Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are a professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They play in the National Basketball Association. The team was founded in 1966, and has won six NBA Championships since.

Franchise history

The Chicago Bulls are actually the fifth NBA team in Chicago, after the Packers/Zephyrs (now the Washington Wizards) and the Stags (1946-1950). Today, the Bulls occasionally wear the throwback blue and red jerseys from the Stags. The team began play for the 1966-67 season, and immediately posted the best record by an expansion team in NBA history, qualifying for the playoffs. During its first two seasons, the Bulls played a majority of their home games at the International Amphitheatre, before moving all of their home games to the Chicago Stadium. Over the next few years, the Bulls assembled the pieces to be competitive, though they never quite reached the top. During the 1970s, the Bulls were known as a tough, defensive-minded team, built around hard-nosed defender Jerry Sloan, forwards Bob Love and Chet Walker, point guard Norm Van Lier, and centers Clifford Ray and Tom Boerwinkle. Nevertheless, the team only won one division title, and never made it to the Finals.

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the team had hit the cellar of the league. The Bulls' fortunes would have been forever changed were it not for a simple coin flip. In 1979, the Bulls lost a coin flip for the right to pick first in the NBA draft (Rod Thorn, the Bulls General Manager, called "heads"). Had the Bulls won the toss, they would have selected the great Magic Johnson; instead, they selected David Greenwood with the second pick.

Artis Gilmore, acquired in the ABA dispersal-draft in 1976, led a Bulls squad which included guard Reggie Theus, forward David Greenwood, and forward Orlando Woolridge. After Gilmore was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for center Dave Corzine, the Bulls employed a high-powered offense centered around Theus, and which soon included guards Quentin Daly and Ennis Whatley. However, with continued dismal results, the Bulls decided to change directions, trading Theus during the 1983-84 season.

Arrival of Michael Jordan
In the summer of 1984 the team's fortunes changed when it received the third pick of the NBA draft, after Houston and Portland. The Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon, the Blazers jumped on Sam Bowie, and the Bulls grabbed shooting guard Michael Jordan out of the University of North Carolina. The team, with new management in owner Jerry Reinsdorf and General Manager Jerry Krause, decided to rebuild around Jordan. Jordan set franchise records during his rookie campaign for scoring (3rd in the league) and steals (4th in the league), and led the Bulls back to the playoffs, for which he was rewarded with a berth on the All-NBA second team and NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

In the following offseason, the team acquired point guard John Paxson and drafted power forward Charles Oakley. Along with Jordan and center Dave Corzine, they provided much of the Bulls' offense for the next two years. After suffering a broken foot early in the 1985-86 season, Jordan finished second on the team to Woolridge in scoring. Jordan returned for the playoffs, and took the 8th-place Bulls up against the 67-15 Boston Celtics, led by Larry Bird. Though the Bulls were swept, Jordan recorded a playoff single-game record 63 points in Game 2, prompting Bird to call him 'God disguised as Michael Jordan.'

In 1986-87 Jordan continued his assault on the record books, leading the league in scoring with 37.1 points per game and becoming the first Bull named to the all-NBA first team. However, the Bulls were again swept by the Celtics in the playoffs. In the 1987 draft Krause selected center Olden Polynice 8th overall and power forward Horace Grant 10th overall, then sent Polynice to Seattle in a draft-day trade for the 5th selection, small forward Scottie Pippen. With Paxson and Jordan in the backcourt, Brad Sellers and Oakley at the forward spots, Corzine anchoring center, and rookies Pippen and Grant coming off the bench, the Bulls made major noise in the 1987-88 season, winning 50 games and advancing to the Eastern Conference semi-finals, where they were beaten by the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Detroit Pistons in five games. However, for his efforts Jordan was named NBA Most Valuable Player, an award he would win four more times over his career.The 1987-88 season would also mark the start of the Pistons Bulls rivalry which was formed from 1987 to 1991.

The 1988-89 season marked a second straight year of major off-season moves. Popular power forward Charles Oakley, who had led the league in total rebounds in both '87 and '88, was traded to the New York Knicks for center Bill Cartwright and a draft pick which they used to obtain center Will Perdue. The new starting lineup of Paxson, Jordan, Pippen, Grant, and Cartwright took some time to mesh, winning fewer games than the previous season, but making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were subdued in six games by the eventual NBA champion Pistons.

In 1989-90, Jordan led the league in scoring for the fourth straight season, and was joined on the all-star squad for the first time by Scottie Pippen. There was also a major change on the sidelines, where head coach Doug Collins was replaced by assistant Phil Jackson. The Bulls also picked up rookie center Stacey King and rookie point guard B.J. Armstrong in the 1989 draft. With these additional pieces and the previous year's starting five, the Bulls again made it to the Conference Finals, and pushed the Pistons to seven games before being edged out for the third straight year by Detroit, who would go on to repeat as NBA champions.

The 90s dynasty - The three-peat
By the 1990-91 season, the Bulls had run out of excuses, and charged through the year with a mission. They recorded a then franchise record 61 wins, and romped through the playoffs, where they swept the Pistons in the conference finals and won the Finals in five over the Magic Johnson-led Los Angeles Lakers on June 12, 1991. Michael Jordan won regular season MVP and Finals MVP to go with his fifth straight scoring title.

The Bulls won their second straight title in 1991-92 after racking up another franchise record for wins with 67. They prevailed over the Portland Trail Blazers and Clyde Drexler in six games. Jordan once again won regular season MVP and Finals MVP, to go with his sixth straight scoring title.

In 1992-93 the Bulls did what no team had done since the legendary Celtics of the 60's by chalking up the three-peat over regular season MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns, with John Paxson's shot that gave them a 99-98 victory in Game six at Phoenix. Jordan was once again the Finals MVP after setting a Finals record for points per game (41.0 ppg). He also tied Wilt Chamberlain by winning his seventh straight scoring title.

During the summer, Jordan shocked the basketball community by announcing his retirement, only months after learning of his father's murder. The Bulls were then led by Scottie Pippen, who established himself as one of the top players in the league by winning the 1994 All-Star MVP. He received help from Horace Grant and B.J. Armstrong, who were named to their first all-star games. The three were assisted by Cartwright, Perdue, shooting guard Pete Myers, and Croatian rookie forward Toni Kukoč. Despite the Bulls' amazing run during the regular season, where they won 55 games, they were beaten in seven games by the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs, after a controversial foul call by referee Hue Hollins in game 5 of that series.

The 90s dynasty part II -"repeat the three-peat"
The Bulls opened the 1994 season by saying goodbye to their home of 27 years, Chicago Stadium and moving into their current home, the United Center.

In 1994, the Bulls lost Horace Grant and Scott Williams to free agency and Bill Cartwright and John Paxson to retirement, but picked up shooting guard Ron Harper, the seeming heir-apparent to Michael Jordan in Assistant Coach Tex Winter's triple-post offense, and small-forward Jud Buechler. The Bulls sported the look of Armstrong and Harper in the backcourt, Pippen and Kukoc at the forward spots, and Perdue at center. They also had sharpshooter Steve Kerr, whom they acquired via free agency before the 1993-94 season, Myers, and centers Luc Longley (acquired via trade in 1994 from Minnesota Timberwolves) and Bill Wennington. However, they were slumping during the season, when on March 17, 1995, they received the best possible news: Michael Jordan was coming out of retirement. He was soon among the best in the league again, scoring 55 points against the Knicks in only his fifth game back, and led the Bulls to the fifth seed in the playoffs, where they upset the Charlotte Hornets. However, Jordan was too rusty, and the Bulls were unable to overcome the eventual Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic, which included Horace Grant, Anfernee Hardaway, and Shaquille O'Neal. When Jordan returned to the Bulls, he initially wore No. 45 (which was his number while playing for the Birmingham Barons, a minor-league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox). He chose the No. 45 because his older brother Larry wore that number in high school. Michael wanted to be half as good as his brother so he chose 23 which is half of 45 (22.5) rounded up. This was because during his first retirement, his jersey had been retired. However, Jordan switched back to the familiar 23 before game 2 of the Orlando Magic series. (There is also a rumor that his 23 jersey had been stolen before Game 1.)

In the offseason, the Bulls lost B.J. Armstrong in the expansion draft, but Krause pulled off a masterful deal by trading Will Perdue to the San Antonio Spurs for the aggressive and often controversial rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, who had won the past four rebounding titles, and who had also been a member of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" squad that served as the Bulls' chief nemesis in the late 1980s.

With a lineup of Harper, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and Longley, and perhaps the league's best bench in Kerr, Kukoc, Wennington, Buechler, and guard Randy Brown the Bulls posted one of the best single-season improvements in league history and the best single-season record, moving from 47-35 to 72-10,[1] which remains the best record in NBA history. Jordan won his eighth scoring title, and Rodman his fifth straight rebounding title, while Kerr finished second in the league in three-point shooting percentage. Jordan garnered the elusive triple crown with the regular season MVP, All-star Game MVP, and Finals MVP. Krause was named Executive of the Year, Jackson Coach of the Year, and Kukoc was the Sixth Man of the Year. Both Pippen and Jordan made the All-NBA First Team, and Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman made the All-Defensive First Team, making the Bulls the only team in history with three players on the All-Defensive First Team.

In addition, the 1995-96 squad holds several other records, including the best road record in a standard 41-road-game season (33-8), the all-time best start by a team (41-3), the longest home winning streak (44 games, 7 from previous season), the best start at home (37-0). The Bulls also posted the second-best home record in history (39-2), behind only the 1985-86 Celtics 40-1 home mark, and the 2nd best point differential in history, trailing the 1972 Lakers by 3 points over the course of an entire season. However, the significantly lower scoring by the Bulls and their opponents makes the Bulls' margin of victory more impressive. The team triumphed over Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and the Seattle SuperSonics for their fourth title. The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls are widely regarded as the greatest team in the history of basketball.[citation needed]

In the 1996-97 season, the Bulls narrowly missed out on a second consecutive 70 win season by losing their final two games to finish 69-13, and repeated their home dominance going 39-2 at the United Center.[2] The Bulls capped the season by winning their fifth NBA championship over John Stockton, Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz. Jordan earned his second straight and ninth career scoring title, while Rodman earned his sixth straight rebounding title. Jordan and Pippen, along with Robert Parish, were also honored as members of the 50 greatest players of all-time with the NBA celebrating its 50th season. Parish, whose single season with the Bulls would be his last year in the league, was nominated for his stellar career with the Boston Celtics.

The Bulls achieved the "repeat three-peat" by winning 62 regular season games and the 1998 NBA Finals. Jordan bagged his third straight scoring title and tenth overall, and his second triple crown with his fifth MVP award, third all-star game MVP, and sixth Finals MVP award. Rodman earned his record seventh straight rebounding title, as the Bulls upended the Jazz for the second straight year. In the sixth and final game of the championship series, Jordan stepped back and buried a controversial game winning jump shot over Utah Jazz forward Bryon Russell with five seconds left on the clock - his final shot as a Chicago Bull

A dramatic dismantling
The summer of 1998 brought an abrupt end to the championship era. Krause felt that the Bulls were on the verge of being too old and unable to compete. He decided that the team's only choices were to rebuild or endure a slow decline. His plan was to sink the team and acquire high draft picks while clearing salary cap space to make a run at several promising free agents in two years' time. After having been vetoed in a previous attempt by owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Krause traded Scottie Pippen for cast-offs from the Houston Rockets, none of whom made the Bulls' roster. He also declined to re-sign Dennis Rodman, and traded Luc Longley and Steve Kerr for draft picks. He hired a new coach with no professional experience, Tim Floyd, who had run a successful program at Iowa State University. Upon Phil Jackson's departure, Michael Jordan made his second retirement official. With a new starting lineup of point guard Randy Brown, shooting guard Ron Harper, newcomer Brent Barry at small forward, power forward Toni Kukoc, and center Bill Wennington, the team began the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. Kukoc led the team in scoring, rebounding, and assists, but the team won only 13 of 50 games.

Five difficult years
The previous year's dismal finish came with one highlight: the team won the draft lottery and the rights to power forward Elton Brand. Since the team lost Harper, Brown, Wennington and Barry in the offseason, Brand and fellow rookie Ron Artest led the team throughout the year, especially after Kukoc missed most of the season due to injury and was then dealt for a draft pick at the trading deadline. Brand recorded the first 20-10 average for the Bulls since the days of Artis Gilmore. He led all rookies in scoring, rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and minutes, while Artest led all rookies in steals and finished second on the team in scoring. For his efforts Brand was named 1999-2000 co-Rookie of the Year with Houston's Steve Francis, and to the all-rookie first team, while Artest was named to the all-rookie second team. However, the team established a franchise low at 17-65, second worst in the league.

After a summer in which the Bulls witnessed most major and minor free agents Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Eddie Jones and even Tim Thomas spurn them, Krause signed free agent center Brad Miller and shooting guard Ron Mercer, and drafted power forward Marcus Fizer and traded draft pick Chris Mihm to Cleveland for the rights of guard Jamal Crawford. Brand again led the team in scoring and rebounds with another 20-10 season, but the new acquisitions failed to make a major impact, and they finished with the worst record in team history at 15-67.

Krause shocked Bulls fans on draft day in 2001 when he traded franchise player Brand to the Los Angeles Clippers for second pick in the draft, Tyson Chandler. He also selected Eddy Curry with the fourth pick. Since both Chandler and Curry came straight out of high school, neither were expected to make much of a contribution for several years, but they were seen as potential franchise players. The team floundered without veteran leadership. At mid-season, the Bulls traded their top three scorers—Mercer, Artest, and Miller along with Kevin Ollie —to the Indiana Pacers for veteran guard Jalen Rose, Travis Best and Norman Richardson. There was also a change in coaching, with Floyd being dismissed in favor of assistant coach and former Bulls co-captain Bill Cartwright, following a series of arguments with players and management. The Bulls improved from 15 to 21 wins, although they were still tied for last in the league.

For the 2002-03 season, the Bulls came to play with much optimism. They picked up college phenom Jay Williams with the second pick in the draft. Rose and Williams teamed with Crawford, Fizer, newcomer Donyell Marshall, Curry, Chandler, and guard Trenton Hassell to form a young and exciting nucleus which improved to 30-52 in Bill Cartwright's first full season as head coach. Curry led the league in field goal percentage, becoming the first Bull since Jordan to lead the league in a major statistical category.

During the summer of 2003, long-time GM Jerry Krause retired, and former player and announcer John Paxson was tabbed as his successor. Jay Williams, coming off a promising rookie campaign, was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. His contract was bought out by the Bulls in February 2004 and he has yet to return to the game. Paxson selected point guard Kirk Hinrich with the seventh pick in the draft, and signed veteran free agent and former franchise player Scottie Pippen. With Pippen playing, Cartwright at the sidelines, and Paxson in the front office, the Bulls hoped that some of the championship magic from before would return.

However, the 2003-04 season was a resounding disappointment. Eddy Curry regressed, leading to questions about his conditioning and commitment. Tyson Chandler was plagued by a chronic back injury, missing more than thirty games. Pippen's ability to influence games was impaired by knee problems, and he openly contemplated retirement. Jamal Crawford remained inconsistent. Bill Cartwright was fired as head coach in December and replaced with former Phoenix coach Scott Skiles. A trade with the Toronto Raptors brought Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams in exchange for Rose and Marshall in what was seen as a major shift in team strategy from winning with athleticism to winning with hard work and defense. After struggling throughout the season, the Bulls finished with 23 wins and 59 losses, the second-worst record in the league. Fizer was not re-signed, and Crawford was re-signed and traded to the Knicks for expiring contracts. Hinrich provided the lone bright spot, becoming a fan favorite for his gritty determination and athletic ability. He won a place on the All-Rookie first team.

Resurgence
During the 2004 offseason, Paxson traded a 2005 draft pick to the Phoenix Suns in return for an additional pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. He used the picks to select University of Connecticut guard Ben Gordon and Duke small forward Luol Deng in the first round, and Duke point guard Chris Duhon in the second. Paxson also signed free agent small forward Andres Nocioni, who had recently won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the Argentinian national team. After losing the first nine games of the season, the Bulls began to show signs of improvement behind their improved team defense and clutch fourth-quarter play from Gordon. The Bulls finished the regular season 47-35, with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and advanced to the NBA playoffs for the first time since Jordan's departure. In the first round, the 4th-seeded Bulls played the Washington Wizards. The Bulls opened the series with two wins at home, but lost the next four games and the series. After the season, Ben Gordon became the first rookie to win the NBA Sixth Man Award and the first Bull to win the award since 1996 with Toni Kukoč.

During the 2005 offseason, the Bulls re-signed free agent Tyson Chandler. However, Curry showed possible symptoms of a heart disease resulting of a heart murmur during checkups, and Paxson would not clear him to play without extensive DNA testing. Ultimately, Curry refused to participate in the tests, and he was traded along with Antonio Davis to the New York Knicks for Michael Sweetney, Tim Thomas, and what became the second pick of the 2006 NBA Draft - as well as the right to swap picks with New York in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Without a significant post presence, the Bulls struggled for most of the 2005-06 season. However, a late-season 12-2 surge allowed them to finish 41-41 and into 2006 playoffs. There, the Bulls faced the Miami Heat. After two close losses in Miami, the Bulls broke through with a blowout win in Game 3, and another win in Game 4. However, the Heat took the next two games to win the series. The Bulls' several young players nevertheless earned additional postseason experience, and Nocioni turned in a remarkable series of performances that far exceeded his season averages.

In the 2006 NBA Draft, the Bulls were awarded forward-center LaMarcus Aldridge and immediately traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers for forward Tyrus Thomas and forward Viktor Khryapa. In a second draft-day trade, the Bulls selected Rodney Carney and traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers for guard Thabo Sefolosha. Later that summer, four-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace signed with the Bulls for a reported four-year, $60 million contract. Following the signing of Wallace, the Bulls traded Tyson Chandler, the last remaining player of the Krause era, to the (then) New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for veteran power forward P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith and salary cap space that was used to sign former Chicago co-captain Adrian Griffin.

In 2006-07, the Bulls overcame a 3-9 season start to finish 49-33, the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, the Bulls again faced Miami, the defending NBA champion. The Bulls narrowly won Game 1 at home, then followed it with a blowout victory in Game 2. In Miami, the Bulls rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to win Game 3 and then posted another comeback win in Game 4. The Bulls' four-game sweep of the defending champion stunned many NBA observers. It was Chicago's first playoff series victory since 1998, Jordan's last season with the team.

The Bulls then advanced to face the Detroit Pistons, marking the first time the Central Division rivals had met in the playoffs since 1991. The Pistons won the first three games. No NBA team had ever come back from a 0-3 deficit to win the series, but the Bulls avoided a sweep by winning Game 4 by 10 points. The Bulls then easily won Game 5, and had a chance to make NBA history. But they lost in game 6 by 10, and the Pistons won the series 4-2 on May 17.

The Bulls have started the 2007-08 NBA Season by losing 10 of their first 12 games and on December 24, 2007, after a 9-16 start, the Bulls fired head coach Scott Skiles. Jim Boylan was named the interim head coach on December 27th, 2007 .

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