The Seattle SuperSonics had their best regular season in franchise history in the 1995-96 campaign when they finished with a 64-18 record. It would have been tops in the league if it weren’t for the Chicago Bulls running to a 72-10 standing. So, it was only fitting that those are the protagonists that met in the 1996 Finals.
However, the championship didn’t look like a series at first, as the Bulls took a 3-0 lead. It was a good thing the Sonics didn’t give up, with one of their two best players, Shawn Kemp , rallying his troops before Game 4 with a hard-hitting pep talk.
“If you’re going to come out here and just hand it to them, you’re weak, man,” Kemp said . “You’re a coward.”
Sweepless in Seattle
Chicago didn’t take long to assert its dominance in the title bout, sandwiching a four-point Game 2 victory with blowout wins. The first meeting saw Seattle lose its captain, Nate McMillan, to a back injury, while the third contest featured an inspired Michael Jordan, who poured in his best performance in the series with 36 points…