]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Pippen, Grant and Armstrong were all selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was the first and only All-Star appearance for both Grant and Armstrong.^[20][21][22] Pippen scored 29 points along with 11 rebounds and 4 steals, and was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 127–118.^[23][24][25] Meanwhile, Armstrong and Kerr both participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout,^[26][27] and Kukoč was selected for the inaugural NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Phenoms team.^[26][28]

Pippen finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting, behind Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets, and David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs,^[29][30] and also finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, with Grant finishing in tenth place;^[31][30] Kerr finished tied in sixth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[32][30] while Myers finished tied in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting,^[33][30] and head coach Phil Jackson finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting, behind Lenny Wilkens of the Atlanta Hawks.^[34][30] The Bulls finished seventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 760,816 at the Chicago Stadium during the regular season.^[19][35]

NBA playoffs

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1994 NBA playoffs, and for the third consecutive year, the Bulls faced off against the 6th–seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that featured All-Star guard Mark Price, Gerald Wilkins and Tyrone Hill. The Cavaliers lacked big men for the series as All-Star center Brad Daugherty, All-Star forward Larry Nance, and Hot Rod Williams were all out due to season-ending injuries. The Bulls won the first two games over the Cavaliers at home at the Chicago Stadium, before winning Game 3 on the road in overtime, 95–92 at the Coliseum at Richfield to win the series in a three-game sweep.^[36][37][38]

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, and for the fourth consecutive year, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion New York Knicks, who were led by the All-Star trio of Patrick Ewing, John Starks, and former Bulls forward Charles Oakley. The Bulls lost the first two games to the Knicks on the road at Madison Square Garden, but then won the next two games at the Chicago Stadium. After losing Game 5 on the road by a score of 87–86, the Bulls won Game 6 over the Knicks at home, 93–79 to even the series.^[39][40][41] However, the Bulls were unable to win a fourth consecutive NBA championship, as the team lost Game 7 to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, 87–77, thus losing in a hard-fought seven-game series.^[42][43][44]

The Knicks would advance to the 1994 NBA Finals, but would lose to the Rockets in a full seven-game series.^[45][46][47]

Notable incidents

One notable incident of the NBA playoffs occurred in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, against the Knicks at the Chicago Stadium on May 13, 1994. During the second quarter, second-year guard Jo Jo English and Knicks guard Derek Harper both got into a brawl, which spilled into the stands near the fans; the brawl also occurred in front of NBA commissioner David Stern, who was in attendance. Harper was fined $15,000 and suspended for two games, while English was fined $10,000 and suspended for one game.^[48][49][50]

Another incident in Game 3 occurred late in the fourth quarter; with 1.8 seconds remaining and the score tied at 102–102, Jackson designed a play for Kukoč to take the game-winning shot, and with Pippen making an inbound pass to Kukoč. Pippen was upset that the play was not designed for him, argued with Jackson and refused to enter the game. The Bulls had to called another timeout as Jackson put Myers in the game to replace Pippen. Kukoč took the inbound pass from Myers, and hit a 22-foot jumper over Knicks defender Anthony Mason at the buzzer;^[51][52][53] the Bulls defeated the Knicks by a score of 104–102.^[54]

Aftermath

This was also the Bulls' final season in which they played their home games at the Chicago Stadium, before moving across the street to their new arena, the United Center. Following the season, Grant signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic after seven seasons with the Bulls,^[55][56][57] while Cartwright signed with the Seattle SuperSonics,^[58][59][60] Scott Williams signed with the Philadelphia 76ers,^[61] and John Paxson retired.

Jordan's retirement

On October 6, 1993, Michael Jordan announced his retirement at age 30, citing a loss in his desire to play the game. Jordan later stated that the murder of his father three months earlier shaped his decision.^[62] James R. Jordan, Sr. was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, found in a creek on August 3, murdered by two teenagers, Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery. The assailants were traced from calls they made on James Jordan's cellular phone,^[63] caught, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Jordan was close to his father; as a child he had imitated his father's proclivity to stick out his tongue while absorbed in work.

Those close to Jordan claimed that he had been considering retirement as early as the summer of 1992, and that the added exhaustion due to the Dream Team run in the 1992 Olympics solidified Jordan's burned-out feelings about the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. Jordan's announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.^[64]

Jordan then further surprised the sports world by signing a minor league baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox. He reported to spring training and was assigned to the team's minor league system on March 31, 1994.^[65] Jordan has stated this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who had always envisioned his son as a major league baseball player.^[66] The White Sox were another team owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan's basketball contract during the years he played baseball.^[67] He had an unspectacular professional baseball career for the Birmingham Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm team, batting .202 with 3 HR, 51 RBI, 30 SB, and 11 errors.^[68] He also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League.

NBA draft

More information Round, Pick ...

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club team
1	25	Corie Blount	PF	United States	Cincinnati
2	41	Anthony Reed	F	United States	Tulane

Close

Season standings

Regular season

Season

Playoffs

Player statistics citation:^[19]

NBA All-Star Game

• Scottie Pippen, Forward
• B. J. Armstrong, Guard
• Horace Grant, Forward