1992–93 Chicago Bulls season

The 1992–93 NBA season was the Bulls' 27th season in the National Basketball Association.[1] The Bulls entered the season as the back-to-back defending NBA champions, having defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1992 NBA Finals in six games, winning their second NBA championship. In the off-season, the team acquired Rodney McCray from the Dallas Mavericks,[2][3][4] and signed free agent Trent Tucker.[5][6][7] At midseason, the team signed Darrell Walker, who was previously released by the Detroit Pistons.[8][9] After two straight championships, the Bulls would make changes to their lineup, replacing John Paxson at point guard with B. J. Armstrong after Paxson went down with a knee injury, and only played 59 games.[10][11][12] The team won nine of their first eleven games, and posted a 7-game winning streak between December and January,[13] holding a 35–17 record at the All-Star break.[14] The Bulls posted another 7-game winning streak between February and March,[15] and would yet again have another successful season finishing in first place in the Central Division, and second overall in the Eastern Conference with a 57–25 record.[16] They also advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive season, becoming the first team since the 1987–88 Boston Celtics to do so.[17]

Michael Jordan once again led the league in scoring averaging 32.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, while Scottie Pippen averaged 18.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. Both players were selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game.[18][19][20][21][22] In addition, Horace Grant averaged 13.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Armstrong provided the team with 12.3 points per game.[23] Jordan also finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting,[24][25][26][27] and tied in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.[28][29][30]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Bulls swept the Atlanta Hawks in three straight games.[31][32][33][34] In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in four straight games.[35][36][37][38] Then after losing the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals to the top-seeded New York Knicks,[39][40][41] the Bulls would win the next four games of the series.[42][43][44][45] Then they would then go on to win their third consecutive NBA championship, defeating regular season MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in six games in the 1993 NBA Finals.[46][47][48][49][50] This was the last title the Bulls won while playing at Chicago Stadium.

Chicago's off-season was also marked by Jordan's sudden retirement.[51][52][53][54][55] Also following the season, McCray, Tucker, and Walker were all released to free agency.[56] For the season, the Bulls slightly changed their uniforms, which remained in used until 2004, when they added their secondary logo on the back of their jerseys.[57][58]