Bulls induct inaugural Ring of Honor class, including 1995-96 team - ESPN

CHICAGO — The Bulls celebrated their inaugural class for the organization's new Ring of Honor during halftime of Friday night's game against the Golden State Warriors.

The first class included 13 men and the entire 1995-96 team, which went 72-10 and won the NBA championship.

However, the Bulls were missing a few key members from that team. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman were absent from the festivities. Rodman was scheduled to appear but had his travel plans canceled because of inclement weather. Both he and Jordan submitted video messages acknowledging the honor.

«I am so bummed that I can't be there tonight,» Jordan said in a taped video message to fans. «But I don't want that to stop the fun that you guys are going to have.»

In addition to Jordan, Pippen and Rodman, the 13-member inaugural class included Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, who received the loudest cheers of the attendees, and the late Jerry Krause, who was general manager of the Bulls from 1985 to 2003.

Krause's name was loudly booed by the United Center crowd, and his widow, Thelma, who represented him at the ceremony, was visibly emotional at the reception. Krause, who died in 2017, was the architect of the Bulls' six championship teams but also was often blamed for the disintegration of the dynasty that he had been such a big part of building.

The situation prompted a statement from Bulls president and CEO Michael Reinsdorf to NBC Sports Chicago, in which he lauded Krause as «an important part of our history.»

«Jerry Krause is a six-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Executive of the Year. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for his accomplishments and is an important part of our history,» Reinsdorf said. «His