Sam Smith (born January 24, 1948) is an NBA writer for the Chicago Bulls website bulls.com. He is the author of multiple articles and books, including The New York Times bestseller, The Jordan Rules .
Sam was born on January 24, 1948, in Brooklyn, New York City. Smith attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn and Pace University in New York City, graduating with a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1970. He worked two years on the auditing staff of Arthur Young & Co. and then earned a master's degree in journalism from Ball State University. He is in the Journalism Hall of Fame at Ball State.
He was a staff and investigative reporter for the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel and congressional reporter and managing editor for States News Service in Washington, D.C. He then became press secretary to Connecticut U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker. He left Weicker's staff to join the Chicago Tribune in November 1979. [1]
Smith started at the Tribune as a political/general assignment writer, writing on the city news and national staffs, the business department, and Sunday magazine, before moving to sports full-time in 1983. He was a sports feature writer and NBA basketball writer until becoming full-time Bulls/NBA writer in 1987. He is the author or co-author of several books, including The New York Times best seller, The Jordan Rules . He also has been a columnist for the Sporting News, ESPN.com, NBC.com, HoopsHype.com, Inside Sports magazine and NBA publications in China and Japan. He appears frequently on radio and TV, including The Tony Kornheiser Show . He received the lifetime achievement award from the Pro Basketball Writers Association and the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. [1]
Smith wrote The Jordan Rules [2] and Second Coming: The Strange Odyssey of Michael Jordan from Courtside to Home Plate and Back Again (or simply Second Coming). He also is co-author of the basketball book, The Perfect Team, and the Total Basketball Encyclopedia.
Smith has been married to Kathleen since 1976 and has two children, Connor and Hannah-Li, and lives in Geneva, Illinois. [1] His grandfather Samuel Pritzker was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi from Ukraine who emigrated to the U.S. from Holovanivsk on August 13, 1925 with his wife and two children, including Smith's mother Betty. [3]
Michael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1984 and 2003, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was integral in popularizing basketball and the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural icon. His profile on the NBA website states that "by acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."
Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr., usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Considered one of the greatest small forwards of all time, Pippen played an important role in transforming the Bulls into a championship team and popularizing the NBA around the world during the 1990s.
Jerome Richard Krause was an American sports scout and executive who was the general manager of the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1985 to 2003.
Jerry Michael Reinsdorf is the owner of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and MLB's Chicago White Sox. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the owner of the White Sox and Bulls for over 35 years. As of January 2024, his net worth was estimated at US$2.4 billion.
Rodney King Thorn is an American basketball executive and a former professional player and coach, Olympic Committee Chairman, with a career spanning over 50 years. In 2018, Thorn was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Gene Wojciechowski is an American sports writer, best known for his work with ESPN.
Robert Louis Hansen II is an American former professional basketball player. A 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) guard, he played nine seasons (1983–1992) in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hansen is currently a commentator for Iowa Hawkeyes basketball broadcasts.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the Bulls' 30th season in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Bulls acquired controversial All-Star forward and rebound specialist Dennis Rodman from the San Antonio Spurs, and signed free agents Randy Brown and James Edwards. At midseason, the team signed John Salley, who was previously released by the expansion Toronto Raptors; Rodman, Edwards and Salley were all teammates on the Detroit Pistons during the "Bad Boy" era, where they won two straight championships in 1989 and 1990. The Bulls had the best team offensive rating and the best team defensive rating in the NBA.
The 1997–98 NBA season was the Bulls' 32nd season in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the season as the two-time defending NBA champions, and in the Finals, they met the Utah Jazz in a rematch from the prior year's NBA Finals and just like that year, they would go on to defeat the Jazz in six games to win their sixth championship in eight years and complete the franchise's second "3-peat".
The 1990–91 NBA season was the Bulls' 25th season in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Bulls acquired Dennis Hopson from the New Jersey Nets, and signed free agent Cliff Levingston. The Bulls overcame a slow start, losing their first three games of the season, as they later on went on an 11-game winning streak between February and March, held a 32–14 record at the All-Star break, then posted a nine-game winning streak also in March. The Bulls finished in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 61–21 record, surpassing their previous franchise-best from the 1971–72 season. Widely regarded as one of the greatest teams of all time, the Bulls had the best team offensive rating and the seventh best team defensive rating in the NBA.
The 1991–92 NBA season was the Bulls' 26th season in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the season as defending NBA champions, having defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals in five games, and winning their first NBA championship in franchise history. The 1991-92 Bulls team are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams of all time. Early into the season, the Bulls traded Dennis Hopson to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Bob Hansen after the first two games. Coming off their first ever championship, the Bulls had a very successful season winning 14 consecutive games after a 1–2 start to the season. They later on posted a 13-game winning streak in January, which led them to a 37–5 start, and held a 39–9 record at the All-Star break. The Bulls finished in first place in the Central Division, along with having the best record in the league at 67–15.
The 1992–93 NBA season was the Bulls' 27th season in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the season as the back-to-back defending NBA champions, having defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1992 NBA Finals in six games, winning their second NBA championship. In the off-season, the team acquired Rodney McCray from the Dallas Mavericks, and signed free agent Trent Tucker. At midseason, the team signed Darrell Walker, who was previously released by the Detroit Pistons. After two straight championships, the Bulls would make changes to their lineup, replacing John Paxson at point guard with B. J. Armstrong after Paxson went down with a knee injury, and only played 59 games. The team won nine of their first eleven games, and posted a 7-game winning streak between December and January, holding a 35–17 record at the All-Star break. The Bulls posted another 7-game winning streak between February and March, and would yet again have another successful season finishing in first place in the Central Division, and second overall in the Eastern Conference with a 57–25 record. They also advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive season, becoming the first team since the 1987–88 Boston Celtics to do so.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the Bulls' 28th season in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls entered the season as the three time defending NBA champions, having defeated the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals in six games, winning their third NBA championship, their first of two threepeats in the 1990s. This was the first season without All-Star guard Michael Jordan since the 1983–84 season, as he retired during the off-season to pursue a baseball career after the murder of his father. Instead, the Bulls were led by All-Star forward Scottie Pippen. In the off-season, the team signed free agents Steve Kerr, Bill Wennington, and Pete Myers, who was signed to fill in the void left by Jordan at shooting guard.
The 1994–95 NBA season was the Bulls' 29th season in the National Basketball Association. This was also the team's first season playing at the United Center. During the off-season, the Bulls signed free agents Ron Harper, and Jud Buechler. The Bulls struggled in the first half of the season with a 23–25 record at the All-Star break. However, there were rumors that retired All-Star guard Michael Jordan would come out of his retirement to rejoin the team, after an unsuccessful baseball career. The Bulls received a major boost upon Jordan's return, as he faxed a memo that simply said "I'm back." The Bulls won 24 of their final 34 games, and finished the season with a 47–35 record, going 13–4 with Jordan back in the lineup. The Bulls finished third in the Central Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference.
The 1998–99 Chicago Bulls season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Basketball Association. On March 23, 1998, the owners of all 29 NBA teams voted 27–2 to reopen the league's collective bargaining agreement, seeking changes to the league's salary cap system, and a ceiling on individual player salaries. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) opposed to the owners' plan, and wanted raises for players who earned the league's minimum salary. After both sides failed to reach an agreement, the owners called for a lockout, which began on July 1, 1998, putting a hold on all team trades, free agent signings and training camp workouts, and cancelling many NBA regular season and preseason games. Due to the lockout, the NBA All-Star Game, which was scheduled to be played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 14, 1999, was also cancelled. However, on January 6, 1999, NBA commissioner David Stern, and NBPA director Billy Hunter finally reached an agreement to end the lockout. The deal was approved by both the players and owners, and was signed on January 20, ending the lockout after 204 days. The regular season began on February 5, and was cut short to just 50 games instead of the regular 82-game schedule.
The 1988–89 NBA season was the Bulls' 23rd season in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Bulls acquired Bill Cartwright from the New York Knicks, then later on acquired three-point specialist Craig Hodges from the Phoenix Suns in December. The Bulls struggled with a 6–8 start to the season, but later on held a 27–19 record at the All-Star break. Despite losing eight of their final ten games, the team finished fifth in the Central Division with a 47–35 record.
The 1989–90 NBA season was the Bulls' 24th season in the National Basketball Association. Despite their solid playoff run last year, the Bulls fired head coach Doug Collins and replaced him with assistant Phil Jackson, and received the sixth pick in the 1989 NBA draft, which they used to select Stacey King from the University of Oklahoma. Under Jackson, the Bulls held a 28–19 record at the All-Star break, finished the regular season second in the Central Division with a 55–27 record, averaging 109.5 points per game.
The 1997–98 NBA season was the Nets' 31st season in the National Basketball Association, and 22nd season in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Nets had the seventh overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, and selected Tim Thomas out of Villanova University, but soon traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for top draft pick Keith Van Horn from the University of Utah, Lucious Harris, Michael Cage and Don MacLean, then signed free agent Sherman Douglas on the first day of the regular season, which began on October 31, 1997. The Nets had a new look as the team changed their primary logo, and added new uniforms adding dark navy to their color scheme. A youth movement began to pay off as the Nets won their first four games, and played above .500 for the entire season, holding a 27–21 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, the team traded David Benoit, Kevin Edwards and Yinka Dare to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Rony Seikaly and second-year forward Brian Evans. Despite a 7-game losing streak between February and March, the Nets made the playoffs by finishing third in the Atlantic Division with a 43–39 record.
The 1990–91 New York Knicks season was the 45th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association. In the off-season, the Knicks signed free agent John Starks, who played in the Continental Basketball Association the previous season. The Knicks changed their on-court leadership early in the season, as head coach Stu Jackson was fired, and replaced with John MacLeod after 15 games. After a 6–3 start to the season, the Knicks lost eight of their next nine games, and held a 20–27 record at the All-Star break. They recovered to a 34–33 record near the end of the season, but then went 5–10 in their last 15 games. New York finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 39–43 record, and earned the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference for the NBA playoffs.
The 1994–95 NBA season was the 7th season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Hornets signed free agent All-Star center Robert Parish, who won three championships with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s, and acquired Michael Adams from the Washington Bullets. After falling one game short of the playoffs the previous season, the Hornets lost their first three games, but then went on an 8-game winning streak between December and January, holding a 31–17 record at the All-Star break. The Hornets finished second in the Central Division with a solid 50–32 record, and qualified for their second playoff appearance.