PARIS — Bulls president/CEO Michael Reinsdorf knows what his brand stands for globally.
But it’s nice to get a reminder every so often.
Paris checked that box for Reinsdorf.
“You know, we’re walking up to the arena and seeing everybody wearing Bulls jerseys and how excited the fans of France and Paris are coming to the game, it’s pretty incredible,’’ Reinsdorf said Thursday. “It seems like just the other day I was here in 1997 with my wife for those preseason games, and it’s just an exciting time to be a part of this organization.’’
The difference was ’97 was the preseason; the Paris Game 2023 counted. Tickets sold out quickly when the game was first announced to be played at the Accor Arena, and it wasn’t because the Pistons were on the fight card.
The crowd was 80% to 90% pro-Bulls even though the Pistons were the home team, and it sounded like it from the moment the teams were introduced.
“The league asks teams if they want to play overseas,’’ Reinsdorf said. “Traditionally, we haven’t been that excited to do that, but I talked to [executive vice president of basketball operations] Arturas [Karnisovas], [general manager] Marc [Eversley] and [coach] Billy [Donovan], and they were all excited to have this opportunity.
“They felt it was a great bonding experience for the players. The season is a long season; this kind of breaks it up. They actually get a few extra days off, then played [Thursday], and then we’re back at it again Monday in Chicago, so I think it’s a great experience for the entire organization.’’
And it was fitting that it came against the Pistons.
The last time the Bulls played in Paris, the Bulls-Pistons rivalry was at its end after Michael Jordan had taken down the “Bad Boys,’’ but the very mention of those teams back then still carried juice.
That’s long gone, but it wasn’t lost on Reinsdorf.
“We’re proud of [the ’90s dynasty], but we don’t want to rest on what happened in the ’90s,’’ Reinsdorf said. “We want to win again. That obviously is our goal, but we can’t shy away from the fact that back in the ’90s, we won six championships in eight years, and we were one of the first global teams in sports. We have to embrace it, but we’d like to get back to the top of the mountain, for sure.’’
Going for gold?
Zach LaVine couldn’t avoid the Olympic talk even if he wanted to. Posters and Olympic rings dot the city with the Summer Games scheduled for Paris in 2024.
LaVine and Team USA captured gold in Tokyo in 2021, so LaVine was asked if there would be a second quest for gold in his future.
“I mean, it would be great whenever you have an opportunity to play for your country,’’ LaVine said. “Last time, I was successful. We were able to bring back gold from Tokyo. It’s a great experience. I’ll never forget that. If I have another shot at doing that, I’d love to.’’
LaVine warned, however, that he would have to see how his body feels when it’s time to go through the workouts leading up to selecting the team. Those workouts would start this offseason with invites sent out to the player pool.
