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"We can beat anybody with our eyes closed": Dennis Rodman is unimpressed in the Bulls' historic 72-10 season
The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls established themselves as the greatest NBA team ever. During that season powered by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the Bulls had a mythical 72-win rally and captured the world championship that served as their fourth one over the last six years.
Despite the history that they've made that season, Dennis Rodman stood skeptical about their legendary feat as he believed that the entire league was experiencing a significant downgrade from a competitive standpoint.
Bulls in full control of the entire league
Behind the plans of the late Commissioner David Stern, the NBA capitalized on the growing worldwide interest in basketball and proceeded to commit to a dramatic expansion. From 1986 to 2004, the league saw the creation of seven different franchises across various cities in both the United States and Canada.
Besides added revenue, the NBA firmly believed that the competitive nature and parity would be much more prevalent with more teams playing on the court. However, the early days of this lofty idea were concerning as the new ball clubs embraced challenging growth to keep themselves up amongst the already established franchises like the Bulls. For Dennis, his 1995-96 Chicago team had the entire league in the palm of their hands.
"This league is so filtered and watered down, we can beat anybody with our eyes closed, pretty much," Rodman claimed.
Still the game's greatest
The notion of league expansion has often been overlooked when discussing Chicago's dynastic days. Amid MJ and the Bulls savoring their glorious runs, new teams meanwhile saw grinding, humble beginnings as they sought to build their names and reputations in the NBA.
Nevertheless, this doesn't take away the fact that the Bulls dominating the ‘90s is forever etched as one of the great sports dynasties ever, and the franchise's 1995-96 campaign will always stand as the best regular season for any team in league record books.
