Well the obvious one is Jordan was even better than thought and Pippen developed into a really good player.
The Spurs actually flamed out in the first round. The previous season they pushed the WC Champs Portland to 7 games in a series that could have gone either ways.
That was a team loaded with young talent. However a lot of that talent did not progress and some of it would eventually regress due to bad behavior and injuries.
I think also Larry Brown wasn't a great fit. Always critical and fussing with this and that.