Two of the biggest pieces of the Chicago Bulls legendary team from the mid-1990s weren't in attendance for Thursday's inaugural Ring of Honor celebration. Both Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were absent from the festivities that honored one of the most iconic teams in NBA history.
Dennis Rodman also didn't attend the gala. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the team is hoping that the legendary rebounding machine attends the team's halftime festivities during Friday's game against the Golden State Warriors.
Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was hopeful that Jordan and Pippen could attend.
"I actually don't know how much effort went into it," Reinsdorf said. "Obviously, it would be better if everybody were here, but we knew going in that not everybody could be here."
Jordan did send in a recorded video message for the occasion.
Michael Jordan sent this message ahead of our Ring of Honor celebrations: pic.twitter.com/0HjOFFpXUj
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 12, 2024
In his video message, Jordan stated that he was "bummed" that he wasn't able to attend the gala. The Bulls legend also thanked the Reinsdorf family for the tremendous as well as wishing his former teammates well.
"I would be excited for everyone to come, but we announced it six weeks ago," Bulls president/CEO Michael Reinsdorf said. "People have schedule issues, and so this is just our way of saying thank you to the players and the staff, so that's what we're looking forward to."
Many of the team's prominent players and coaches, including the likes of head coach Phil Jackson, Steve Kerr and Toni Kukoc, were in attendance for the event.
"It's something that we're really proud of," Michael Reinsdorf added. "Having all the guys come back, seeing guys like Ron Harper, Luc Longley and Toni [Kukoc] here.
"It's a big part of our history. We won six championships in eight years, and these players, the staff members that are here, Phil Jackson coming back, it means so much to the Chicago Bulls, but it also means so much to our fans."
