The Chicago Bulls were a dominant team, but not just because of Michael Jordan .
'His Airness' was surrounded by great players who perfectly complemented his fiery attitude and playstyle. Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman are often considered the most important pieces to the Bulls' championship puzzle. However, Jordan himself claimed that big man Luc Longley also made contributions that cannot be overstated.
Big Luc
Longley averaged just 7.2 points and 4.9 rebounds in his entire NBA career. However, looking past the numbers, Luc had a superior basketball IQ, which was evident during team film sessions. Unfortunately, his knowledge of the game could never translate to court, at least not in terms of his production.
"Old Luc, he's always the main conversation at film sessions," Jordan wrote, per ESPN . "He's so smart, and he has an explanation for every move, every mistake. Assistant coach Tex Winter loves Luc, jumps on him more than anybody. 'If you know so much about the game,' he'll say, 'Why don't you play the game right?'"
Winter wanted Longley to stuff the stat sheet more because, in theory at least, the big man might've been the smartest guy in Chicago's locker room. The legendary coach was simply pushing the Australian to maximize his potential, but he was never more than just a role player for the Bulls.
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Why the Bulls acquired Longley
According to Chicago's head coach Phil Jackson , the organization had been eyeing Longley since the Aussie's rookie season . They were impressed with Luc's size, strength, and physicality even before they learned about his basketball acumen.
"And at 320 pounds, he was just crushing people and knocking them back in the lane to shoot a little six-foot jump hook," Jackson said . "And we were trying to compete with them at that time. Luc was a guy that showed no fear, played the game physically enough, and we wanted to hold Shaq back so he couldn't get close to the basket."
During their duels against the Orlando Magic, Shaquille O'Neal still had his way and dominated Longley. However, looking at the games closely, Luc's dynamic playstyle affected the game in many ways.
The Australian's heft meant that Shaquille had to work extra hard for his points. Additionally, Longley's reliable midrange game pulled O'Neal out of the paint, making it easy for Jordan to drive to the hole.
Even though Shaq averaged 31.5 points on 67.4% in their 1996 Eastern Conference Finals duel, the Bulls eliminated the Magic in just four games. This goes to show that statistics are not everything in basketball.
It's fun to single out MJ and call him the engineer behind the Bulls' success. But true basketball fans know that every player on the court has their role. Longley was a significant piece to the championship puzzle, and his name deserves to be mentioned more often.
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