Chicago Bulls: Robbed of passing torch to Los Angeles LakersVincent Pariseon May 20, 2020 at 11:00 am 2024 Events Concerts Things To Do

CHICAGO, UNITED STATES: Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant(L) and Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan(R) talk during a free-throw attempt during the fourth quarter 17 December at the United Center in Chicago. Bryant, who is 19 and bypassed college basketball to play in the NBA, scored a team-high 33 points off the bench, and Jordan scored a team-high 36 points. The Bulls defeated the Lakers 104-83. AFP PHOTO VINCENT LAFORET (Photo credit should read VINCENT LAFORET/AFP via Getty Images)

The Chicago Bulls were so good in the 1990s but it was all destroyed before they had the chance to properly pass the torch off to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Chicago Bulls dynasty ended after 1998 because of a messed up relationship between head coach Phil Jackson and the organization. Before that season began, Phil was told by general manager Jerry Krause that he can go 82-0 in the 1997-98 season and still not be back. Well, they did win the title for the sixth time in eight years and Phil didn’t come back.

The debate on whether or not this team could have won the seventh title in 1999 will forever be debated but the fact of the matter is that they broke it up and it was done. Michael Jordan retired again, Scottie Pippen was traded, and Dennis Rodman was released. You can argue all day long whether or not they would have gotten it done if everyone came back but it is what it is.

The thing that is less than fun about the situation is that we didn’t get to watch them pass the torch to the next great dynasty. The Los Angeles Lakers eventually won a bunch of titles with the likes of Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Pau Gasol. The main piece for the five titles they won was Kobe but those other great players there resemble the time that Michael Jordan had with the Bulls.

It would have been cool to see that Bulls squad get a chance to play that Lakers squad in an NBA Finals. Yes, Phil Jackson ended up in Los Angeles but a lot of coaches would have gotten a lot out of that loaded roster. It might have tainted Michael’s perfect finals record if they got that far multiple years down the line but you never know. The torch was never properly passed from the Chicago Bulls dynasty to the Lakers because by the time the Lakers rose to the top, the Bulls were long gone.

The Bulls might have needed to hang on longer than 1999 to get to a final against the Lakers but it just to this day feels like we were robbed of this matchup ever existing. One thing we know for sure, however, is that we were lucky to have Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant play professional basketball during our lifetime.

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The Chicago Bulls were so good in the 1990s but it was all destroyed before they had the chance to properly pass the torch off to the Los Angeles Lakers.

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