The Chicago Bulls celebrated their first Ring of Honor class on Friday night against the Golden State Warriors. But one man who was honored drew the ire of the crowd at the United Center in an unfortunate scene: the late general manager Jerry Krause.
Krause, who died in 2017 at age 77, was the Bulls' longtime general manager from 1985 to 2003. He built on Michael Jordan and made the Bulls six-time NBA champions. He also received two Executive of the Year awards (1988, 1996) and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame shortly after his death. He also oversaw the downfall of the dynasty, as documented (without his perspective) in The Last Dance.
Presumably this fact led to loud boos when he was honored during the halftime ceremony. His wife Thelma, who represented him, appeared to be in tears about the poor reception.
“What we saw today when Jerry Krause's name was called and the people booing Jerry Krause and his widow accepting that honor on his behalf – that was the worst thing I've ever seen in my life,” Bulls said -Analyst Stacey King, a member of Chicago's first three title teams, said on the show.
“That lady hurt me. I brought her to tears. Whoever booed her in that arena should be ashamed of themselves,” King continued. “This isn’t Chicago. This is New York. Philly. Chicago is not like that. We don't have a reputation for being like that. Whether you like Jerry Krause or not, this man has won six championships here. He didn't score a basket, he didn't get a rebound, but he got six titles (in the rafters). There are many teams that don't even have one (championship).
“It was really classless. I was disappointed with the people who booed. It was a sad thing.”
King is right. While the collapse of the Bulls dynasty may have been premature and Krause was unable to build another winning team before his retirement in 2003 due to health issues, he is by any measure one of the greatest managers in league history. Only three other franchises have collected more rings than the Bulls' six: The Warriors (7), Lakers (17) and Celtics (17).
Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc, Artis Gilmore, Bob Love, Chet Walker, Jerry Sloan, Phil Jackson, Tex Winter, Dick Klein and Johnny “Red” Kerr rounded out the inaugural Ring of Honor class. The 1995-96 Bulls were also honored. That team, which went 72-10 and won the NBA title, was, of course, built by Krause.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, a member of the 1995-96 team, said he didn't hear the boos for Krause because he was back in the locker room with his team. But Kerr didn't hold back, calling the actions of the booing fans “shameful.”
“It’s absolutely disgraceful,” Kerr said. “I can't believe it…I'm devastated for Thelma and the Krause family. What can we think?”
“…I'm so disappointed in the fans – and I want to be specific because I know there were certainly a lot of fans who didn't boo. But those who booed should be ashamed of themselves.”