The Chicago Bulls teams of the ’90s were collectively known as the greatest dynasty the NBA has ever seen, but a player who suited up on the court during that era believes they were beatable.
Michael Jordan anchored those Bulls teams, winning six championship rings during his tenure in Chicago. There were some great role players as well, such as Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, as well as Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
The Bulls’ dominance really began in 1991, when the Bulls won their first title. The following year saw Shaquille O’Neal enter the NBA, so he was around for the team’s dynasty. And, to his credit, the Magic did beat the Bulls in the second round of the 1995 playoffs. However, Chicago turned the favor the year after, sweeping Orlando.
Even with that happening, though, Shaq believes his Lakers teams would’ve beaten the Bulls “easily,” which he informed ESPN’s Ariel Helwani during a recent live stream.
“I would’ve killed Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, (Bill) Cartwright,” O’Neal said. “The factor is me and my free-throw shooting.”
He continued:
“So [head coach Phil Jackson] would’ve tried the Hack-a-Shaq thing,” he said. “So, I still would average like 28, 29 [points]. But the key would’ve been the free throws. So with me, it’s always 50-50. So hopefully I would’ve been on. If I would’ve been on, we win. If I would’ve been off, we lose.
“But I love having these conversations. ‘They would’ve did this. We would’ve done that.’ But I could strictly say I think we would’ve beat them.”
To his credit, the Lakers did three-peat in 2000-02, winning their first title just two years after the Bulls’ final one.
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