During NBC’s coverage of the 1996 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Seattle SuperSonics, three true basketball legends shared their thoughts about the game. Julius Erving gave his analysis from the studio, while Larry Bird and Magic Johnson joined the broadcast via satellite.
With the Bulls making their fourth Finals appearance of the decade, the main question was just how great this team really was. As expected, all three legends spoke very highly of them. But what came as a surprise was a unique point made by “Dr. J.”
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At the end of their discussion, the 1981 MVP shared a rare, forward-looking perspective — one that still holds up today.
The Bulls’ international revolution
It cannot be overstated: What Erving said is one of the most accurate basketball predictions ever made on live TV. To truly understand why, you have to rewind to where the league stood at that moment.
In the mid-90s, the NBA was still mostly focused on American players. Scouts mainly watched college games in the US, and international players rarely received serious attention. When teams did take a chance on foreign players, they usually didn’t get major roles. In fact, those who truly made an impact were rare exceptions.
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But the Bulls, led by visionary head coach Phil Jackson and GM Jerry Krause, were already breaking that mold. Their roster featured key international players — notably Luc Longley from Australia and Toni Kukoc from Croatia. That season, the duo combined for 143 regular season games and played a crucial role in the team’s historic run to the NBA Finals, with Kukoc even winning the 6MOY award.
It didn’t go unnoticed. “Dr. J,” an icon of both the ABA and NBA, saw the writing on the wall. During the Finals broadcast, he described the eventual champions not only as clear favorites but also as a preview of the future of the league.
“One of the things you’ve got to consider when you talk about this Bulls team is that all year long, they’ve been giving the fans of the basketball world a glimpse of the future — what the NBA is going to be like in the 21st century,” said the former 6’7″ forward.
The global shift “Dr. J” had envisioned
For Julius, one thing was clear: the NBA was on its way to becoming “an international league” — not just soon, but throughout the new century. He saw the team from the “Windy City” as the starting point. In his eyes, they didn’t just have the best American talent, but also the “greatest players ever” from Australia and Croatia.
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“We’re getting a sneak preview of what it’s going to be like in the 21st century,” remarked the Philadelphia 76ers legend when reflecting on that iconic team.
“Dr. J” couldn’t have been more right, as that sneak preview turned into a real-time movie in the years that followed.
Two Texas franchises, the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks, played a big role in this shift.
San Antonio, led by legendary head coach Gregg Popovich, focused heavily on international talent and eventually ended up with future Hall of Famers Tony Parker from France and Manu Ginobili from Argentina.
In Dallas, Donnie Nelson’s global approach led the team to draft Dirk Nowitzki, a then-unknown forward from Germany who would go on to become an all-time great.
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What started as a trend soon reshaped the whole league, and today, just like Erving predicted, the NBA is fully international. The recent run of MVPs born in Europe (Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo) and Africa (Joel Embiid) says it all.