NBA Success: Formula One

It’s hard to believe, being a Chicago fan for all my life, that it will be 10 years since my city was the cream of the crop. The Bulls were, dare I say, unstoppable. It was a formula that would never work today. You had the greatest player in the game, Michael Jordan—a man who needs no introduction, a man who even owner Jerry Reinsdorf felt the necessity to honor (believe me, erecting that statue in front of the United Center is a bigger deal than most will recognize). Alongside this Juggernaut was another, less noticed, less appreciated, but still required piece to the masterpiece—Scottie Pippen—at the very peak of his prime if not for a nagging injury. The rest of the equation really didn’t matter. I suppose you could honorably mention Dennis Rodman for his ferocious defense and ridiculous hall-of-fame rebounding numbers, but his antics distinguish his accolades. With the ’98 Bulls, like any of those teams that decade, it took two superstars in Jordan and ... [link]