Would Michael Jordan have won eight straight NBA titles with Bulls if he did not retire?

Arguing who's the NBA's GOAT - specifically, arguing Jordan vs. LeBron - is one of sports fans' greatest debates. Sporting News looks at the case for each, along with their place in NBA lore and culture.

The Chicago Bulls won six NBA championships with a pair of three-peats from 1991-93 and 1996-98, but it's the NBA championship team in between that has created the most hypothetical conversation. 

How would a dream matchup between the Michael Jordan-led Bulls against "The Dream" unfold? 

The Houston Rockets – led by Hakeem Olajuwon – won the NBA Finals in 1994 and 1995 – a two-year period where Jordan retired from basketball and returned to play 17 games in the 19994-95 regular season. The Rockets and Bulls never crossed paths in the NBA Finals.

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NBA analyst Kenny Smith – who played guard for Houston from 1990-96 – does not mince words when asked who would have won that series in those two years – even if Jordan would have been in play. 

"We would have beat their ass," Smith said on Episode 138 of the "Stack 5" podcast. 

There are layers to the hypothetical argument. The Bulls' roster looked different in its first three-peat from its second one. Would Chicago have been able to slow down Olajuwon? What would those matchups look like in 1993-94 and 1994-95?

MICHAEL JORDAN VS. LEBRON JAMES

• The case for Michael Jordan as NBA's GOAT
• The case for LeBron James as NBA's GOAT
• Who made the greater cultural impact?
• Examining the 'villain' status of Jordan, LeBron
• Comparing Olympic careers of Jordan, LeBron

Bulls vs. Rockets: Who wins 1994 NBA Finals if Michael Jordan does not retire? 

Any hypothetical assumes Jordan does not retire in the aftermath of his father James' death on July 23, 1993. Jordan then pursued a career in baseball before returning to basketball in the 1994-95 season. Pete Myers took Jordan’s spot that season and averaged 7.9 points in 82 games. Here is what the starting lineups would have looked like with Jordan on the court in 1993-94: 

Houston finished 58-24 in 1993-94 and beat the Knicks in seven games in the 1994 NBA Finals. Olajuwon was the NBA MVP that season. He averaged 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 3.6 assists. Olajuwon was at his finest that season. 

"You can make up any scenario and try to emphasize it, but the Bulls never played a team with a great center in the Finals," Bob Costas told Sporting News. "The Bulls themselves never had a great center. They had functional centers like Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, Will Perdue and Bill Cartwright. All good players, but not Olajuwon."   

The Rockets had a cohesive starting five. All five starters played in 73 or more games, and Mario Elie and Sam Cassell were among the super subs off the bench. Houston ranked first in the NBA in three-point shooting field goals (429) and attempts (1,285) that season. 

The Bulls finished 55-27 and lost in the Eastern Conference finals to the New York Knicks in seven games without Jordan in 1993-94. Toni Kukoc and Steve Kerr were valuable additions off the bench, and the Bulls had a revolving door at center with Cartwright, who started in 41 games, and Luc Longley, Stacey King, Scott Williams and Bill Wennington. How many of those starters would have been active against the Rockets? 

The Bulls were third in the NBA in scoring defense in 1993-94 at 94.9 points per game. That was without Jordan, who was a first-team NBA All-Defensive Team selection nine times. Sports Illustrated’s Jack McCallum would have been fascinated to see how the Rockets’ three-point shooting would have matched up against the Bulls – with Jordan looking for a fourth straight championship. 

"They were probably the first team to really use the 3-point shot a lot with Kenny Smith and Mario Elie was on that team," McCallum said. "However, Jordan and (Scottie) Pippen as defenders? That wouldn't happen."

Houston beat Chicago 100-93 on Nov. 23, 1993, that season. The Bulls beat the Rockets 82-76 in the second matchup on Jan. 25, 1994. Olajuwon averaged 28.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in those games. How would Jordan have fared? He averaged 29.1 points per game in six matchups against the Rockets during the Bulls’ first three-peat from 1991-93, but Houston was 5-1 in those games.

This feels like it would have a seven-game series where the Bulls would have been slight favorites.

Bulls vs. Rockets: Who wins 1994-95 NBA Finals with Clyde Drexler in the fold?

Smith points out the most obvious difference in this hypothetical series. 

"There's no Horace Grant," Smith said on the "Stack 5 Podcast". "They were way too small." 

Costas knows the other variable in this series. 

"It would have been interesting to see what would have happened had Jordan not gone to go play baseball and if he had to face Olajuwon's Rockets, especially once they had Drexler in '95, in a final," Costas said. 

The Rockets did add Clyde Drexler, Olajuwon’s college teammate, for the 1994-95 season at the trade deadline. Otis Thorpe was traded to Portland and Vernon Maxwell — who served a 10-game suspension after punching a fan in Portland on Feb. 6, 1995 – was placed on indefinite leave later that season. Houston was small, too. Houston was 17-18 in the regular season after the Drexler trade. 

The Rockets finished 47-35. Houston marched to a second NBA championship with a 4-0 sweep of the Orlando Magic, but they were not quite as dominant. Chicago also finished 47-35 in the regular season but lost in six games to the Magic in the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

Houston beat Chicago 106-83 on Nov. 11, 1994. Olajuwon had 29 points. The Bulls beat the Rockets 100-81 on Jan. 22, 1995. B.J. Armstrong scored 20 points, and Olajuwon was 2 of 18 from the floor. Jordan was not on the Bulls, and Drexler was not on the Rockets for either one of those matchups. 

To Smith’s point, Pippen led the Bulls with 8.1 rebounds per game that season. Jordan was second with 6.9 rebounds. Will Perdue started in 78 games during the regular season, but Luc Longley emerged as the starting center in the playoffs. The Bulls were small, but Jordan would have been better over a full season. Perhaps Chicago would have pursued a power forward like Dennis Rodman – who averaged 16.8 rebounds in 26 starts for San Antonio that season – a year sooner in this hypothetical. 

"When they got Rodman, I don't know if we would have got them," Smith said.

McCallum still believes the tandem of Jordan and Pippen on defense would have been the biggest difference in a potential series either way. 

"What everybody mentioned invariably was Jordan and Pippen playing defense together," McCallum told SN. "That fascinated the other Dream Teamers. They were so good. Michael used to own poor Clyde. I felt bad about it. They would have smothered Kenny Smith. They would have had trouble with Hakeem because they really never had a great center."

Would Chicago have won eight straight titles with Michael Jordan? 

Nobody got the Bulls from 1996-98 once Jordan had a full season and they signed Rodman, who averaged 15.3 rebounds per game in those three seasons. Houston – which added Charles Barkley – advanced to the Western Conference finals in 1996-97 before losing to the Utah Jazz – led by Karl Malone and John Stockton – in six games. 

Nobody is disputing that. Yet that two-year run from 1993-94 and 1994-95 could have easily produced a seven-game series both years with Jordan on the floor. Chicago never played a Game 7 in the NBA Finals in all six championship runs. 

How much would home-court advantage matter? The Rockets were 30-11 at home in 1993-94 and 1994-95. Houston, however, was just 15-7 at Summit Arena in the playoffs those two seasons. Chicago was 31-10 at home in 1993-94 and 28-13 in 1994-95, but they were 7-1 at home after Jordan returned that season. The Bulls were 8-2 at home in the playoffs those two seasons. 

McCallum, however, believes there is one factor that would have favored the Bulls  Even in 1993-94 and 1994-95, the Bulls ranked third and fifth, respectively, in scoring defense. The Rockets were fifth in 1993-94 and 14th in 1994-95. Would Jordan have made more of an impact on that side of the floor in those two seasons? 

Both series likely would have been slugfests, with Olajuwon and Jordan – the No. 1 and No. 3 picks in the 1984 NBA Draft, respectively, leading the way. In this what-if debate, McCallum would have taken the Bulls to win a fourth and fifth consecutive championship. 

"It would have been hard for me to believe that they wouldn't have won those two also," McCallum said. "That would have been a lot of championships." 

Smith, however, will not relent on his opinion in this matter. 

"Michael's still the best player in the world that I've ever seen," Smith said. "He's not going to win eight in a row. He's not. Nobody's done it in the modern era. He wouldn't have done it."