Back in the 1990s, no athlete had the universal superstardom and appeal that Michael Jordan enjoyed. The Chicago Bulls legend was one of the key forces in making basketball a global sport. The NBA knew he was their biggest draw and capitalized on it as much as possible.
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When Jordan quit the game briefly, after his 1993 championship, the league felt the impact. The viewership dropped by almost a third. Unsurprisingly, his first game back in 1995, recorded a 10.9 rating for NBC. 35 million viewers had tuned in. Even though he didn’t win the championship that season, his Bulls did one better the next year.
In 1996, the Bulls set the all-time regular season record for wins with a 72-10 record and then went on to win the championship. They were set to repeat the feat in 1997, with a strong 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals heading to Utah. However, it seemed like lady luck — or rather, the NBA — had different plans.
After a 104-93 upset in Game 3, Dennis Rodman did not shy away from saying it out loud. “‘It’s tough to play here because you know you’ll never get the benefit of the doubt,” the forward had said after the game, referring to the ticky-tack fouls the Bulls kept getting called for.
There were 25 contentious calls, in fact. And Rodman believed the league was working to extend the NBA Finals so that they could make more revenue.
”I think the league is going to make sure this series goes on, so they can get their $15 million to $20 million a game,” he insinuated.
The series was averaging 15.9 million viewers per contest and was selling out arenas for each game. Rodman’s assumption had a fair bit of logic attached. He also had specific examples to strengthen his theory.
Rodman brought up Scottie Pippen as one example. “Scottie Pippen got a rebound yesterday, and they body-slammed the heck out of him. And all of a sudden, the referee said, ‘Well, I didn’t see that’.”
Even coach Phil Jackson agreed with what Rodman said. He questioned some of the officials who were present in such a high-stakes contest.
“I’m kind of amazed that a guy like Jack Nies, the first time he’s ever refereed a finals game, was there last night. That Hue Hollins, who has not had a good history with Chicago, was there last night,” said Jackson.
There could have been some truth to what Rodman was saying. But he also knew his poor performances were part of why his team was under so much pressure.
After leading the NBA in rebounding (16.1/game) in the regular season, Rodman had a big drop-off in the playoffs. The worst impact was felt during the NBA Finals, where Rodman averaged just 7.6 rebounds a game. The Bulls got their act together though, winning the series 4-2.
Due to the drop in performance during the Finals, many wondered if the Bulls would bring Rodman back. However, they signed him for the 1997-98 season and then went on to complete a three-peat.
