Chicago Bulls (1990s dynasty)
Six rings in eight years as two three-peats: the defining sports dynasty of the 1990s. Jordan, Pippen, Phil Jackson's triangle, the 72–10 season, 'I'm back,' and the lights-out 'Sirius' intro every kid recreated in the driveway.
Phil Jackson took over as head coach for the 1989–90 season and installed assistant Tex Winter's triangle (triple-post) offense, and the first three-peat came fast: 1991 over Magic Johnson's Lakers, 1992 over the Trail Blazers, and 1993 over the Suns — sealed by John Paxson's series-winning three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left. The core was Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant, and the pregame ritual was already its own icon: lights out, spotlights sweeping, and the Alan Parsons Project's 'Sirius' — the intro music the Bulls had been using since the late 1980s — as the starters were announced.
Jordan retired on October 6, 1993, less than three months after his father's murder, and spent a season playing minor-league baseball. He returned on March 18, 1995, with the two-word statement that echoed forever: 'I'm back.' The next full season, 1995–96, the Bulls went 72–10 — an NBA record that stood until Golden State's 73–9 twenty years later — and the second three-peat rolled out behind Jordan, Pippen, and new arrival Dennis Rodman: 1996 over the SuperSonics, then 1997 and 1998 over the Utah Jazz.
After the sixth championship, general manager Jerry Krause chose to rebuild rather than run it back: Pippen was traded, Rodman was let go, Jackson departed, and Jordan announced his second retirement on January 13, 1999. Jackson had dubbed that final 1997–98 season 'The Last Dance' — the title ESPN's 2020 documentary borrowed when it made the whole dynasty appointment television all over again, twenty-two years after the last shot.
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Michael Jordan
The Bulls dynasty alpha who made basketball bigger than basketball itself. Six NBA championships in two three-peats, a Gatorade slogan that became a religion, a baseball detour ended by a two-word press release, and Air Jordans that outlasted his career by decades.
Dennis Rodman
The Worm: a rebounding machine under kaleidoscope hair and a map of tattoos. Five championships, seven straight rebounding titles, a wedding dress worn to his own book signing — Rodman was the chaos engine that somehow made the Bulls dynasty run smoother.
Space Jam
Michael Jordan teams with Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes to beat a squad of talent-stealing aliens, the Monstars. A live-action/animation hybrid with a monster soundtrack, it made the Tune Squad jersey a playground staple.
NBA Jam
"BOOMSHAKALAKA!" Midway's two-on-two arcade basketball threw out the rulebook — players leapt three times their own height, shoved each other to the floor, and burst into flames after three straight buckets. It was loud, ridiculous, and impossible to walk past without feeding it a quarter.