In the 1996 NBA Finals, legendary shooting guard Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were looking to close out a record breaking season in dominant fashion. The Bulls did have an unsuspectingly tough test, though, in the 1996 finals against former superstar point guard Gary Payton and the upstart Seattle SuperSonics.
At the outset of that finals series, Jordan and the Bulls were rolling. But it didn’t take long for Payton, fellow star Shawn Kemp and the Sonics to catch up. The Sonics pushed the Bulls to a six-game series after head coach Steve Karl switched Payton to defend Jordan.