Michael Jordan is considered to be the greatest basketball player in NBA history by most fans. This is despite being retired for over 20 years.
One main reason is because of Jordan’s championships and Finals record. MJ famously won six titles going a perfect 6-0 in the NBA Finals.
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Related: Dan Patrick: LeBron James will never surpass Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate, even with 7 rings
Of course, the speculation is that if MJ hadn’t retired after three-peating in 1993, would the Chicago Bulls have won eight straight championships? We will never know this answer since Jordan had, in fact, retired.
According to Jordan, he does believe the Bulls could’ve won a seventh ring and he wasn’t talking about 1994 or 1995. After the Bulls clinched their sixth ring in 1998 Jordan thought the Bulls had an excellent chance at defending their title the following season.
“I do believe we could’ve won seven—we’ll never know, but it’s great for thinking, conversation, and debating… competitive nature would’ve been, let’s get to eight… until somebody beat us… till I actually lose in the Finals.”
Michael Jordan on chasing a seventh ring:
“I do believe we could’ve won seven—we’ll never know, but it’s great for thinking, conversation and debating…competitive nature would’ve been let’s get to eight…until somebody beat us…till’ I actually lose in the finals” pic.twitter.com/cvw5RR0Q0i
— JordanMuse (@JordanMuse_) April 14, 2025
Jordan isn’t wrong in his assumption. The Chicago Bulls were an old team in 1998 and would’ve been older in 1999. One thing that would’ve benefited the Bulls would have been the lockout.
Chicago Bulls four-peat?
Yes, the 1998-99 season did not begin until February 5, 1999. This would have given the old Bulls plenty of time to rest up for the new season. They easily could’ve four-peated, right?
There is one catch to this winning a seventh championship in 1999 with the Bulls scenario. During the summer after winning his sixth chip, Jordan severed a tendon in his right index finger, due to a cigar cutter.
If MJ had not retired, this injury would have kept him out for at least two months. According to the late Jerry Krause, the general manager of the championship-winning Chicago Bulls he had doubts about Jordan’s ability to play after injuring his finger.
“In the summer after winning the last championship, he’d cut his index finger of his shooting hand very badly with a cigar cutter. It was seriously questionable if he could regain enough movement in the finger to be himself again as a shooter,” Krause explained.
If Jordan came back into the lockout-shortened season with little time to prepare for the playoffs, could his old and tired teammates be able to carry the load?
Jordan to the Knicks?
There’s another scenario that was possible that could’ve led to Jordan winning a sixth title. After the Bulls won their sixth championship, another team aggressively pursued Jordan: the New York Knicks.
After Jordan and the Bulls won their fourth title in 1996, MJ became a free agent. The Knicks tried their best to steal Jordan from the Bulls by offering a one-year, $25-million deal.
This was a massive upgrade from the $4 million Jordan made in the 1995-96 season with the Bulls. Jordan wanted a big paycheck from Chicago and if they didn’t give him what he wanted, His Airness was willing to go to New York.
“If Chicago had not made a significant offer, New York was next,” Jordan said. “We actually had a dialogue with New York. If a phone call didn’t come in 30 minutes from Chicago, we had already given assurances that we would have gone to the Knicks for less money.”
Of course, the Bulls offered Jordan a one-year $30 million deal and the rest is history. In 1999, New York tried to lure Jordan out of retirement, to finally add him to the Knicks roster.
At the time, Jordan was comfortable with retirement, but he always had that itch to want to play. Ultimately, Jordan wanted to continue to play, but he wanted to keep playing under Phil Jackson. If New York signed Jackson as their coach, Jordan likely would’ve returned in 1999 with the Knicks.
“I’ll tell you this, though, I’m not coming back as a player-coach,” Jordan said. “No, never. There won’t be any coaching for me at all. And going to another team? No. Miami? No. Phoenix? No. Charlotte? No way. I grew up in North Carolina, but I like the life I have started elsewhere.
“I will never leave Chicago. Indianapolis? No. The Lakers? No, no. New York? I’d love to go to the Knicks. But I can’t uproot my family and take them to New York. I love the city, but I still need to play for Phil. I mean, I won’t play unless it’s for Phil.”
The Knicks tried to get Jackson in 1999, but he ultimately decided to take the job with the Los Angeles Lakers. This was a good decision, as he won five more titles in LA.
Could you imagine Jordan on the Knicks in 1999? That New York team made it to the Finals and lost to the San Antonio Spurs 4-1. If you put Jordan on that same Knicks team, does that swing the favor to New York, making them the 1999 NBA champions?
We’ll never know, but I like any team’s odds in an NBA Finals with Michael Jordan on the roster.
