Season Recaps
Chicago's Bulls: The Team That Mike Built
The Chicago Bulls joined the NBA for the 1966-67
season. The franchise struggled for the better part of a quarter
century, occasionally putting excellent teams on the court, such
as the tough units of the mid-1970s that featured Bob Love, Norm
Van Lier, Jerry Sloan, and Tom Boerwinkle. More often, however,
the Bulls worked hard for mediocre results. That all changed in
the mid-1980s with the drafting of Michael Jordan, the dominant
player of his era and possibly the greatest player of all time.
Jordan won seven straight scoring titles with a combination of
breathtaking slam dunks and a bag of thrilling shot-making tricks.
He put up some of the biggest numbers in NBA history and wrote
some of the most memorable chapters in the annals of the league.
In the early 1990s the Bulls assembled a strong supporting cast
for Jordan and won three consecutive NBA titles, becoming only
the third franchise in history to string together a trio of crowns.
After more than a year of "retirement" to try his hand
at professional baseball, Jordan returned to lead the Bulls back
to another title in 1996, one more in 1997 and a third in a row
in 1998, the Bulls' second Three-peat of the decade and their
sixth NBA championship trophy.
Prior to the inception of the Bulls organization, two pro teams
had failed in Chicago. One squad, the Stags, had been a charter
member of the 11-team Basketball Association of America, the predecessor
of the NBA. The franchise folded after the 1949-50 campaign. The
Packers debuted in 1961-62, but after two last-place finishes
and a name change to the Zephyrs, the franchise moved to Baltimore
and eventually became the Washington Bullets.
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1966-67: Bulls "Red" Hot At Start Of Inaugural
Season
The brand-new Chicago Bulls franchise earned
its first victory on October 15, 1966, with a 104-97 win over
the St. Louis Hawks. The team's coach was Johnny "Red"
Kerr, a former player with the Syracuse Nationals, the Philadelphia
76ers, and the Baltimore Bullets. He is one of a select group
of players to surpass the 10,000 mark in both rebounds and points,
and he held the league record for consecutive games played with
844 until Randy Smith eclipsed his mark during the 1982-83 season.
Chicago's starting lineup on opening night included Len Chappell,
Bob Boozer, Don Kojis, Jerry Sloan, and Guy Rodgers. In the team's
victorious debut against St. Louis, Rodgers poured in a game-high
37 points. Three days later the Bulls ran their record to 2-0
by defeating the San Francisco Warriors, 119-116. Then, behind
34 points and 18 assists from Rodgers, Chicago upped its winning
streak to three games with a 134-124 triumph over the defending
Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers.
Chicago finished with a 33-48 record, the best ever by an expansion
team in its first year of play. The Bulls secured a playoff berth
in the Western Division, but the Hawks eliminated them in the
opening round. Kerr was named NBA Coach of the Year, and center
Erwin Mueller made the NBA All-Rookie Team. Rodgers led the NBA
in assists with 11.2 per game (including a club-record 24 against
the New York Knicks on December 21) and also topped the team in
scoring at 18.0 points per game. Rodgers and Sloan represented
the new franchise in the 1967 NBA All-Star Game.
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1967-68: Chicago Struggles Without Its "Guy"
After that promising beginning the Bulls fell
apart. During the 1967-68 season the club traded Guy Rodgers,
the steadiest player on the squad, to the Cincinnati Royals for
Flynn Robinson and two future draft choices. Chicago lost its
first nine games, slumping to 1-15 before climbing back to respectability.
The Bulls went 28-38 the rest of the way but still finished 29-53.
Even that record was better than those of the new expansion teams
in Seattle and San Diego, so the Bulls still snuck into the playoffs,
where they were drubbed by the Lakers in the division semifinals.
Bob Boozer, a 6-8 forward who had the most productive seasons
of his 11-year career while playing for Chicago, led the team
in scoring with 21.5 points per game, and Jim Washington topped
the club in rebounding with 10.1 boards per contest.
When Jerry Colangelo left the Bulls' front office to run the Phoenix
Suns expansion franchise, he took Kerr along as coach. Kerr's
replacement for the 1968-69 season was Dick Motta, who had won
three Big Sky Conference championships at Weber State. Motta was
an unlikely choice, but he proved to be a fortuitous one. In the
early 1970s he molded Chicago into a tough, defensive-minded squad
that was always ready to challenge the opposition, even if it
couldn't match up in talent.
Chicago owned the fourth overall pick in the 1968 NBA Draft and
selected 7-foot, 265-pound center Tom Boerwinkle of Tennessee.
Boerwinkle would spend his entire 10-year career with Chicago
and wind up as the Bulls' all-time leading rebounder with 5,745
career boards.
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1968-72: Bulls Turn Corner Because Of Love
In 1968-69 the Bulls went 33-49, a record that
helped explain the home crowd of just 891 fans who watched them
beat Seattle, 120-105, on November 7. On November 23 they traded
Flynn Robinson to Milwaukee for Bob Love, a smooth 6-8 scoring
threat, and Bob Weiss, a scrappy 6-2 guard. Chicago was accumulating
the elements of a competitive club.
Jerry Sloan, who was known primarily as a defensive stalwart,
hit for a career-high 43 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on
March 5. A 6-5 scrapper, Sloan made the NBA All-Defensive First
Team at season's end. Boozer led the team in scoring at 21.7 points
per game, and Boerwinkle led in rebounding with 11.1 boards per
contest. In fact, the 1968-69 team would stand as the best rebounding
squad in Bulls history, pulling down 4,550 boards on the season.
The 1969-70 team finished 39-43 and was the highest-scoring Bulls
outfit in history, putting up 114.9 points per game. On January
8 against Phoenix, Boerwinkle grabbed a franchise-high 37 rebounds
as the Bulls beat the Suns, 152-123. Newcomer Chet Walker led
the team in scoring for the season, averaging 21.5 points. Boerwinkle
again paced the club in rebounding, beefing up his average to
12.5 boards per contest. Chicago advanced to the playoffs but
lost to Atlanta, four games to one, in the Western Division Semifinals.
The Bulls finally began to fire on all cylinders in 1970-71, putting
together a 51-31 record, second to Milwaukee in the newly formed
Midwest Division and third best in the league. They started modestly,
hovering just above .500 going into December, then ran off a six-game
winning streak. Starting in late January, the Bulls went on a
19-5 tear that put them more than 20 games above .500. They had
developed into a ruggedly physical club, led by Boerwinkle, who
pulled down 33 rebounds in a March 9 win over Milwaukee. That
victory snapped the Bucks' 20-game winning streak.
Chet Walker led the league at the foul line with an .859 free
throw percentage. Bob Love set a new club record for points with
2,043, finishing sixth in the NBA scoring race with a 25.2 average.
(Love would hold most of the Bulls' scoring records until Michael
Jordan came along.) Boerwinkle set team rebounding marks by pulling
down 1,133 boards and averaging 13.8 per game.
In the 1971 NBA Playoffs, Chicago stretched the Los Angeles Lakers
to the limit in the division semifinals before losing in seven
games. For catching the NBA by surprise, Dick Motta was named
the league's Coach of the Year.
The Bulls continued to improve in 1971-72, muscling their way
to a 57-25 record. Even that stellar mark trailed the Lakers,
who won 33 straight while fashioning a 69-13 mark, and the Milwaukee
Bucks, who claimed the Midwest Division title at 63-19.
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1972-74: A Player With No Fear: Bulls Acquire Van
Lier
In November the Bulls acquired 6-2 guard Norm
Van Lier from Cincinnati for center Jim Fox. Van Lier brought
a pugnacious attitude to the game and teamed with Sloan to form
the toughest defensive guard tandem of the era. The squad had
a seven-game winning streak in late November, then another of
equal length in late December, and stood at 27-10 entering the
new year. Another five-game string in January put the Bulls 21
games up in the win column.
On February 6 against Cincinnati, Chet Walker hit for 56 points,
another club record that would eventually fall to Michael Jordan.
Walker is the only Bulls player besides Jordan ever to score 50
or more points in a game. Walker did it once; Jordan did it 32
times.
Love represented Chicago in the 1972 NBA All-Star Game. The team
continued to play solid ball and looked like a contender until
Boerwinkle sustained a knee injury in the last week of the regular
season. The Bulls were swept out of the playoffs by the Lakers,
who went on to capture the NBA title. Clifford Ray, a 6-9 third-round
draft pick from Oklahoma, was named to the All-Rookie Team at
season's end.
The Bulls slipped a bit in 1972-73 as Boerwinkle missed most of
the year while his knee mended. Nonetheless, the team still had
a fine season at 51-31. Love scored 49 points on successive nights-February
4 against Milwaukee and February 6 against the Kansas City-Omaha
Kings. Walker and Love made the All-Star Team. The Bulls were
at 31-20 in early February, when they went on a 17-6 run that
turned a good season into a great one.
Chicago made the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. For
the second time in three seasons the Bulls took the Lakers to
Game 7 in their playoff confrontation. In the decisive contest
the Bulls held a 90-83 lead with less than three minutes left,
but they were outscored, 12-2, in the final minutes.
In 1973-74 the team posted a 54-28 record and battled the Detroit
Pistons for second place in the Midwest Division behind Milwaukee
(59-23). The Bulls got out of the gate fast, with a 13-2 record
in the early going, including 12 straight wins in October and
November. They forged another seven-game streak in December, then
really heated up in January, running off 10 straight victories.
Chet Walker and Norm Van Lier played for the East All-Stars, and
Van Lier and Jerry Sloan were selected to the NBA All-Defensive
First Team.
In the playoffs Detroit and Chicago locked horns in a physical
seven-game conference semifinal series, and the Bulls prevailed
in the deciding contest, 96-94. Depleted by their battle with
the Pistons, Chicago then fell in four straight to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
and the Milwaukee Bucks in the Western Conference Finals.
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1974-76: Stifling Defense Helps Chicago Win Division
After four straight 50-win seasons the Bulls
fell to 47-35 in 1974-75 but still captured first place in the
Midwest Division. The team got off to a shaky start as Van Lier
and Love held out while they renegotiated their contracts. However,
6-11 center Nate Thurmond, acquired from Golden State in a trade
for Clifford Ray, picked up the slack. Thurmond was in the final
years of his Hall of Fame career, but in his Bulls debut (the
season opener on October 18) he set a team record by blocking
12 shots against the Atlanta Hawks.
The team's trademark during this era was a stifling defense. Chicago
led the NBA in team defense in 1974-75, yielding just 95.0 points
per game. Once Love and Van Lier had returned to action, the Bulls
became hard to handle. They won 12 straight home games from January
24 to February 21 and were nearly invincible in the second half
of the year.
The positive momentum carried into the playoffs. Chicago topped
the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in six games in the Western Conference
Semifinals, then faced the Golden State Warriors and Rick Barry
in the conference finals. The Bulls forged a two-games-to-one
lead in the series, then pushed it to three-games-to-two. However,
the Warriors claimed the final two contests and a ticket to the
NBA Finals, in which Golden State won its first NBA championship
since moving to the Bay Area.
The Bulls' recent playoff success was good news for Chicago sports
fans. The bad news was that Chet Walker retired, Jerry Sloan injured
his knee, and Chicago's 1975-76 record fell to 24-58, the team's
worst ever. Dick Motta left after the season and was replaced
by Ed Badger. After a period of stability the franchise looked
to be in disarray. During the next decade the Bulls would try
seven different coaches, suffer a long run of unproductive draft
choices, constantly reshuffle the roster, and, more often than
not, watch the playoffs from the sidelines.
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1976-81: Artis Is Awesome, But Bulls Aren't
The immediate results were surprisingly good,
however, as Badger helped the 1976-77 squad to a dramatic 20-game
improvement and a 44-38 record. Prior to the season the Bulls
had acquired 7-2 center Artis Gilmore in the ABA Dispersal Draft.
After five great campaigns with the Kentucky Colonels in which
he had averaged 22.0 points, Gilmore put in six sterling seasons
with Chicago. He couldn't rescue the Bulls from a team-record
losing streak, however, as they went winless in 13 games. That
rough patch was forgotten by season's end, though, as the team
won 20 of its final 24 contests, with Gilmore, rookie Scott May,
and veteran Norm Van Lier leading the charge. The remarkable turnaround
vaulted the Bulls into the playoffs, in which they became victims
of Bill Walton and the championship-bound Portland Trail Blazers.
The 1977-78 squad slipped to 40-42 and missed the playoffs despite
posting a 28-23 record at the All-Star break. Gilmore represented
Chicago at the 1978 NBA All-Star Game, the first of his four All-Star
appearances with the Bulls. He led the club in scoring (22.9 ppg)
and rebounding (13.1 rpg) and finished third in the league in
field goal percentage (.559).
The following season the Bulls slid to a 31-51 record under two
different coaches, Larry Costello and Scotty Robertson. Costello
took the reins from Badger to open the season, only to be replaced
after a 20-36 start. Robertson didn't fare much better, compiling
an 11-15 mark the rest of the way. For the second straight season
Gilmore led the team in scoring (23.7 ppg) and rebounding (12.7
rpg), ranking among the league's top 10 in both categories. Standout
guard Reggie Theus, the Bulls' first-round draft pick in 1978,
began a 13-year career with a berth on the NBA All-Rookie Team.
The 1979-80 Bulls team fell to 30-52 under new coach Jerry Sloan,
who had served as a scout and assistant coach for the Bulls after
his retirement in 1976. Sloan's coaching debut was soured by a
leg injury that sidelined Gilmore for 34 games, snapping his string
of 670 consecutive games played.
Chicago moved to the Central Division in 1980-81 to make room
in the Midwest for the expansion Dallas Mavericks. The new surroundings
suited the Bulls well, as they bounced back to a 45-37 record
and a second-place finish behind Milwaukee (60-22). Chicago hovered
around .500 for most of the season but sizzled down the stretch,
winning 13 of its final 15 games. In the playoffs for the first
time since 1977, the Bulls eliminated the New York Knicks in a
best-of-three first-round series, then were swept in the Eastern
Conference Semifinals by the Boston Celtics, the eventual NBA
champions.
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1981-84: A Three-Year Struggle
The 1981 NBA Draft yielded 6-9 forward Orlando
Woolridge of Notre Dame, but after the promise of the previous
season, 1981-82 was a disappointment. A December 2 game against
Golden State was especially galling-the Bulls broke their own
NBA record with a .705 field goal percentage but still lost to
the Warriors, 120-119. The team went 19-32 under Sloan, and on
February 17 he was replaced by Bulls General Manager Rod Thorn.
Thorn guided the Bulls to a 15-15 finish and a 34-48 overall record.
Gilmore led the team in scoring (18.5 ppg) and rebounding (10.2
rpg) and led the NBA in field goal percentage at .652.
After failing to make the playoffs the team revamped its roster.
The Bulls' top selection in the 1982 draft was Quintin Dailey,
a talented but troubled 6-3 guard from the University of San Francisco.
Chicago also traded Artis Gilmore to the San Antonio Spurs for
Dave Corzine and Mark Olberding.
In 1982-83 Chicago reeled to a 28-54 record under new coach Paul
Westhead, who had guided the Los Angeles Lakers to a championship
in 1980. The Bulls struggled early and often, losing all seven
games of their first extended road trip of the season. When a
knee injury sidelined Woolridge for the final 25 contests of the
year, the squad hit another seven-game slide. Reggie Theus (23.8
ppg) made the All-Star Team, and Dailey (15.1 ppg) was an All-Rookie
Team selection. However, Westhead's stay in Chicago was brief;
he was released from his contract at season's end.
With Kevin Loughery as the team's new coach for 1983-84, the Bulls
finished 27-55, the second-worst record in franchise history.
In the middle of the year Chicago traded Theus to Kansas City
for Steve Johnson and draft choices, creating the need for a shooting
guard.
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1984-87: "Air Jordan"
The reward for the lean season was the third
pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. The Houston Rockets, picking first,
selected Hakeem Olajuwon, who would become one of the NBA's most
dominant centers for more than a decade. The Portland Trail Blazers
used the second selection for another center, Sam Bowie, whose
career would be hampered by a series of injuries. The Bulls took
College Player of the Year Michael Jordan, a 6-6 guard from North
Carolina.
Chicago improved to 38-44 in 1984-85 as Jordan stepped directly
into the starting lineup and began rewriting the Bulls' record
book. On his way to the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, Jordan set
a team rookie record with 49 points against Detroit on February
12. He was dazzling throughout the year, earning a starting berth
in the 1985 NBA All-Star Game. Many compared him to Julius Erving
because of his high-flying style of play. Jordan finished the
season averaging 28.2 points, third in the NBA behind New York's
Bernard King (32.9 ppg) and Boston's Larry Bird (28.7). Jordan
also led Chicago in rebounding (6.5 rpg), assists (5.9 apg), and
steals (196).
Jordan helped the Bulls back to the playoffs for the first time
since 1981, but it was a short visit. Chicago fell to Milwaukee,
three games to one, in a first-round series. Coach Loughery was
fired after the season.
Stan Albeck was named the new head coach for 1985-86, but the
season took a disastrous turn when Jordan sustained a broken foot
in the Bulls' third game. Many thought he would miss the rest
of the season, but Jordan returned triumphantly on March 15 (after
missing 64 games) and helped Chicago to a playoff berth despite
the club's 30-52 record.
The Bulls faced Boston in the first round and lost in three straight,
but the series was made memorable by Jordan's remarkable 63-point
performance in Game 2 at Boston Garden. The outburst established
a single-game playoff scoring record, but it wasn't enough to
prevent the Celtics from winning, 135-131, in double overtime.
Rugged rookie Charles Oakley joined the Bulls in 1985-86 and immediately
established himself as a force on the boards, leading the team
with 8.6 rebounds per game. He grabbed a club-record 18 offensive
rebounds against Milwaukee on March 15. Chicago was still searching
for the right coaching formula, and the Bulls fired Albeck after
the season.
With yet another new head coach, Doug Collins, in for 1986-87,
the Bulls improved to 40-42. Chicago qualified for the playoffs
for the third straight season but was again eliminated by Boston
in the first round.
The team's record was a secondary concern for most fans, who had
their eyes riveted on team superstar Jordan. In late November
and early December he went on a rampage, scoring 40 or more points
in nine consecutive games. On February 26 he poured in 58 points
against the New Jersey Nets, including a record 26 of 27 free
throws. On March 4 he hit for 61 points against Detroit. Just
a month later, on April 16, he matched that performance with 61
against Atlanta. That season Jordan became the first NBA player
to reach 3,000 points in a season since Wilt Chamberlain did it
in 1962-63.
Jordan led the league in scoring at 37.1 points per game, his
career high for a season. He set Bulls single-season records for
points (3,041), field goals (1,098), free throws (833), and steals
(236). His output was rewarded with the first in a series of All-NBA
First Team selections.
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1987-89: Jodan Gets A Supporting Cast
Jordan was indisputably great, and Oakley, who
led the league in total rebounds (1,066), was outstanding. Still,
the Bulls lacked a quality supporting cast. They took a major
step toward alleviating that problem at the 1987 NBA Draft, when
Vice President of Basketball Operations Jerry Krause acquired
two players who would be vital cogs in Chicago's future championship
machine. With two picks in the top 10, Krause selected Olden Polynice
at No. 8 and Horace Grant at No. 10. He then traded Polynice and
draft considerations to the Seattle SuperSonics for Scottie Pippen,
whom the Sonics had grabbed with the fifth pick.
With Grant and Pippen on board the Bulls began to show their stuff
in 1987-88, forging a 50-32 record, their best mark since 1973-74.
Chicago finished in a second-place tie with Atlanta in a competitive
Central Division won by the surging Detroit Pistons. The Bulls
made some noise in the playoffs, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers
in a five-game first-round series, but then fell to Detroit in
the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Oakley and the Los Angeles Clippers' Michael Cage engaged in a
nip-and-tuck battle for the league's rebounding title, which came
down to the last day of the regular season. On April 22 against
Cleveland, Oakley put the pressure on Cage by pulling down 35
rebounds, the second-highest total in Bulls history behind Tom
Boerwinkle's 37 in 1970. Two days later, however, Cage grabbed
30 boards in a game against Seattle, just enough to edge Oakley
by the slimmest of margins, 13.03 per game to 13.00. Cage played
in 10 fewer games than Oakley, however, so Oakley led the NBA
in total rebounds for the second consecutive year, with 1,066.
Jordan led the league in scoring (35.0 ppg) and steals (3.16 per
game). He won every major award, including Most Valuable Player,
Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA First Team, NBA All-Defensive
First Team, All-Star Game MVP, and NBA Slam-Dunk Champion.
Even with the success of the previous season, the team did not
stand pat. The Bulls began the 1988-89 campaign with seven new
faces on the roster. Jerry Krause made a blockbuster deal in June
1988 when he sent Oakley to the New York Knicks for 7-1 center
Bill Cartwright. He also acquired three-point specialist Craig
Hodges from Phoenix. While the players adjusted to one another
the team's record slipped to 47-35, but the regular season was
just a tune-up for the playoffs.
For only the third time in franchise history the Bulls advanced
to the conference finals, upending Cleveland in five games and
New York in six along the way. Chicago took a two-games-to-one
lead over Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Pistons
roared back to win the next three and take the series. Jordan
had led the league in scoring for a third straight year with 32.5
points per game.
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1989-90: Jackson Replaces Collins As Head Coach
Phil Jackson replaced Doug Collins as head coach
for 1989-90. As a player Jackson had spent 13 years in the NBA,
11 of them with the Knicks. He had been named the Continental
Basketball Association's Coach of the Year in 1985, the season
after his Albany Patroons won the league championship; he then
hooked on with the Bulls as an assistant coach.
With Jackson at the helm Chicago began to mesh, cruising to a
55-27 record and a return to the Eastern Conference Finals. Beginning
in November, the Bulls won a team-record 15 consecutive home games.
The team also assembled an eight-game road winning streak, the
longest in franchise history. Chicago was playing solid ball at
midseason, and Jordan and Scottie
Pippen made the All-Star Team. The Bulls sizzled after the break,
closing out the season with a 27-8 flourish that included two
nine-game winning streaks. On March 28 at Cleveland, Jordan rained
in 69 points, his all-time high. For the season, he captured his
fourth consecutive NBA scoring title (33.6 ppg) and his second
NBA steals title (2.77 per game).
Pippen, a versatile 6-7, 225-pound forward, proved to be a vital
complement to Jordan. Not as flashy as "Air Jordan,"
he nevertheless had many of the same all-around skills: good ballhandling,
solid scoring, and terrific defense.
For all of their success, the Bulls couldn't keep up with the
Detroit Pistons, who finished four games ahead of them in the
Central Division. Chicago strolled through the first two rounds
of the playoffs, eliminating Milwaukee and Philadelphia, but for
the second straight year they couldn't bump Detroit from the Eastern
Conference Finals. The Pistons won a low-scoring seven-game series
en route to their second consecutive NBA championship.
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1990-91: No Bull! Chicago Cops Championship
In 1990-91 some of the less obvious aspects of
Phil Jackson's coaching philosophy began to draw attention-and
began to produce unprecedented results. Although the Bulls had
the most creative offensive force in the history of the game in
Jordan, they also stressed defense and teamwork.
Chicago lost the first three games of the year, then never dropped
more than two in a row the rest of the way. On December 4 the
Bulls set a regulation-game team record by scoring 155 points
against Phoenix, a total topped only by a 156-point, four-overtime
game in 1984. They had two seven-game winning streaks, in December
and January, while building a 30-14 record. Then the team went
on a tear in February, winning 11 straight, losing a single game,
then winning nine more, to stand at 50-15 on March 20.
Finishing with a 61-21 record, the Bulls won their second division
title and became just the ninth team in NBA history to win 60
or more regular-season games. They swaggered through the postseason,
sweeping the New York Knicks in three games, eliminating the Philadelphia
76ers in five, and reaching the NBA Finals by winning four straight
against the defending NBA-champion Detroit Pistons.
The 1991 NBA Finals matchup between the Bulls and the Los Angeles
Lakers was billed as a confrontation between two of the game's
most charismatic figures, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson; however,
the drama never unfolded. Los Angeles won the first game on a
last-second three-pointer by Sam Perkins, but then Chicago ran
through the Lakers in four straight contests. Jordan scored 30
points and handed out 10 assists in a 108-101 Game 5 victory,
which clinched the first NBA championship in the Bulls' 25-year
history.
The title capped a memorable season for Jordan. He was voted the
league's Most Valuable Player for the second time, won his fifth
consecutive scoring title, reached the 15,000-point plateau, and
was named to the All-NBA First Team and to the NBA All-Defensive
First Team. He was also voted MVP of the Finals.
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1991-82: Two Rings Are Better Than One
In 1991-92 the Bulls came roaring back. They
dominated throughout the year and threatened the league record
for victories in a season before ending up at 67-15, the best
mark in franchise history. Chicago was slow out of the gate but
then ran off a team-record 14-game winning streak for a 15-2 record
by early December. The Bulls put together a 13-game streak in
January to sit at 37-5, then coasted in with a 30-10 second half.
Chicago equaled its best home record at 36-5 and set a new club
mark with 31 road victories.
The playoffs, however, were tougher than the previous season's.
Chicago had a rugged conference semifinal confrontation with New
York, finally subduing the Knicks in seven games. In the Eastern
Conference Finals they went to six games against Cleveland before
prevailing.
Chicago faced a high-powered Portland team in the 1992 NBA Finals.
After the Bulls notched a Game 1 victory at home, the Blazers
gave Jordan and company a jolt by stealing Game 2 at Chicago Stadium.
But Chicago managed to win two of three contests in Portland,
bringing the series back home with a one-game lead after five.
When the Blazers took a 15-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 6,
a seventh game seemed assured. The Bulls' bench turned the game
around, however, igniting a 14-2 run at the start of the final
period as Chicago logged the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in
Finals history. The Bulls won the game, 97-93, and took home their
second consecutive championship, becoming only the fourth NBA
franchise to win back-to-back titles.
Jordan eclipsed his regular-season average of 31.2 points per
game by averaging 35.8 points per game in the six contests against
Portland. He repeated as Most Valuable Player for both the regular
season and the Finals, becoming the first player since the Boston
Celtics' Larry Bird to take both honors in successive years. He
also captured his sixth straight scoring title, was a starter
in the All-Star Game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team
and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Scottie Pippen was an
All-Star starter and made the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In
the summer of 1992 Jordan and Pippen both played on the United
States Dream Team, which won a gold medal at the Summer Olympic
Games in Barcelona, Spain.
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1992-93: "Three-Peat"
The Bulls finished the 1992-93 regular season
at 57-25, the team's fourth straight 50-win campaign. For the
second consecutive year Chicago never lost more than two games
in a row. On January 16 against the Orlando Magic, Jordan scored
64 points, his second-highest total ever. He won his seventh straight
scoring title at season's end and joined Pippen on the NBA All-Defensive
First Team. B. J. Armstrong, a fourth-year guard from Iowa, moved
into the starting lineup and led the NBA in three-point percentage
at .453.
Entering the 1993 NBA Playoffs, the defending champs were still
the team to beat, but not the clear-cut favorites. Many, in fact,
were picking Coach Pat Riley's New York Knicks to emerge from
the Eastern Conference, and still others felt Charles Barkley
and the Phoenix Suns, who notched the league's best record at
62-20, would take the crown. Undaunted, the Bulls swept Atlanta
in three games and Cleveland in four in the first two rounds of
the postseason. They met the Knicks in a much-anticipated Eastern
Conference Finals and rallied from a two-game deficit to win four
straight and take the series.
As expected, Phoenix was waiting in the NBA Finals. Chicago was
looking to make short work of the series after stunning the Suns
with two victories in Phoenix, but Barkley carried his team to
two improbable wins in Chicago, sending the series back to Phoenix
for Game 6. The Suns took control of the contest in the fourth
quarter and seemed on their way to forcing a decisive Game 7,
but then the Bulls' John Paxson provided one of the greatest moments
in Finals history. With Chicago trailing, 98-96, Paxson hit a
dramatic three-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining, giving the
Bulls a 99-98 victory and their third straight NBA title.
Michael Jordan averaged 41.0 points against the Suns to break
Rick Barry's previous record for the highest scoring average in
a Finals series. He was named Finals MVP for the third straight
year. With the victory the Bulls became the first NBA team in
27 seasons to win three consecutive championships. (The Minneapolis
Lakers, led by George Mikan, won three in a row from 1952 through
1954, and the Bill Russell-led Boston Celtics won eight straight
titles from 1959 through 1966.)
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1993: Jordan Announces His Retirement
The Bulls seemed poised to go as far into the
record books as Jordan would carry them, but then, prior to the
opening of training camp for the 1993-94 season, Jordan dropped
the bomb. He retired at age 30.
Jordan had won a slew of awards and honors during his nine-year
NBA career. He was NBA Rookie of the Year in 1984-85, then went
on to win seven straight scoring titles, three regular-season
Most Valuable Player Awards, three NBA Finals MVP Awards, a Defensive
Player of the Year Award, and two NBA Slam-Dunk Championships.
He was also an All-Star in each of his nine campaigns. Most importantly,
however, Jordan owned three championship rings.
Basketball aficionados will argue that the game, at its improvisational
best, is poetry and jazz, and that is how Jordan rewrote the book
every day. He shocked the basketball world with his high-flying
grace and beauty, building on the legacy of Connie Hawkins and
Julius Erving with jaw-dropping variations. He created a breathtaking
illusion with his leaning, one-handed slam, in which he would
tip toward the horizontal in midair, appearing to level out for
flight before cramming the ball through the hoop. He developed
into a deadly three-point shooter, and was never more accurate
than in the crucible of championship play. And above all, Jordan
was a winner.
Needless to say, his departure would have an impact. He had been
surrounded by fine players, including Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant,
and B. J. Armstrong. But at the end of the 1992-93 season the
question looming over the franchise, and over the league, was
whether they (or anyone, for that matter) could fill the vacuum
left by the departure of the player who was arguably the greatest
in the history of the game.
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1993-94: There Is Life Without Jordan
However, the 1993-94 Bulls proved there was life
without Michael Jordan. Although Chicago didn't win its fourth
straight championship, it posted a 55-27 record (for second place
behind the Atlanta Hawks in the Central Division) and advanced
to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. But for the first time in
four consecutive playoff matchups, the New York Knicks eliminated
the Bulls, though it took them seven games to do it.
Scottie Pippen had a tremendous season in all facets of the game.
The leading vote-getter for both the All-NBA First Team and the
NBA All-Defensive First Team, he ranked eighth in the league in
scoring (22.0 ppg), 23rd in rebounding (8.7 rpg), 19th in assists
(5.6 apg), and second in steals (2.93 per game). Pippen also won
MVP honors at the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, in which he was joined
for the first time by teammates Horace Grant and B. J. Armstrong.
Toni Kukoc had a solid rookie season and gave the Bulls confidence
in their future. The former European star found some aspects of
the NBA difficult, but as a versatile sixth man he made the NBA
All-Rookie Second Team and scored 10.9 points per game. He hit
several game-winning buckets during the year, including a last-second
three-pointer against the Knicks in Game 3 of the conference semifinals.
Kukoc looked to be one of the team's focal points in 1994-95,
especially after Grant left the team to sign with the Orlando
Magic as a free agent.
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1994-95: "His Airness" Returns
The 1994-95 season opened with the Chicago Bulls
in a new arena, the United Center, and with Michael Jordan as
a memory. The team played close to .500 ball for much of the campaign.
Scottie Pippen was one of the league's best all-around talents,
finishing among the league leaders in steals (2.94 per game, 1st),
scoring (21.4 ppg, 12th), rebounding (8.1 rpg, 23rd), and assists
(5.2 apg, 23rd). Pippen started in the All-Star Game and was named
to the All-NBA First Team at season's end. Toni Kukoc was inserted
into the starting unit about 25 games into the season and averaged
15.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists for the year. Most
nights Kukoc and Pippen formed a formidable duo.
Yet the Bulls became much stronger late in the year. Jordan, who
had been toiling without much success as a minor league baseball
player attempting to make the majors, realized that he missed
basketball. So on March 18, amid much fanfare, Jordan declared,
"I'm back," unexpectedly rejoining the Bulls in what
was certainly the most memorable return of a player in NBA history.
Although he was not quite the same player who had left the NBA
in 1993, Jordan was still better than most guards in basketball
and made the Bulls a feared team. In 17 regular-season games he
averaged 26.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. He sparked
the team to a 9-1 record in April. His 55-point performance against
the rival New York Knicks on March 29 showed that he could still
conjure up the old magic. That game, his first at Madison Square
Garden since his return, was one of the most anticipated regular-season
games of the year and ended with Jordan dishing off for a Bill
Wennington dunk that gave Chicago a last-second win.
Chicago finished the regular season at 47-35, in third place behind
the Indiana Pacers and the Charlotte Hornets but only five games
off the lead. The Bulls blasted past the Hornets in the first
round of the playoffs and threatened to seize a fourth championship.
But even with Jordan, the Bulls could not overcome their own glaring
weakness: the lack of a solid inside player. Power forward Horace
Grant had left the team in the offseason to sign with the Orlando
Magic; he came back to haunt the Bulls in the conference semifinals
as his Magic took the series in six games. Jordan averaged 31.5
points in the playoffs.
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1995-96: Greatest Ever? Bulls win 72 Games, Title
After hearing for an entire offseason that he
wasn't quite the same player as he had been when he abruptly retired
in 1993, Michael Jordan was driven to lead the Bulls to the NBA
championship for the fourth time in six years. His supporting
cast included Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, acquired in a
preseason trade. Though a talented collection of players, no one
could have predicted what the team would accomplish.
After losing to Seattle to fall to 10-2 in late November, the
team won 31 of its next 32 games, including 14 during an undefeated
January. Although they lost back-to-back games at Denver and Phoenix
to avoid becoming the first team in NBA history to play an entire
season without consecutive losses, their failures were few and
far between.
They were nearly invincible at home, going 37-0 (extending their
home winning streak to 44) before losing to the Charlotte Hornets
on April 8. At Milwaukee, on April 16, they achieved what many
experts never thought possible - 70 wins - with a 86-80 decision
over the Bucks. They finished 72-10, breaking the 69-13 record
of the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Only the Indiana Pacers were
able to beat the Bulls twice.
In doing so, the Bulls won many of the postseason awards: Jordan
was named the league's Most Valuable Player and was the All-Star
Game MVP. He led the league in scoring (30.4 ppg) ranked third
in steals (2.20 spg), and 11th in three-point field-goal percentage.
Pippen, long regarded as perhaps the best all-around player in
the NBA, averaged 19.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg and 5.9 apg, and finished
12th in the NBA in steals.
Rodman, who added an element of intrigue with his unique antics
and unparalled rebounding ability, led the league in rebounds
(14.9 rpg). Rodman, Jordan and Pippen were all named to the league's
All-Defensive Team. Toni Kukoc won the NBA Sixth Man Award, and
the supporting cast included Steve Kerr (second in three-point
field goal percentage), Luc Longley (9.1 ppg) and Ron Harper (7.4
ppg).
In the playoffs, the Bulls kept rolling, losing only one playoff
game in series wins over Miami, New York and Orlando. In the Finals,
the Bulls beat the Sonics in six games, finishing with a postseason
record of 15-3, and an overall record of 87-13, the best in NBA
history. Jordan was named the Finals MVP for the fourth time as
he cemented his legend in the Windy City and in NBA annals.
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1996-97: Five Times A Champion
Coming off of a record-breaking 1995-96 season,
what could the Chicago Bulls do for an encore? How about 69 wins
and a second consecutive NBA title, the fifth for the Bulls in
seven years? That's exactly what the Bulls accomplished in 1996-97,
posting a 69-13 record and winning the championship with a memorable
six-game triumph over the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals.
Despite the gaudy record, defending the title wasn't easy. Led
by the dynamic duo of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the Bulls
were able to overcome injuries to Toni Kukoc and Luc Longley,
suspensions and injuries to rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman
and constant public and media scrutiny to win the Central Division
by 13 games over the Atlanta Hawks.
Jordan made more NBA history along the way, becoming the first
player in league history to record a triple-double at the All-Star
Game (14 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists). Teammate Steve Kerr
reigned on All-Star Saturday as the winner of the AT and T Shootout.
The Bulls finished one game shy of recording back-to-back 70 win
seasons by losing three of their final four games. Jordan led
the league in scoring (29.6 ppg) and set an NBA record with 2,000
points for the 10th time in his career.
Despite that late "slump," the Bulls were ready come
playoff time. They held off a tenacious Washington Bullets team
to record a first-round sweep, then disposed of the Atlanta Hawks
and the Miami Heat in five games apiece, setting up the series
with the Jazz.
In the Finals, Jordan took center stage once again. He won Game
1 with a buzzer-beater, then posted 38 points, 13 rebounds and
9 assists to give the Bulls a 2-0 series lead. After the Jazz
won twice at home to tie the series at 2-2, Jordan added another
epic to his legacy; playing despite a stomach virus, Jordan poured
in 38 points, including a three-pointer in the final minute to
give the Bulls a 90-88 win in Game 5. He added 39 more points
in the Game 6 clincher and fed Kerr for the game-winning shot
with only five seconds to play. For the fifth time in five championship
seasons, Jordan was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
At season's end, Jordan and coach Phil Jackson signed new one-year
contracts, providing the Bulls an opportunity to 'three-peat'
for the second time in the decade.
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1997-98: Repeat Three-peat
It wasn't easy for the 1997-98 Bulls. Unlike
many of Chicago's prior title runs, this one never seemed like
a mere formality. From the very beginning of the season, the Bulls
were challenged both mentally and physically.
Scottie Pippen began the season on the injured list, missing the
Bulls' first 35 games while recovering from off-season left foot
surgery. Despite an opening night loss to the Boston Celtics and
a relatively slow start of 12-9, Chicago was back on top by midseason.
As Pippen played himself back into shape, Michael Jordan carried
the Bulls with an assist from Toni Kukoc and the league-leading
rebounding prowess of Dennis Rodman. When the regular season ended,
Jordan and company had led the Bulls to a 62-20 record, tying
Utah for the top mark in the NBA.
Jordan, still the league's marquee player, enhanced his legend
with a plethora of honors, including All-Defensive First Team
honors, All-NBA First Team honors, MVP honors for the fifth time
and All-Star MVP honors for the third time. His 28.7 ppg led the
NBA, giving Jordan his 10th scoring title.
In the postseason, the Bulls met first-time playoff foe Indiana
in the Eastern Conference Finals after dispatching the New Jersey
Nets and the Charlotte Hornets. The veteran Pacers, led by NBA
legend Larry Bird, forced a decisive Game 7, a first for the Bulls
since 1992. Jordan's 28 points sealed the 88-83 victory for Chicago,
and it was back to the Finals and a rematch with the Jazz.
By virtue of their season-series sweep over the Bulls, the Jazz
had the home-court advantage this time around. After the Jazz
defended home court in Game 1, the Bulls managed to steal Game
2, 93-88. Back in Chicago, the Bulls posted a 96-54 rout in Game
3 and won a close Game 4 to close within one more win of another
championship. The Jazz, however, were not ready to bow out gracefully.
Led by a game-high 39 points by Utah's Karl Malone the Jazz came
away with an 88-86 win, as a last second shot by Jordan missed
its mark.
Game 6, back in Salt Lake, was one of Jordan's finest performances
ever. With Pippen severely limited by back pain, it was on Jordan's
shoulders to deliver another title. It all came down to a Hollywood
ending. With the Bulls trailing by one in the final minute, Jordan
stole the ball from Malone and buried the series-winning jumper
with 5.2 seconds remaining. Chicago beat Utah 87-86, and Jordan
added his sixth Finals MVP trophy to his list of accomplishments.
After the Bulls wrapped up their season with another celebration
in Chicago's Grant Park, speculation began as to what might happen
next. Would the most celebrated sports dynasty be back for another
title shot? If so, it wouldn't be under Jackson. After leading
the Bulls to six championships, the Bulls' head coach announced
he would not return. Meanwhile, Bulls fans were forced to wait
out the summer for word as to whether Jordan, Pippen and Rodman
would return.
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1998-99: The Rebuilding Begins
After six NBA championships in the previous eight
seasons, it was time for the Chicago Bulls to start over.
Chicago entered the lockout-shortened season without seven key
components from the teams that won three straight titles from
1996-98. Michael Jordan retired and coach Phil Jackson took a
year off. Scottie Pippen, Luc Longley and Steve Kerr left in sign-and-trade
deals, and Dennis Rodman and Jud Buechler signed elsewhere as
free agents.
Toni Kukoc was still in Chicago, and he led the team in scoring
(18.8 ppg), rebounds (7.0 rpg) and assists (5.3 apg) as the Bulls
finished 13-37 in Tim Floyd's first season as coach.
Despite all the changes, one thing stayed the same: The Bulls
still drew a crowd, as the team's home sellout streak reached
567 games (regular season and playoffs). The last time Chicago
did not sell out a home game was Nov. 17, 1987.
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1990-2000: Emergence of a Rookie
In the Bulls first full year of rebuilding, efforts
focused around the 1999 NBA Draft’s first overall pick,
Elton Brand. In the 1999-2000 season, Brand joined an impressive
group of NBA players, becoming only the 19th player in league
history to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a rookie
campaign. In addition, he became only the second player in team
history to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, joining
Artis Gilmore.
As a team, the Bulls struggled in the franchise’s first
full season without Michael Jordan, finishing with a 17-65 overall
record. The Bulls attendance, however, continued to rank among
the best in the league, extending the home sellout streak extended
to 608 games (regular season and playoffs), the longest streak
in the NBA at the time.
Brand was named NBA Co-Rookie of the Year (shared with Houston’s
Steve Francis), MVP at the Schick Rookie Challenge during All-Star
Break (setting record with 21 rebounds) and NBA Rookie of the
Month for January, February and April. Brand’s best performance
came on April 13, 2000, when he set a team record, hitting 14
straight field goals en route to a career-high 44 points versus
Washington at the United Center.
The Bulls other first round selection, Ron Artest, also had a
solid rookie season, earning him mention on the NBA All-Rookie
Second Team. Other notes from the campaign included trading Toni
Kukoc to Philadelphia as part of a three-way trade with Golden
State, receiving the Washington Wizards first round draft pick
in 2000, along with John Starks and Bruce Bowen and setting franchise
record for fewest turnovers in a game (6) on March 7, 2000 at
the United Center versus Atlanta.
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2000-01: Youth Reigns
The Bulls’ intentions going into the 2000-01
campaign was to recruit a pair of the summer’s elite free
agents—a group that included Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, Tracy
McGrady and Eddie Jones—to be the core players in the re-building
process. However, Duncan re-signed with San Antonio, Hill accommodated
his wife’s desires to go to Orlando and McGrady and Jones
both opted to play near their home towns.
“It wasn't so much a rejection of Chicago,” Bulls
owner Jerry Reinsdorf stated, “as it was other considerations
that compelled these individuals to make the decisions that they
made to play for the teams they chose to play with.”
Thus, the Bulls changed gears and focused on rebuilding through
the draft and with youth.
In the 2000 NBA Draft, the Bulls took some steps in that direction,
selecting Marcus Fizer (4th overall) and acquiring Jamal Crawford
(selected 8th overall by Cleveland and immediately traded to the
Bulls). Other notable off-season acquisitions included the signing
of free agents Ron Mercer (Aug. 2) and Brad Miller (Sept. 7).
Opening the season with the youngest roster in NBA history—an
average of 22.9 years of age and seven rookies—isn’t
typically a recipe for success in the league. The Bulls went on
to finish with a 15-67 record in Head Coach Tim Floyd’s
second full season. The team broke the franchise record for longest
losing streak at the United Center with an eight-game stretch
from Nov. 11 to Dec. 19 (previous record was six games) and set
a new record for consecutive losses with 16 from Jan. 8 through
Feb. 6 (previous record was 13 games in 1976). In addition, Chicago
endured the longest road losing streak in franchise history, dropping
25 straight on the road from Dec. 21 through Apr. 10.
The Bulls’ home sellout streak ended at 610 games on Nov.
3 vs. New Jersey, marking the third longest sellout streak in
NBA history. Prior to that, the last time the Bulls failed to
sell out a home game was Nov. 17, 1987, vs. Washington. Other
news items from the season included second-year forward Elton
Brand (sophomore team) and rookie guard Khalid El-Amin (rookie
team) both participating in the Schick Rookie Challenge at All-Star
Weekend and Marcus Fizer being named to the NBA’s All-Rookie
Second Team.
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2001-02: Change of Direction
In 2001-02, the make-up and direction of the
Chicago Bulls changed significantly: by the season’s end,
a pair of 18 year old phenoms and an All-Star caliber player were
in the line-up while Elton Brand, once thought to be the franchise’s
cornerstone for rebuilding efforts, was not. The result was a
renewed sense of optimism and hope surrounding the team’s
future with Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and Jalen Rose as the centers
of attention.
It all began on the night of the 2001 NBA Draft, when the Bulls
used their first-round pick, fourth overall, to select Thornwood
High School’s Eddy Curry, a 6-11, 285-pound center. Minutes
later, Chicago dealt Brand to the L.A. Clippers for Dominguez
High School product Tyson Chandler (picked second overall) and
Brian Skinner. Chicago also acquired one of the steals of the
draft in Trenton Hassell out of Austin Peay in the second round.
With the addition of free agent Eddie Robinson (signed Aug. 7),
the new look Bulls, a young and athletic squad, were ready to
take the floor. The importance of having NBA experience was again
displayed as the team struggled and finished the season 21-61.
The beginning of the year was not pleasant for Chicago. The Bulls
set a franchise record for worst loss with a 53-point loss to
the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 8. Head Coach Tim Floyd, who
compiled a 49-190 record over four seasons with the club, resigned
on Christmas Eve. Bill Berry was named interim coach and four
days later, Bill Cartwright was named head coach on Dec. 28.
The team went on to suffer an 18-game road losing streak from
Nov. 2 to Jan. 11and on Feb. 18, the Bulls grabbed a franchise-low
25 rebounds in Miami.
A change was needed and on February 19, it was delivered in the
form of a seven-player trade. The Bulls acquired Jalen Rose, Travis
Best and Norman Richardson from the Indiana Pacers for Brad Miller,
Ron Artest, Ron Mercer and Kevin Ollie.
“We feel Jalen is an outstanding all-around player who can
play three positions offensively and defensively,” EVP of
Basketball Operations Jerry Krause explained. “He’s
a very good passer, extremely unselfish, a fine scorer and in
the prime of his career at age 29. His leadership qualities and
versatility are an added plus.”
“I'm excited about it,” Rose said upon his arrival
to Chicago. “I embrace the opportunity. Every kid dreams
about standing in this position talking about having an opportunity
to take a team to a championship level.”
The team went on to post their first three-game winning streak
in two years from Feb. 20-23. Jamal Crawford, who tore his ACL
over the summer and required surgery to repair it, returned to
the active roster on March 3 after missing the first 58 games
of the season. On March 11, the Bulls and Bill Cartwright mutually
agreed to a three-year extension on the head coach’s contract.
Other notes from the season included Marcus Fizer’s (sophomore
team) participation in the Schick Rookie Challenge at All-Star
Weekend and Trenton Hassell being named to the NBA’s ‘got
milk?’ Rookie of the Month for February.
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