It is a common sentiment that Michael Jordan only won the NBA Finals in the 1990s. But, what flies under the radar is a disappointing 1995 NBA Playoff appearance where Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were handily beaten by the Orlando Magic led by Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway.
However, Jordan didn’t take too kindly to the loss. Instead, he came back more fired up than ever, registering an MVP season as Chicago posted a 72-10 record before going on their second three-peat. In 1996, he once again went up against the Magic. Jordan was ready to exact his revenge, albeit in a petty manner.
Michael Jordan Had Revenge Against Orlando Magic on His Mind in 1996
In what is considered by many the greatest season by a team in NBA history, the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls won 72 games before going 15-3 in the playoffs to secure their fourth championship. To this day, they remain the only team to win 70+ games and the NBA Finals in the same season.
Revenge consumed Jordan when he went up against the reigning Eastern Conference Champions in the Eastern Conference Finals. Darrell Armstrong, who was part of that Magic team from 1995, revealed the story during his appearance on “Knuckleheads.”
“Jordan’s trainer was like, ‘When do you wanna start?’ He said, ‘Tomorrow, lift weights.’ And he said all he kept thinking was Orlando. Man, they played us in the [Eastern Conference Finals], that was Shaq’s last time in Orlando. They played us, they swept us.”
“You know Jordan petty as a motherf***er.”
The 🐐never forgets. Darrell Armstrong remembers the aftermath of the Bulls loss to the Magic in the 1995 Playoffs.#Knuckleheads with @Qrich and @21Blackking out now! https://t.co/AEMuodoZyf pic.twitter.com/qTWGbtJTMi
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) June 12, 2024
However, for Armstrong, one thing stood out above the rest. “I never forget this. And you can go back and look at the stat sheet. And they were just, oh, they were just f****** with Horace Grant.”
Grant, who’d been with the Bulls since being drafted in 1987, had joined Orlando the previous season, and as a longtime teammate, was getting the brunt of their abuse.
“Horace could do nothing but just put his head down and just laugh. It was on the free-throw line right in front of us. Jordan, Scottie [Pippen] was talking shit. Boy, Jordan had two free throws at the end of the game. He hit the first one and missed the second one on purpose.”
Everyone was surprised but the reason was simple. “He left 45 on the scoreboard. You know Jordan’s petty. He left 45 for last year on the scoreboard.” When he returned in 1995, the five-time NBA MVP had to wear the number 45 unlike his usual 23.
But, after beating Chicago in six games, it was Nick Anderson, who, after stealing the ball with less than 10 seconds left in the deciding Game 6, infamously said, “No. 45 doesn’t explode like No. 23 used to. No. 45 is not No. 23. I couldn’t have done that to No. 23.”
Their four-game sweep from the 45-wearing Jordan in 1996 brought about the end of the Magic franchise’s brief run as true contenders. Hardaway was constantly battling injuries and O’Neal left for the Los Angeles Lakers.
While Jordan went on to three-peat once again, the Magic did not have a 50-win season or a playoff series victory for the next 12 years.
