Chicago Bulls seasons

The Chicago Bulls are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Chicago, Illinois. Dick Klein founded the Bulls in 1966 after six other professional basketball teams in Chicago had failed. [Sachare, 2–7.] ref label|Note1|a|a In their 42 seasons, the Bulls have achieved a winning record 20 times, and have appeared in the NBA playoffs 27 times. [cite web | title = Chicago Bulls | publisher = Basketball-Reference.com | url = http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/ | accessdate = 2008-09-04 ] They received international recognition in the 1990s when All-Star shooting guard Michael Jordan led them to their six league championships. [cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1999/01/12/archive/main28160.shtml|title=Jordan: A Career Of Highlights|publisher=CBS News|date=1999-01-12|accessdate=2008-10-01] The only NBA franchises that have won more championships than the Bulls are the Boston Celtics (17 championships) and Los Angeles Lakers (14). [cite web | title = Playoff Index | publisher = Basketball-Reference.com | url = http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/ | accessdate = 2008-09-04 ]

The Bulls initially competed in the NBA's Western Division. The Western Division was renamed the Western Conference in 1970, and was split into the Midwest and Pacific Divisions. The Bulls played in the Midwest Division until 1980, when they moved to the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. [cite web | title = Chicago Bulls | publisher = Basketball-Reference.com | url = http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/ | accessdate = 2008-09-04]

History of the Bulls

:"For a more detailed team history, see the main Chicago Bulls article".

Early years

During their inaugural season (1966–67), the Bulls compiled a 33–48 record under coach Johnny "Red" Kerr and reached the playoffs. This was the best record achieved by an NBA expansion team in its first year of play, a feat which earned Kerr the NBA Coach of the Year Award. Dick Motta replaced Kerr in 1969, and under his leadership, the Bulls appeared in the playoffs every year from 1970 to 1975. The team reached the Western Conference Finals in 1974 and 1975, but lost to the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors, respectively. Key players during the Motta era included Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, Chet Walker, Norm Van Lier, and Tom Boerwinkle.cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/bulls/history/Chicago_Bulls_History-24393-42.html|title=Chicago Bulls History|publisher=NBA.com|accessdate=2008-09-04]

The Bulls qualified for the playoffs just twice between 1976 and 1984, a period in which the team used eight different head coaches, including former player Jerry Sloan. [Sachare, 123–131.] They had a chance to win the first pick of the 1979 NBA Draft, which would have allowed them to select future Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. However, they lost a coin flip to the Los Angeles Lakers, and had to settle for David Greenwood. Although Greenwood averaged 12.6 points over six seasons with the Bulls, he never became an NBA All-Star. [Sachare, 26–27.]

Jordan era

The Bulls' luck turned for the better after selecting Michael Jordan with the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. Now considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time,cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/players/jordan_bio.html|title=Michael Jordan|publisher=NBA.com|accessdate=2008-09-26] Jordan averaged 28.2 points per game during his first season and received the 1985 NBA Rookie of the Year. From 1985 onwards, the Bulls reached the playoffs every season he was on the team's roster. However, Jordan could not lead the Bulls past the first round of the playoffs by himself, so in 1987, general manager Jerry Krause acquired Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant at that summer's draft. These two young forwards could complement Jordan with their scoring, defense, and rebounding. In 1989, the Bulls played in their first conference finals series since 1975, losing to the Detroit Pistons. Coach Phil Jackson joined the Bulls after that season, and in 1991, the team won their first of three consecutive NBA championships by defeating Magic Johnson and the Lakers.

Michael Jordan suddenly retired from basketball in October 1993 and embarked upon a career in minor league baseball. Although the Bulls signed European standout Toni Kukoč to help alleviate the loss, they could not extend their championship streak, falling to the New York Knicks in the 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Bulls then lost Horace Grant, who signed with the Orlando Magic as a free agent during the summer of 1994. However, Jordan returned to the Bulls in March 1995, and with the added help of rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, the team won three more championships from 1996 to 1998. The 1995–96 Bulls won a record 72 regular season games (out of 82) [cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/bulls70_moments.html|title=Bulls Set Record With 70th Win |publisher=NBA.com|accessdate=2008-09-21] and are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in NBA history. [cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/toptenteams_index.html|title=Top 10 Teams in NBA History |publisher=NBA.com|accessdate=2008-09-05]

Post-Jordan era

After the Bulls won their sixth championship, Phil Jackson decided to leave the team and spend some time away from basketball. Michael Jordan then announced his second retirement, which prompted general manager Jerry Krause to begin rebuilding the roster with younger athletes. Six players from the 1997–98 Bulls (Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, Jud Buechler, and Scott Burrell [cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/playerfile/scott_burrell/|title=Scott Burrell Player Info|publisher=NBA.com|accessdate=2008-10-05] ) joined other teams through free agency or sign-and-trade deals, and with few established players left on the roster, the Bulls missed the 1999 playoffs. This began a six-year playoff drought, the longest such drought in team history.

The Bulls showed signs of improvement after hiring coach Scott Skiles in 2003, reaching the playoffs in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Some of the primary contributors on those teams were Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Kirk Hinrich. The Bulls' new playoff streak ended in 2008, when the team finished fourth in their division with a 33–49 record. After the season, the team hired a new coach, Vinny Del Negro. [cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3433896|title=Bulls, Suns assistant GM Del Negro agree on deal|accessdate=2008-10-07|date=2008-06-10|publisher=ESPN.com] The Bulls' poor record did help them win the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery, which allowed them to select Derrick Rose with the first pick in the NBA Draft. [cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/news/story?id=3405648|title=Bulls to pick first in draft; Heat, Wolves round out Top 3|date=2008-05-21|publisher=ESPN.com|accessdate=2008-09-26] [cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/26/derrick-rosenumber-1-draf_n_109512.html |title=Derrick Rose: Number 1 Draft Pick By Chicago Bulls |accessdate=2008-07-02 |publisher="The Huffington Post" ]

Year by year table

All-time records

"Note: Statistics are correct as of the 2007–08 NBA season."

Notes

*note label|Note1|a|aThe Bulls' predecessors were the Chicago Bruins, the Chicago Studebaker Flyers, the Chicago American Gears, the Chicago Stags, the Chicago Majors, and the Chicago Packers (later renamed the Zephyrs). The Zephyrs moved to Baltimore and then Washington, DC, and are now known as the Washington Wizards. [cite news|first=Jeff|last=Rude|title=Bulls 25: Ultimate Saga of Success|work=Chicago Sun-Times|page=16|date=1990-11-04] [Sachare, 2–5]
*note label|GB|b|bThis is determined by calculating the difference in wins plus the difference in losses divided by two.
*note label|Note3|c|cThe Western Division was renamed the Western Conference and split into the Midwest and Pacific divisions.
*note label|Note4|d|dIn 1980, the Dallas Mavericks entered the NBA as an expansion team and joined the Midwest Division of the Western Conference. The Bulls then moved to the Central Division of the Eastern Conference.
*note label|Note5|e|eDue to a lockout, the season did not start until February 5, 1999, and all 29 teams played a shortened 50 game regular season schedule. [cite web|title=NBPA History|publisher=National Basketball Player's Association|url=|url=http://www.nbpa.com/history.php|accessdate=2008-08-31]
*note label|Note6|f|fBrand shared Rookie of the Year honors with Steve Francis of the Houston Rockets.

ources

*cite book| last=Sachare|first=Alex|title=The Chicago Bulls Encyclopedia|publisher=Contemporary Books|year=1999|isbn=0-8092-2515-8
*cite web | title = Chicago Bulls | publisher = Basketball-Reference.com | url = http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/ | accessdate = 2008-09-04
*cite web | title = Playoff Index | publisher = Basketball-Reference.com | url = http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/ | accessdate = 2008-09-04

References