Isiah Thomas shows trust in Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc abilities to win a title without Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas had one of the greatest rivalries in the NBA’s history during the late 1980s and early 1990s. At the time, Thomas and the Bad Boys Pistons ruled the league with their rough and tough playing style.
Jordan and the Chicago Bulls essentially took away the throne from the Detroit Pistons in 1991. It started the Bulls’ reign of terror as they won six NBA championships in the 90s, led by none other than ‘His Airness’ throughout this entire process of winning.
MJ was undoubtedly the best player on the Bulls’ six NBA title runs, so much so that many believe the organization would have zero championships if Jordan had been drafted by another organization.
Zeke believes the Bulls could have won a couple of rings even without Jordan
The sour relationship between Jordan and Thomas started in 1985 and is well-known among NBA fans. Since then, the two players have kept their distance from each other. In recent years, Thomas has started responding to basketball fans on X (formerly known as Twitter). As expected, Thomas never minces his words. Zeke recently disagreed with a fan who claimed the Bulls would have had zero NBA rings if it weren’t for Jordan’s contributions.
“I disagree [Scottie] Pippen and [Tony] Kukoc were good enough at that time to win one maybe 2 definitely not 6,” the 2x NBA champion wrote.
I disagree Pipin and Kokoc were good enough at that time to win one maybe 2 definitely not 6. https://t.co/CRglEVnlXb
— Isiah Thomas (@IsiahThomas) August 22, 2024
Thomas believes Jordan’s teammates, Pippen and Kukoc, in particular, could have brought a couple of rings to Chicago. Well, it’s a huge claim, as fans actually witnessed how the Bulls played without MJ during the 1993-94 season.
Could Pippen and Kukoc win an NBA ring without Jordan?
Let’s focus on the 1993-94 season. Jordan retired from the league to recollect himself after his father’s passing. The Bulls finished the season with a 55-27 record. Not bad, considering they lost their best player and still managed to clinch the third seed in the East.
The Bulls started the playoffs with a dominant 3-0 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. However, Chicago succumbed to a 4-3 series defeat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks.
That season, Pippen averaged 22.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. He also finished third in the MVP race. On the other hand, Kukoc averaged 10.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. The Knicks made it to the 1994 NBA Finals, but they were defeated by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets in an exciting seven-game series.
Honestly, the Bulls would have most likely advanced to the NBA Finals if MJ was on the roster. As for winning championships without him, the Bulls had to face very talented teams on their way to a title in each campaign. These teams had several All-Star/MVP-caliber players competing for the best players in the NBA alongside Jordan. Zeke’s prediction could have been correct, but we will never know the outcome of his bold statement.