1994–95 Chicago Bulls season

The 1994–95 Chicago Bulls season was the 29th season for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association.^[1] This was also the team's first season playing at their new arena, the United Center.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the Bulls signed free agents Ron Harper,^[5][6][7] and Jud Buechler.^[8]

With the addition of Harper, the Bulls struggled playing around .500 in winning percentage for the first half of the regular season, holding a 23–25 record at the All-Star break.^[9] However, there were rumors that retired All-Star guard Michael Jordan would come out of his retirement to rejoin the team, after an unsuccessful baseball career.^[10] The Bulls received a major boost upon Jordan's return, as he faxed a memo that simply said "I'm back";^[11][12][13] he also changed his jersey number to #45.^[14][15][16] The Bulls won 24 of their final 34 games of the season, which included two six-game winning streaks between March and April, and finished in third place in the Central Division with a 47–35 record, earning the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference;^[17] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the eleventh consecutive year.^[1]

Jordan averaged 26.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 17 games, but only shot just .411 in field-goal percentage, while Scottie Pippen averaged 21.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.9 steals per game, led the Bulls with 109 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, second-year forward Toni Kukoč provided the team with 15.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, while B.J. Armstrong provided with 14.0 points per game and 108 three-point field goals, three-point specialist Steve Kerr contributed 8.2 points per game and shot .524 in three-point field goal percentage off the bench, and Will Perdue averaged 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Harper played a limited role and only contributed 6.9 points per game, Luc Longley averaged 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, Bill Wennington provided with 5.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, and Pete Myers contributed 4.5 points per game.^[18]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Pippen was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team,^[19][20][21] while Kerr participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the second consecutive year.^[22][23] Pippen finished in seventh place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Jordan finished in eleventh place;^[24][25] Pippen also finished in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, behind Dikembe Mutombo of the Denver Nuggets.^[26][25]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA playoffs, the Bulls faced off against the 4th–seeded Charlotte Hornets, who were led by the trio of All-Star center Alonzo Mourning, All-Star forward Larry Johnson, and Muggsy Bogues. The Bulls won Game 1 over the Hornets on the road in overtime, 108–100 at the Charlotte Coliseum, in which Jordan scored 48 points, but then lost Game 2 on the road, 106–89.^[27][28] With the series tied at 1–1, the Bulls won the next two games at home, which included a Game 4 win over the Hornets at the United Center, 85–84 to win the series in four games.^[29][30][31]

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the top–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion Orlando Magic, who were led by the All-Star trio of Shaquille O'Neal, second-year star Penny Hardaway, and former Bulls forward Horace Grant. During the series, Jordan changed his jersey number back to #23, which caused controversy.^[14][15][16] With the series tied at 2–2, the Bulls lost Game 5 to the Magic on the road, 103–95 at the Orlando Arena,^[32] and then lost Game 6 at the United Center, 108–102, thus losing the series in six games.^[33][34][35] The Magic would advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, but would lose to the 6th–seeded, and defending NBA champion Houston Rockets in a four-game sweep in the 1995 NBA Finals.^[36][37][38]

The Bulls finished second in the NBA in home-game attendance behind the Hornets, with an attendance of 926,218 at the United Center during the regular season.^[18][39] Following the season, Armstrong was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Toronto Raptors expansion team,^[40][41][42] while Perdue was traded to the San Antonio Spurs,^[43][44][45] and Myers was released to free agency.

One notable highlight of the regular season occurred on March 28, 1995, in which the Bulls defeated the New York Knicks on the road, 113–111 at Madison Square Garden. Jordan scored a season-high of 55 points, as he made 21 of 37 field-goal attempts, 3 of 4 three-point field-goal attempts, and 10 of 11 free-throw attempts; it would later on be known as the "Double Nickel" game.^[46][47][48]