Today's NBA Finals review takes us back to the 1996 Finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Seattle Supersonics. These two teams combined for the most wins ever by opponents in the Finals (136 regular season wins between them), but who would emerge as champion? Let's find out!

The Chicago Bulls were the preeminent team of the early 1990s, winning three straight titles from 1991-93 behind the brilliance of Michael Jordan. Then, Jordan retired from the team, and the Bulls slipped a notch. By the middle of the 1994-95 season, they were barley above average when Jordan decided to return to the game. Jordan sparked the Bulls into the second round of the 1995 playoffs, but made critical mistakes as the Bulls lost to the Orlando Magic in six games. Could Jordan and his mates rebound in 1995-96?

Meanwhile, the Seattle Supersonics had demons of their own. After coming within one game of the 1993 NBA Finals, the Sonics had been eliminated from the postseason in round one in each of the two previous years. In 1994, they were the first #1 seed ever eliminated by the #8 seed (Denver Nuggets), then squabbled and floundered in losing to the Los Angeles Lakers a year later. Could Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton lead their team from under such a dark cloud?

Both teams responded with brilliant campaigns in 1995-96. The Bulls set a new NBA record with a sizzling 72-10 regular season, bettering the previous record for wins (the 1971-72 Lakers) by three wins. Jordan won the scoring title for a record eighth time with a 30.4 PPG average and also won All-Star game and regular season MVP honors. Three Bulls (Jordan, Scottie Pippen and newcomer Dennis Rodman) were All-NBA 1st Team Defensive players, and Rodman won his fifth straight rebounding title. The Sonics weren't too shabby, either, winning a Western Conference best 64 games. Payton won the Defensive Player of the Year award, and Kemp averaged a then-career best 19.6 PPG and 11.4 RPG (fifth in rebounds).

In the playoffs, the Bulls were barely challenged; they rolled over the Miami Heat 3-0, stomped the New York Knicks 4 games to one, and in a rematch with the Magic, the Bulls showed no mercy, sweeping them 4-0 and basically ending the Magic's run of dominance over the East, as Shaquille O'Neal would leave the team after the series. The Sonics beat the Sacramento Kings 3-1 in round one, swept the two-time defending champion Houston Rockets 4-0, and beat the Utah Jazz in a tense seven-game series to advance to their first NBA Finals since 1979.

In game 1 of the Finals, the Bulls used an early 14-4 run to take a nine point lead. The Sonics rallied, but Jordan then went to work, scoring 12 points in the finals 7 1/2 minutes to secure a 53-48 halftime lead. The third quarter saw an ugly incident as Frank Brickowski was ejected for arguing a flagrant foul he committed against Rodman. But the Sonics rallied behind a combined 23 points in the period by Kemp and Detlef Schrempf to cut Chicago's lead to two. But the Bulls started the 4th with 14-5 run, with ten of the points scored by Sixth Man of the Year Toni Kukoc, to seal a 107-90 victory. Game 2 was an ugly affair; after a first half which saw the Bulls ahead 46-45, Kukoc and Rodman had excellent third quarters, as Kukoc hit two big three pointers, and Rodman had eight points and ten rebounds (seven offensive) in the period, giving the Bulls an eleven point lead. The Sonics were kept in it as Jordan struggled from the field and the Bulls missed 14 of their 42 free throws. With Kemp leading the way with 29 points, the Sonics closed within three late in the game, but they couldn't control a rebound of a Pippen missed free throw, and Rodman hit a freebie to seal the game for the Bulls 92-88. The Bulls now had a 2-0 lead going back to the Pacific Northwest.

Game 3 was dominated by Chicago for the most part, as Jordan attoned for his poor game 2 with 12 points and five assists in the 1st period. Kukoc, starting the game for the injured Ron Harper, wasn't as hot as he had been the previous games, but did score 14, and Luc Longley had 19 points and seven rebounds as the Bulls led by 24 at halftime (62-38). The Sonics briefly rallied to within 14 by the end of three, but didn't get no closer as the Bulls won in a rout 108-86. The game saw Brickowski get ejected once again for arguing a flagrant foul he committed against Rodman, and it looked grim for the Sonics. With visions of a sweep in many people's heads, the Sonics rallied for an inspiring win in game 4. Payton had his first big offensive game with 21 points, and Kemp had 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Sonics led 53-32 at halftime. The Bulls would get no closer than 14 the rest of the way as Seattle won 107-86 to stave off elmination. But Seattle faced the reality that no team had ever won an NBA playoff series down 3-0. Could they break that trend?

Game 5 saw the Sonics' defense shine; Chicago shot a horrific 3-23 from three point range, and shoot just 29-77 form the field the entire game. Nonetheless, the game was tight throughout until the fourth, when the Sonics made an 11-0 run to take a thirteen-point lead. The Bulls did cut the lead to 84-78, but Jordan missed a chance to cut into the lead further, and Seattle hung on to win 89-78. But game 6 saw the end of the Sonics' hopes for a miracle; Jordan scored 6 points, grabbed 6 boards, and had 3 assists as Chicago led 24-18 after one quarter. The Bulls led by as many as 12 during the second despite Jordan and Pippen being held scoreless for the period. After leading by seven at the half, the Bulls used a 12-2 run during the third to take a 64-47 lead before the Sonics rallied to trail by only nine after three. But they wouldn't overtake the Bulls, especially after Kemp fouled out with 4:39 to go in the game. The Bulls won 87-75 to claim their fourth NBA title in six years. Jordan won Finals MVP and became the first player since Willis Reed in 1970 to win all three major MVP awards in the same season. And once again, the NBA faced a dreaded scene; the Bulls were back on top of the NBA mountain!

1996 NBA Finals leaders: Points per game
Chicago: Jordan, 27.3 PPG; Pippen, 15.7 PPG; Kukoc, 13.0 PPG
Seattle: Kemp, 23.3 PPG; Payton, 18.0 PPG; Schrempf, 16.3 PPG

1996 NBA Finals leaders: Rebounds per game
Chicago: Rodman, 14.7 RPG; Pippen, 8.2 RPG; Jordan, 5.3 RPG
Seattle: Kemp, 10.0 RPG; Payton, 6.0 RPG; Schrempf, 5.0 RPG

1996 NBA Finals leaders: Assists per game
Chicago: Pippen, 5.3 APG; Jordan, 4.2 APG; Kukoc, 3.5 APG
Seattle: Payton, 7.0 APG; Schrempf, 2.5 APG; Kemp, 2.2 APG