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PARIS — The Chicago Bulls president and CEO couldn’t help but remember 1997 when Michael Reinsdorf stepped into the Accor Arena on Thursday night.
“It seems like just yesterday,” Leinsdorf said in a session with a writer who regularly covers the team.
Loud audiences in favor of the Bulls saw Leinsdorf reaffirm the franchise’s global reach. This apparently dates back to the days when teams like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson and Jerry Krause regularly won his NBA championships in his 1990s.
“Like I said before, I truly believe the Chicago Bulls were the first global franchise in the sport. I think they do,” said Leinsdorf. “It doesn’t sound like a typical regular season game against the Pistons in mid-January, that’s for sure.”
Leinsdorf said he noticed many fans wearing Bulls jerseys. And, of course, Joakim Noah, who grew up here, was sitting courtside, and he gave a big round of applause when introduced.
But Leinsdorf doesn’t just want to live in the past.
“We don’t want to settle for what happened in the ’90s. We want to win again. That’s clearly our goal,” says Reinsdorf. “But we can’t get away from the fact that in the ’90s he won six championships in eight years and he was one of the first global teams in the sport. We have to accept that. Yes, but I definitely want to go back to the top of the mountain.”
Vice President Arturas Karnisovas, general manager Mark Eversley and coach Billy Donovan all expressed excitement about the rare opportunity to play an international regular-season game, Reinsdorf said.
“They felt it was a great bonding experience for the players,” he said.
And Leinsdorf wouldn’t mind if the NBA played more regular season games abroad.
“We were talking about this halfway through, can we play multiple games in different cities around the world? I think this is a great opportunity for the NBA,” Leinsdorf said. “This started with his 1992 Dream Team. The NBA is the second most popular sport in the world for him, and I think there’s a great opportunity for the NBA to play games around the world.”
The Dream Team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, featuring Jordan and Pippen, came after the Bulls finally broke through the Detroit Pistons’ bad boy-era reign that spawned two titles.
When asked, Leinsdorf distinctly recalled that competition.
“I think anyone who was a Bulls fan at the time was still nervous about the game against Detroit. says Reinsdorf about the song “The Final Countdown.” “Even now, when I listen to it, I like to turn it off because I don’t want to hear that song.
“The Bill Laimbeer era and some of the way he played with the Pistons. They were a physical, tough team. couldn’t have won those six championships, and we clearly respect the Detroit Pistons.”
The Bulls’ final road trip in 1997 also featured Karnisovas scoring a team-high 18 points at Olympiacos, the Greek professional team that the Bulls defeated in the final.
Of course, Leinsdorf never thought he would one day hire him to run basketball for the Bulls.
“Speaking of which, I never thought I would see Arturas play basketball. I couldn’t believe I was there,” said Leinsdorf. “My memory of this game is that I was really nervous. Scotty wasn’t playing. So I just wanted to win, even if it was just a preseason game, I want to be the NBA champion, I don’t want to win the NBA championship and then lose the world championship.”
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