This is probably fabricated, as I couldn't find it in writing anywhere, but someone told me Phil Jackson said this Lakers team is better than his Bulls teams. I can't imagine he would say that, but it brings up a good debate. Who would you pick in a 7 game series?

Whether you go with the roster from the Bulls first three-peat or second, I'd have to pick them. No doubt they would have trouble stopping Shaq, but that team played much better team defense, complemented by a strong offense, than anything the Lakers have faced in the last 3 years. Also, while I give the Lakers credit for their willpower to win games, they should have been eliminated by the Blazers in 2000 and the Kings in 2002, but both those teams choked. The Bulls were never really close to elimination (one game 7 in those 6 championship years). Furthermore(!), if you look at the regular season, the Bulls consistently won at least 60 games (5 of 6 years, including the 72 & 69), while the Lakers had one great regular season (67 wins) and two average years. Granted, the Lakers play in a very tough conference and step it up in the playoffs, but the East was actually good back in the Bulls' days too.

Oh, and Michael would get more calls than Shaq or Kobe.

Other opinions?

WhatIfSports seems to agree with me.
WhatIf?

I simuluated several best-of-seven matchups between Bulls & Lakers championship teams, and the Bulls won 5 of 6 series. Granted, it's only on paper, but statistics don't lie!

Yes, I do have too much time on my hands...

I would tend to agree that the Bulls of the early 90's would have a slight edge over the current Laker team. I arrive at the same conclusion a little differently however.

I think that when a team emerges from a tough 7 game series as the victor, it builds a stronger case they are a great championship team as opposed to shedding a negative light on them. The King's may have been a better overall team this year, but the Laker's proved that they were the CHAMPIONSHIP team.

The Bull's from the first regime were much more athletic and ran the court much faster than the second version. Jordan, Pippen, and Grant posed many difficult match ups for teams to contend with. The Laker's are not there yet, but they have great potential to elevate to that rarified air as Kobe still has yet to come into his prime. Remember, he is just 23 with 3 rings already, which has him already battle tested and just needing to continue to mature to maybe becoming even greater than he already is.

Also, the Bull's never had the playoff run that the Lakers had last year when they went 15-1 in the playoffs. Still, I ll give them the nod for now over the Lakers but expect them to make even greater history while Kobe/Shaq are still young.

I would give the Bulls the edge over the Lakers. But can you imagine Shaq going up against the likes of Luc Longley and Bill Wennington? Ugly.