1992 NBA finals

Team Coach Wins Chicago Bulls Phil Jackson 4 Portland Trail Blazers Rick Adelman 2
Dates	June 3–14
MVP	Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Hall of Famers	Trail Blazers: Clyde Drexler (2004) Bulls: Michael Jordan (2009) Scottie Pippen (2010) Coaches: Rick Adelman (2021) Phil Jackson (2007) Tex Winter (2011) Officials: Dick Bavetta (2015) Hugh Evans (2022) Darell Garretson (2016)
Eastern finals	Bulls defeatedCavaliers, 4–2
Western finals	Trail Blazers defeatedJazz, 4–2
← 1991 NBA finals 1993 →

The1992 NBA Finals was thechampionship series of theNational Basketball Association's (NBA)1991–92 season, and the conclusion of theseason's playoffs. Thedefending NBA champion andEastern Conference championChicago Bulls took on theWestern Conference championPortland Trail Blazers for the title, with Chicago havinghome court advantage, as they had the best record in the NBA that season.

The two teams appeared headed to face each other for most of the season and comparisons were made betweenClyde Drexler andMichael Jordan throughout the season.^[1] A month earlierSports Illustrated had even listed Drexler as Jordan's "No. 1 rival" on a cover the two appeared on together before the playoffs.^[2] The media, hoping to recreate aMagic Johnson–Larry Bird type rivalry in Jordan-Drexler, compared the two throughout the pre-Finals hype.

The Bulls went on to win the series in six games, becoming the fourth NBA team to win back-to-back championships after theBoston Celtics,Los Angeles Lakers, andDetroit Pistons.Michael Jordan was namedFinals Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row, to go with his sixth straight regular season scoring title.

The Bulls won their first NBA championship the previous season and finished the 1991–92 season with a 67–15 record, surpassing last season's record by six games. Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with a 30.1 points/6.4 assists/6.1 rebounds season.

After sweeping theMiami Heat in the opening round, they played theNew York Knicks, who were now coached byPat Riley and won in seven games. Then they played theCleveland Cavaliers, whom they had beaten in two prior postseason meetings, in the conference finals. The Bulls won in six games.^[3]

The previous season, Portland was coming off a Finals loss to the Detroit Pistons. The 1990–91 Trail Blazers won a franchise record 63 games and, as the top seed in the Western Conference, appeared destined to meet the Bulls for the championship. However, theLos Angeles Lakers upended the narrative, defeating Portland in six games of the conference final. However, the Lakers would lose to the Chicago Bulls in the Finals. Of note, the upset marked a final hurrah for the "Showtime"-era Lakers, as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had retired two years prior, and Magic Johnson would retire unexpectedly in the first week of the 1991–92 season, after learning he had tested positive for HIV.

For the 1991–92 season, the Blazers retained the same core from the previous two seasons; the team won the Pacific Division title with a 57–25 record. In the first round of the playoffs, they avenged the previous year's loss, dispatching a weakenedLakers team, 3–1. Portland followed that up with a five-game defeat of thePhoenix Suns in the second round, before booking another trip to the Finals with a six-game elimination of theUtah Jazz in the conference Finals.

TheChicago Bulls won both games in the regular season series:

Michael Jordan dominated from the beginning, breaking the record for most points in a first half in the playoffs once held byElgin Baylor (Michael had 35, Baylor had 33). This included six first-half threes (also a record). It was after the sixth three-pointer that Jordan turned towards the broadcast table and famously shrugged to indicate his surprise. Jordan's shrug became a highlight reel mainstay. Portland held their final lead at 45–44 in the second quarter before Chicago went on a 22–6 run to grab a 66–51 halftime lead and take control. The Bulls finished with a 122–89 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

With theChicago Blackhawks playing for theStanley Cup when the Bulls reached the Finals, Game 2 would have had conflict with Game 6 of the Blackhawks' series, as both teams would have played on the same day at Chicago Stadium.^[4] However, the Blackhawks series ended in 4 games, so no rescheduling was needed.

Portland built an eight-point lead in the first quarter, and held a nine-point lead at the half. However, as in Game 1, their lead started to disappear as the Bulls made their run – Jordan scored 14 points while Paxson scored 9, taking a seven-point lead by the end of the third quarter. Chicago was looking to take a commanding 2–0 lead in the series when Clyde Drexler fouled out with 4:36 remaining. With the Bulls up by 10, Jordan started to lose his poise, committing a foul and then a technical foul. This helped Portland build a 15–5 run, pushing the game into overtime after Jordan narrowly missed at the buzzer. In overtime, Portland dominated, especially Ainge, who scored six points with one minute remaining as the Blazers won 115–104 – the Bulls' worst home defeat in an NBA Finals game.

Chicago had lost home court advantage, but dominated Portland, holding them to numerous franchise playoff lows: 84 points in a game, 39 second-half points and 28 field goals. Chicago would go on a 30–13 run in the first half to gain a 44–30 lead which Portland would cut to three with 7:09 left in the third before the Bulls went to another 12–3 run. Portland would then go on a field goal drought, not scoring from the 4:33 mark in the third quarter until the 9:36 mark of the fourth, a 6:57 stretch.

Portland was still playing as they were during Game 3, not scoring for four minutes and finding themselves down 10–0. The Bulls were up 22–9 before the Blazers rallied and cut the deficit to three at the half, but found themselves down again in the third quarter. While Jordan scored 13 points in the third quarter, he would not score in the game's final 10:26. Portland went on a 15–6 run to even the series at two games apiece.

The Bulls jumped out to a 10–2 lead and never looked back, answering every Blazers comeback attempt with a run of their own. Chicago opened the second half on a 16–8 run to give the Bulls a 20-point lead. Portland didn't pull back within single digits until less than four minutes were left in the game, and ended up losing 119–106.

Michael Jordan, who briefly sat with a bad ankle, finished with 46 points on 14-of-23 from the field and 16-of-19 from the line. Scottie Pippen fell just short of a triple-double, with 24 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Clyde Drexler scored 30 points to lead six Portland players in double figures. However, Portland had 18 turnovers and shot just 43.8 percent from the field, compared to 54.8 percent for the Bulls.

Game 5 remains the most recent NBA Finals game played in Portland to date.

Portland started strongly as they held Michael Jordan scoreless for the game's first 11 minutes, and took a 43–28 lead midway through the second quarter before Chicago went on a 16–7 run and cut the deficit to only six points. Portland also dominated the third quarter, building a 79–64 lead. Phil Jackson went with four reserves and Scottie Pippen to start the fourth quarter, cutting Portland's lead to three after only three minutes. Jordan returned and had two steals and converted them to hoops to give Chicago a permanent lead. With 11.8 seconds left and the Bulls up by 2, Jordan virtually clinched the title by hitting 2 free throws bringing him to 12 points in the fourth quarter. Kersey then missed a 3 which was rebounded by Paxson who dribbled out the clock. The Bulls' defense held Portland to only six points in the final four minutes, leading the Bulls to their second straight championship. Jordan finished with 33 points and was named Finals MVP for the second consecutive year.

Chicago Bulls

Portland Trail Blazers

NBC Sports used commentatorMarv Albert, analystsMike Fratello andMagic Johnson, and sideline reporterAhmad Rashad (both teams' sidelines).Bob Costas andQuinn Buckner hosted the pre-game, halftime and postgame reports.

Just months later, the 1991–92 NBA season documentaryUntouchabulls was released. Narrated byHal Douglas, it recaps the Bulls' championship season. "Jam" byMichael Jackson was used as the theme song for the documentary. That same year, Jordan was featured in Jackson's music video for "Jam".

The Bulls won their third straight championship in the1992–93 season, winning 57 games and defeating thePhoenix Suns in the1993 NBA Finals. In the offseason that precededMichael Jordan andScottie Pippen played for theDream Team that won the gold medal in theBarcelona Olympics, making them the first players to win NBA championship and Olympic gold medal in the same year (Pippen would achieve this feat again in 1996, andLeBron James would accomplish this in 2012). That team also included Blazers guardClyde Drexler. This made Jordan,Patrick Ewing of theNew York Knicks andChris Mullin of theGolden State Warriors the only players to have won Olympic gold medals as both amateurs and professionals, having played for Team USA inLos Angeles.^[5][6]

The 1992 Finals would prove the Blazers' last Finals appearance as ofthe 2023–24 season^[update]. In the next three seasons, the Blazers rebuilt the team, hiring general managerBob Whitsitt in 1994 and lost the core of their 1992 Finals team to free agency and trades, beginning withKevin Duckworth's departure to theBullets in the 1993 offseason. The last remaining piece of the team, Clyde Drexler, was traded and went on to win the NBA championship with theHouston Rockets in1995.

The 1991–92 Bulls, along with the1995–96 Bulls, were named one of the10 greatest teams in NBA history during the league's golden anniversary.

The 1992 championship marked the only time the Bulls celebrated their title at theChicago Stadium. Following the awarding ceremony by commissionerDavid Stern, they returned to the court to show their newly won title in front of Bulls fans. This act eventually led to Stern's decision to present the NBA championship to the winning team at center court in front of the fans, starting in1994; the only exception was when the Lakers won in2001 atPhiladelphia'sFirst Union Center, but decided to hold the ceremony in their locker room. Two other home championship celebrations followed in the1996 and1997 Finals, this time at the similarly constructed but biggerUnited Center.

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