{"id":114194,"date":"2021-10-18T18:29:41","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T10:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/?p=114194"},"modified":"2021-10-18T18:29:57","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T10:29:57","slug":"when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html","title":{"rendered":"When Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway Sat on Top of the Eastern Conference in 1996"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"620\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg\" alt=\"Michael Jordan\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-114195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg 620w, https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min-250x141.jpg 250w, https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min-120x68.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"button-container\">\n<div class=\"button-align\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dafa07.net\/DFBSPMY-REG1\"><img alt=\"\"src=\"https:\/\/www.dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/themes\/unspoken\/images\/join-now.png\" \/><\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dafa07.net\/DFBSPMY-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/themes\/unspoken\/images\/view-market.png\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class='content-column one_fourth'><p><strong>Share this story<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><\/p>\n<div class=\"addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style\">\n<a class=\"addthis_button_facebook_like\" fb:like:layout=\"button_count\"><\/a><br \/>\n<a class=\"addthis_button_tweet\"><\/a><br \/>\n<a class=\"addthis_button_google_plusone\" g:plusone:size=\"medium\"><\/a><br \/>\n<a class=\"addthis_button_pinterest_pinit\" pi:pinit:url=\"https:\/\/www.dafabet.com\" pi:pinit:media=\"#\" pi:pinit:layout=\"horizontal\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/s7.addthis.com\/js\/300\/addthis_widget.js#pubid=undefined\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- AddThis Button END --><br \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"three-fourth\">\n<p>Michael Jordan returned to the NBA in mid-March of 1995, with just a few weeks left in the regular season. Jordan had been away from the league for 21 months, his body was made for baseball and his conditioning wasn\u2019t adequate.<\/p>\n<p>The Bulls faced a young, talented Magic team in the second round of the playoffs and they lost the series in six games. MJ made two costly turnovers in the final minutes of Game 1 and seeing him and the Bulls struggle to close a game was highly unusual, to say the least.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cBeing away from the game that long and just how much the body had changed, I was very unsure that he could perform at the level that he\u2019s accustomed to performing on a regular basis,\u201d<\/em> Tim Grover, Michael Jordan\u2019s trainer, said.<\/p>\n<p>Jordan dedicated the entire summer to prove that he was still the best player in the NBA.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI honestly think one of the best things that could\u2019ve possibly happened, as much as everyone hates losing, is that we lost to Orlando,\u201d<\/em> former teammate Bill Wennington explained. <em>\u201cBecause Michael came back with a vengeance.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Michael Jordan asked Grover to help him get his body ready for the next season. Jordan had no days off while filming Space Jam over the summer. He still did weight training and pickup games at \u201cthe Jordan Dome,\u201d a facility at Warner Brothers Studio that was built for him. Training there helped Jordan get ready to be the best version of himself.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI don\u2019t know how he did it,\u201d<\/em> Reggie Miller stated in episode 8 of \u2018The Last Dance\u2019. <em>\u201cI don\u2019t know how he filmed all day and then had the energy to play three hours. We would play until 9 or 10 at night, and he\u2019d still have to get weightlifting in, and then his call time was at like 6 or 7 in the morning, so I don\u2019t know how. This dude was like a vampire.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>That year Penny Hardaway, going into his third season, was already a full-blown star. He got his new signature shoe line and was playing with a mystifying combination of flair, skill and power.<\/p>\n<p>All MJ did to reestablish his throne as top dog is win an NBA-record 72 games and secure his fourth MVP and NBA championship. Penny led the Magic to 60 wins and finished third in MVP voting. Jordan averaged 30.4 points and 4.3 assists while Hardaway put up 21.7 points and 7.1 assists. The Bulls and the Magic finished on top of the East and each blasted through the first two rounds of the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>Jordan\u2019s will to win helped the Bulls get a 72-10 record. The Bulls also got payback against the Magic, sweeping them in the Eastern Conference Finals before winning their fourth NBA Championship, beating the Seattle SuperSonics.<\/p>\n<p>After that season, Shaquille O\u2019Neal decided to sign with the Lakers and left Penny with no chance to compete with Jordan and Pippen. At the same time, injuries started to derail Penny\u2019s prime. There\u2019s an alternate universe where Shaq stays in Orlando and Penny\u2019s knees hold up, and we get a few more years of Bulls vs. Magic battles.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Jordan returned to the NBA in mid-March of 1995, with just a few weeks left in the regular season. Jordan had been away from the league for 21 months, his body was made for baseball and his conditioning wasn\u2019t adequate. The Bulls faced a young, talented Magic team in the second round of the playoffs and they lost the series in six games. MJ made two costly turnovers in the final minutes of Game 1 and seeing him and the Bulls struggle to close a game was highly unusual, to say the least. \u201cBeing away from the game that long and just how much the body had changed, I was very unsure that he could perform at the level that he\u2019s accustomed to performing on a regular basis,\u201d Tim Grover, Michael Jordan\u2019s trainer, said. Jordan dedicated the entire summer to prove that he was still the best player in the NBA. \u201cI honestly think one of the best things that could\u2019ve possibly happened, as much as everyone hates losing, is that we lost to Orlando,\u201d former teammate Bill Wennington explained. \u201cBecause Michael came back with a vengeance.\u201d Michael Jordan asked Grover to help him get his body ready for","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":114195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,231,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-chicago-bulls","category-nba"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>When Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway Sat on Top of the Eastern Conference in 1996<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michael Jordan returned to the NBA in mid-March of 1995, with just a few weeks left in the regular season. Jordan had been away from the league for 21 months, his body was made for baseball and his conditioning wasn\u2019t adequate.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway Sat on Top of the Eastern Conference in 1996\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michael Jordan returned to the NBA in mid-March of 1995, with just a few weeks left in the regular season. Jordan had been away from the league for 21 months, his body was made for baseball and his conditioning wasn\u2019t adequate.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dafasports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/dfgameplay.com\/gjdnjr\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-18T10:29:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-18T10:29:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"DaFaBeT._.SpOrTs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Dafabet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Dafabet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"DaFaBeT._.SpOrTs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"DaFaBeT._.SpOrTs\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/afbd03055134b7d303916a7b3f43f10a\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"When Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway Sat on Top of the Eastern Conference in 1996\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-10-18T10:29:41+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2021-10-18T10:29:57+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 551,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Basketball\",\n\t                \"Chicago Bulls\",\n\t                \"NBA\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html\",\n\t            \"name\": \"When Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway Sat on Top of the Eastern Conference in 1996\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-10-18T10:29:41+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2021-10-18T10:29:57+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Michael Jordan returned to the NBA in mid-March of 1995, with just a few weeks left in the regular season. Jordan had been away from the league for 21 months, his body was made for baseball and his conditioning wasn\u2019t adequate.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg\",\n\t            \"width\": 620,\n\t            \"height\": 350,\n\t            \"caption\": \"Michael Jordan\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/basketball\\\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"When Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway Sat on Top of the Eastern Conference in 1996\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Dafasports\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Beyond the Headlines\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/afbd03055134b7d303916a7b3f43f10a\",\n\t            \"name\": \"DaFaBeT._.SpOrTs\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/15eda42e12297f453f4889bc15750665836ccd54d0cb84b3754fbfcee3ced051?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/15eda42e12297f453f4889bc15750665836ccd54d0cb84b3754fbfcee3ced051?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/15eda42e12297f453f4889bc15750665836ccd54d0cb84b3754fbfcee3ced051?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"DaFaBeT._.SpOrTs\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"sameAs\": [\n\t                \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dafabetsports.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/dafabet-_-sports\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"When Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway Sat on Top of the Eastern Conference in 1996","description":"Michael Jordan returned to the NBA in mid-March of 1995, with just a few weeks left in the regular season. Jordan had been away from the league for 21 months, his body was made for baseball and his conditioning wasn\u2019t adequate.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"When Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway Sat on Top of the Eastern Conference in 1996","og_description":"Michael Jordan returned to the NBA in mid-March of 1995, with just a few weeks left in the regular season. Jordan had been away from the league for 21 months, his body was made for baseball and his conditioning wasn\u2019t adequate.","og_url":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html","og_site_name":"Dafasports","article_publisher":"https:\/\/dfgameplay.com\/gjdnjr","article_published_time":"2021-10-18T10:29:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-10-18T10:29:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":620,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"DaFaBeT._.SpOrTs","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Dafabet","twitter_site":"@Dafabet","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"DaFaBeT._.SpOrTs","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html"},"author":{"name":"DaFaBeT._.SpOrTs","@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/afbd03055134b7d303916a7b3f43f10a"},"headline":"When Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway Sat on Top of the Eastern Conference in 1996","datePublished":"2021-10-18T10:29:41+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-18T10:29:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html"},"wordCount":551,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg","articleSection":["Basketball","Chicago Bulls","NBA"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html","url":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html","name":"When Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway Sat on Top of the Eastern Conference in 1996","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-18T10:29:41+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-18T10:29:57+00:00","description":"Michael Jordan returned to the NBA in mid-March of 1995, with just a few weeks left in the regular season. Jordan had been away from the league for 21 months, his body was made for baseball and his conditioning wasn\u2019t adequate.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Michael-Jordan-and-Penny-Hardaway-min.jpg","width":620,"height":350,"caption":"Michael Jordan"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/basketball\/when-michael-jordan-and-penny-hardaway-sat-on-top-of-the-eastern-conference-in-1996-114194.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"When Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway Sat on Top of the Eastern Conference in 1996"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/","name":"Dafasports","description":"Beyond the Headlines","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/afbd03055134b7d303916a7b3f43f10a","name":"DaFaBeT._.SpOrTs","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/15eda42e12297f453f4889bc15750665836ccd54d0cb84b3754fbfcee3ced051?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/15eda42e12297f453f4889bc15750665836ccd54d0cb84b3754fbfcee3ced051?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/15eda42e12297f453f4889bc15750665836ccd54d0cb84b3754fbfcee3ced051?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"DaFaBeT._.SpOrTs"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/"],"url":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/author\/dafabet-_-sports"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dafabetsports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}