NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	21	Dickey Simpkins Dickey Simpkins LuBara Dixon "Dickey" Simpkins is an American former professional basketball player best known for his tenure with the Chicago Bulls in the late 1990s...	F		Providence Providence College Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
2	49	Kris Bruton Kris Bruton Kris Marcus Bruton is an American professional basketball player. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 1994 NBA Draft, he played two years before a serious thigh injury ended his career. After recuperating, he was recruited by the Harlem Globetrotters, the sports entertainment legend...	F		Benedict Benedict College Benedict College is a historically black, liberal arts college located in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teachers' college. It has since expanded into a four-year college.-History:...

Jordan returns

In the 1993–94 season

1993-94 NBA season

-Statistics leaders:-NBA awards:*Most Valuable Player: Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets*Rookie of the Year: Chris Webber, Golden State Warriors*Defensive Player of the Year: Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets...

, the Jordan-less Bulls notched a 55–27 record, and lost to the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs

1994 NBA Playoffs

The 1994 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1993-94 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals...

. But the 1994–95 version of the Bulls was a shell of the championship squad of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago needed a lift. The lift came in early 1995, when Jordan decided to return to the NBA for the Bulls.

On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two-word press release: "I'm back." The next day, Jordan donned jersey number 45 (his number with the Barons), as his familiar 23 had been retired in his honor following his first retirement. He took the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...

 in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points.

Although Jordan had not played in an NBA game in a year and a half, he played well upon his return, which included a game-winning jump shot (against Atlanta

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...

 in his fourth game back), and a 55-point game against the Knicks

New York Knicks

The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 on March 29, 1995. The Bulls made the playoffs

1995 NBA Playoffs

The 1995 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1994-1995 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets winning their second consecutive NBA championship by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic...

 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals against the Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...

. At the end of the first game of the series, Orlando's Nick Anderson

Nick Anderson

Nelison "Nick" Anderson is a former American professional basketball player. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for two years, playing on the team that reached the NCAA Final Four in 1989. That Fighting Illini team gained the moniker "Flyin' Illini" by Dick Vitale while...

 commented that "He didn't look like the old Michael Jordan," after which Jordan returned to wearing his old number (23). Jordan averaged 31.5 points per game in that series, but Orlando prevailed in six games.

Roster

{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! colspan="2" style="background-color: #D40026; color: white; text-align: center;" | 1994-95 Chicago Bulls roster
|- style="background-color: black; color: #D40026; text-align: center;"
! Players !! Coaches
|-
| valign="top" |
{| class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;"
! Pos. !! # !! Nat. !! Name !! Ht. !! Wt. !! From
|-

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" | Player
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | GP
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | REB
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | AST
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | STL
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | BLK
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | PTS
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | AVG
|- align="center"
| B.J. Armstrong || 82 || 186 || 244 || 84 || 8 || 1150 || 14.0
|- align="center"
| Corie Blount

Corie Blount

Corie Kasoun Blount is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6'9" power forward/center, Blount starred at the University of Cincinnati during the early 1990s, where he helped his team reach the Final Four in 1992 and the Elite Eight in 1993...

 || 68 || 240 || 60 || 26 || 33 || 238 || 3.5
|- align="center"
| Toni Kukoc

Toni Kukoc

Toni Kukoč is a retired Croatian professional basketball player. He was renowned for his versatility and passing ability; although his natural position was small forward, he played all five positions on the court with prowess and demonstrated court vision and an outside shooting touch that were...

 || 81 || 440 || 372 || 102 || 16 || 1271 || 15.7
|- align="center"
| Luc Longley

Luc Longley

Lucien James "Luc" Longley is a retired Australian professional basketball player, who was the first Australian to play in the NBA, where he played for eleven seasons...

 || 55 || 263 || 73 || 24 || 45 || 358 || 6.5
|- align="center"
| Will Perdue

Will Perdue

William Edward Perdue is a retired American NBA basketball player who won four NBA Championships. Perdue is now an ESPN basketball commentator and analyst.Perdue attended Merritt Island High School, Merritt Island, Florida...

|| 78 || 522 || 90 || 26 || 56 || 621 || 8.0
|- align="center"
|-
|}

Playoffs

• Won Eastern Conference 1st Rd (3-1) over Charlotte Hornets
• Lost Eastern Conference Semifinals (4-2) to Orlando Magic