14 Years Ago Today: Bulls Make Unlikely History With 70th Victory

CLEVELAND - When Michael Jordan returned to the NBA in the Spring of 1995, he faced enormous expectations as well as a ton of doubts. Then, his Chicago Bulls were eliminated in the playoffs by Orlando and suddenly, those doubts grew even bigger.

Until the following season.

Today marks the 14th anniversary of the most historic achievement of that following season. The Bulls set an NBA record with their 70th victory, an 86-80 win over the far inferior Milwaukee Bucks. Jordan wasn't his usual, spectacular self in the game as he scored "just" 22 points on a horrible 9-of-27 shooting. The victory wasn't even sealed until center Luc Longley (pictured above with Jordan) nailed a pair of foul shots in the closing moments.

Their record after that game on April 16, 1996 was an astonishing 70-9. They wound up winning 72 games and ran through the first three rounds of the playoffs. After winning the first three games of the NBA Finals, their record stood at an unreal 14-1. Then, their opponents, the Seattle Supersonics made life very difficult and won the next two straight games. When the dust settled, the Bulls won the series in six games to earn their 4th NBA title of the decade. Jordan was again named Finals MVP for the 4th time and his already overflowing legend somehow grew even larger.

But as much as the NBA title was the most important accomplishment that season, the 70th victory symbolized their historic greatness. It was an unlikely and highly astounding tally, especially since the team had been hastily assembled and had never played together prior to the season. Add to that the volatile Dennis Rodman and it becomes very easy to discern why Chicago's record winning was so unexpected. True, MJ was extra motivated to achieve success after the embarrassment of the '95 playoffs, but everything still had to flow just right in order for the team to do what it did.

Wow.

In the decade and a half since then, several NBA teams have seemed ready to challenge the 70 win plateau early in the season, only to fall of the pace sometime around mid-season. That happened to the '95-'96 Bulls too as their unbelievable 41-3 record was followed by two straight losses going into the All-Star break. Even still, they regrouped and made history.

And man, was it fun to watch!