Doc Rivers explains what made MJ’s Bulls from the ’90s the greatest defensive team of all time: “They had four Pit bulls” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
When people talk about the Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 90s, they often discuss how Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player of all time. Others speak about Chicago having the best 1-2 punch in the game’s history in MJ and Scottie Pippen.
Advertisement
But if you ask Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, the thing that stood out for those Bulls title teams was their defense. Specifically, Rivers talked about their trap defense, which no other team in the league’s history has ever replicated.
“One of the things that the Bulls did that I don’t think any other team has ever done in the history of the game is the way they trap,” said Rivers during his recent guest appearance on Bill Simmons’ podcast. “You know, usually what you do is send a guy to the sideline, and then you bring him back to the middle, and you trap. The Bulls would actually send a guy to the sideline, and as a guard, I remember this. You thought, ‘Okay, now I can beat him down the sideline,’ but the guy guarding you actually beat you to the sideline, and then you would turn your back, and there’s another defender, and you’re basically in the web. No one’s ever been able to do that, trapping in the frontcourt. They did it in the backcourt. They did it all the time.”
Rivers experienced it firsthand
Before he was a head coach, Doc was an NBA journeyman who played 13 seasons. He saw a lot of the Bulls and was playing in the league when they won their NBA titles in 1991, 1993, and 1996. As a point guard, Rivers saw a lot of Chicago’s backcourt trap while trying to cross the halfcourt line.
Advertisement
Aside from experiencing hell firsthand from the Bulls’ defense, the one-time champion head coach also watched them neutralize the most dominant player in the game’s history using another version of their dreaded trapping scheme.
“They would trap the passer that was going to throw it to the post. If you remember that against Orlando, they figured out, ‘Okay, they’re going to always throw it to the wing to throw it to Shaq, but so what?’ They trapped the passer and the passer is now throwing it out away. He forgets about Shaq. By the time they got it to Shaq, it was three seconds on the clock. I thought that was genius. That was Phil, but that was really…They had four pit bulls that could get away with it and I’ve never seen a team do that,” added Doc.
Legler likened it to an eclipse
Like Rivers, current ESPN analyst Tim Legler played against the ’90s Bulls. Legs played for the Washington Bullets/Wizards during the Bulls’ second three-peat era and being in the East, he saw a lot of Chicago’s dreaded defense. During a visit to “The Dan Patrick Show” four years ago, Legler also talked about the Bulls’ suffocating trap defense.
Advertisement
“One of the most intimidating things you’ve faced as a player is that they were the only team I played against in the NBA that pressed after free throws and got away with it. So when you got Rodman, Pippen, Jordan, and Harper picking you up in the backcourt in a 1-2-1-1 trap with that kind of length, and you got that first pass in the corner, and you turn, and you got Rodman and Pippen running to you, it was like an eclipse. And to this day, that’s the greatest defensive team that I’ve seen to this day,” Legler said.
During their first three-peat, the Bulls ranked no lower than 7th in defensive rating each year. They were at least No.4 in the league during their second three-peat. In 1996, Chicago was the top defensive team in the NBA at 101.8 points per 100 possessions allowed. Both Rivers and Legler still played in the league that season and saw the peak of the Bulls’ defensive prowess.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.