MJ’s Chicago Bulls wouldn’t beat 90s Rockets because “Rockets were better,” says Clyde Drexler
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The Chicago Bulls were the Monstars in the mid to late 90s, but would the narrative had changed if Michael Jordan would have stayed with the Bulls instead of pursuing a career in professional Baseball?
The Houston Rockets were the NBA’s 1994 and 1995 NBA Finals champs.
Prior to the Rockets’ back to back championships, the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls were just coming off their first three-peat. Following the Bulls captured their third championship, Jordan decided to retire and pursue a career in baseball.
The question of the century: could the Bulls have beaten the Rockets had Michael not retired?
“There is a lot of hearsay, but you must deal with the facts,” Clyde Drexler told me Tuesday afternoon during the Big 3’s weekly conference call.
“The facts are that year the Rockets were better.”
This topic has been debated for some time. Last year on the Scoop B Radio Podcast, TNT’s Kenny “The Jet” Smith, a member of both Rocket’s Championship teams was adamant about the Rockets dominating the Bulls in the 90s had they played in the NBA Finals.
“Oh we would’ve beat them,” Smith told Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson, last year.
“And actually, everyone forgets he was playing the second year, he was wearing number 45 and the team they lost to the Orlando Magic, we swept them. We were that much better than them that year; they lost to them.”
“He forgot what my role was: “I cut the head off of the snake,” former Chicago Bull, Scottie Pippen told ESPN The Jump’s Rachel Nichols in response to Smith’s claim. “I’m calling him the snake of that team.”
Still, Drexler has his theories: “We had some pretty good defenders on the 1995 Rockets team,” he told Me.
“Along with Hakeem Olajuwon, Robert Horry, Mario Elie, Vernon Maxwell and Sam Cassell. Guys that could really play. All you can do is play the teams in front of you.”
Robert Horry was less diplomatic and cut straight to the chase: “I think we would have won,” Horry told Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on the Scoop B Radio Podcast last week.
“It would have been a good game. Everybody has their own opinion, and it would be stupid of me to say: ‘no we wouldn’t have won.’ I know everybody thinks that Michael Jordan is the greatest to ever play the game, but Dream isn’t too shabby.”
While Drexler only played on one of those championship teams in 1995, all he knows is that a win is a win against a young Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal-led Orlando Magic. “Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls 4-2 with Shaq and Penny Hardaway,” said Drexler in reference to the Bulls/Magic 1995 NBA Playoffs series.
“There is a lot of hearsay, but you must deal with the facts. The facts are that year the Rockets were better.”
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About the Author
Landon Buford Washington State Graduate Past Interviews include Grammy Award Winner Kenny G, David Banner, WNBA President Lisa Borders, What's Trending's CEO Shira Lazar, Ice Cube, NBC's Chicago PD LaRoyce Hawkins, Family Matters Darius McCrary, En Vogues Maxine Jones, Team USA Track & Field Member Norris Frederick, James Kyson, WNBA Great Lauren Jackson, and more.
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