Would the Bulls beat the Warriors?
That's the argument that is re-heated because of the 10-part documentary "The Last Dance," which chronicled Chicago's six-championship dynasty with Michael Jordan in the 1990s. The modern-day counterpart, the three-time champion Golden State Warriors, often gets stacked up against those Chicago teams.
Golden State won 73 games in 2015-16 but fell short of a NBA championship thanks to LeBron James and Cleveland. Would that team have beat the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, which won 72 games and a NBA title? Which teams do you use in the arguments?
It's unavoidable. The franchises are linked by their accomplishments, and it's a debate that spans two different eras of NBA basketball.
If you're going to do this, then do it right. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to argue the best-of-the-best argument with your buddies.
MJ all the way
"Bulls have MJ, case closed."
That's not a closed-minded argument, even if it might seem like one, and it's almost always the first punch here. Yes, six championships and six Finals MVP awards. Anybody can throw those out there.
Jordan led two separate three-peats, and those teams were different. He averaged between 27 and 41 points between six NBA Finals runs, and he was the Finals MVP on each of those championship teams.
The 1995-96 season stands out the most. Jordan turned 33 in February of that season, and he led the league with 30.4 points per game while averaging 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists. The fact Jordan did all that with one full offseason to get ready is remarkable, and he backed that up with 30.7 ppg and 40.3 percent shooting from 3-point range in the playoffs.
It's just amazing on all levels. To beat the Bulls, you have to overcome Jordan.
Give Curry and Durant their due
It's not too early to call Curry the greatest shooter of all time.
Curry ranks third all time in 3-pointers made (2,495) and second all time in 3-point percentage (44.3 percent). He's part of a different era, but those Bulls' teams never saw a shooter of this caliber. Remember, Reggie Miller helped Indiana take Chicago to seven games in the 1998 Eastern Conference finals.
Now add Kevin Durant to the mix. Durant signed with the Warriors after the 2015-16 season, and he won back-to-back NBA Finals MVP awards the next two seasons while leading Golden State to those championships.
The Bulls would have to answers for two of the most-difficult matchup problems in NBA history. Would Jordan's supporting cast be enough to pull that off?
Make supporting arguments
It’s more than just Jordan, Curry and Durant. How do you weigh the supporting casts, starting with the wingmen?
Scottie Pippen didn’t average as many points as Klay Thompson, but Pippen was the better defender. Which energy guy could be counted on — Draymond Green or Dennis Rodman? What about Australian centers Luc Longley and Andrew Bogut? The Bulls had Toni Kukoc, Ron Harper and Steve Kerr, who has the highest career 3-point percentage of all time. Golden State had excellent role players like Andre Iguodala, who won the 2015 NBA Finals MVP honors.
There’s also the coaching matchup. Would you trust Phil Jackson, who won two as a player and was on his way to his fourth of 11 NBA championships as a coach? Or Kerr, who won five rings as player and three more as a coach? That’s 21 championship rings combined.
There are more similarities than differences, and this is closer than it looks.
Three traps to avoid
Avoid these three trap-door arguments when discussing Warriors vs. Bulls:
'The NBA was better in the '90s'
That’s entirely subjective and doesn’t tell you about the level of play in each conference. The rest of the Eastern Conference field in 1995-96 had a combined record of 340-234, and Orlando (60-22) was the only team with more than 50 victories. Put that up against the Warriors in 2015-16, and the Western Conference field this season had a better combined record at 344-230. San Antonio (67-15), Oklahoma City (55-27) and the LA Clippers (53-29) had more than 50 wins.
'Golden State had a tougher road to the Finals'
Not sure about that one, either. Chicago had to go through Miami, New York and Orlando, teams with a combined 149-97 record, not to mention Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing and Shaquille O’Neal. Somehow the Bulls went 11-1 through those teams. Golden State faced Houston, Portland and Oklahoma City, teams with a combined record of 140-106. It didn’t have to face San Antonio in the playoffs, but that’s not the Warriors' fault.
The playoff paths in most seasons are similar, and it doesn't matter all that much. Chicago and Golden State were just better than everybody else.
'The Bulls had easier NBA Finals opponents'
The Wariors had an opponent in four of those runs. LeBron James led Cleveland to a victory in one of those four NBA Finals clashes, and the MJ vs. LeBron argument is its own separate category. The Warriors also lost to Kwahi Leonard-led Toronto in the 2019 NBA Finals.
That's not to say the Bulls didn't face good teams. Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Karl Malone and John Stockton all tried, and failed, to lead teams past Chicago in the 1990s. Johnson was at the end of his career, but those other Hall of Famers led more-than-capable-teams against Chicago.
Still, the Bulls didn't have to face LeBron. That's a big trump card.
Have fun with it
It depends on which team you pick. Which one of Jordan's teams would you want? It would probably be either 1991-92 or 1995-96. Put that up against one of the Warriors' championship teams with Durant in 2016-17 or 2017-18, and you have a hell of a series.
You can run the "NBA 2K" simulations. (We already did.) All the Hall of Fame legends will weigh in about everything ranging from the 3-point line to officiating and anything in between.
It's OK to take a side even if there are two right answers. I’ll take Chicago, which had three first-teamers on the All-NBA defensive team in Jordan, Pippen and Rodman, who was the best rebounder of all team.
It’s also OK to pick the Warriors, especially the teams that overwhelmed James in the NBA Finals once Durant was on board. The Splash Brothers were almost to impossible to guard at that point.
In the meantime, have fun with the argument and enjoy the greatness while it lasts. It might be another 20 years — or longer — before another team like this comes around.