2004-05 Chicago Bulls season

NBA season
team = Chicago Bulls
misc =
end_year = 2005
wins = 47
losses = 35
division = Central
division_place = 2
conf_place = 3
coach = Scott Skiles
arena = United Center
owners = Jerry Reinsdorf
television = Comcast Sports Net & WGN
radio = AM 1000
playoffs = First round (eliminated 4–2)
bbr_team = CHI

The 2004-05 Chicago Bulls season ended a run of losing seasons that had been ongoing since Michael Jordan's retirement in 1998, finishing with a record of 47-35 and qualifying for the playoffs. They achieved this in spite of the fact that they began the season 0-9, with few people believing that the team would be any more successful than it had been in previous seasons.

Offseason

The Bulls drafted Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Chris Duhon, with Gordon coming from Connecticut and Deng and Duhon coming from Duke. They also signed Argentinian forward Andres Nocioni, who had played on several successful international teams. These acquisitions reflected John Paxson's strategy of building around players who had already been on successful teams, a departure from what Jerry Krause had done as General Manager, drafting Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler in the same season, players who both showed tremendous potential, but were both coming to the NBA directly from high school.

Regular Season

Postseason

The Bulls' record of 47-35 was good enough for the #4 seed in the Eastern conference. In the first round of the playoffs the Bulls met another young team on the upswing, the Washington Wizards. The Bulls would lose the series 4-2, staying competitive throughout most of the series, but ultimately unable to find an answer for Wizards star Gilbert Arenas. The Bulls also entered the series nursing injuries. Most notably, Eddy Curry was injured in late March, and the Bulls signed veteran Lawrence Funderburke just days before the beginning of the postseason in an attempt to add more depth to their front-court.

Honors

Ben Gordon lost out to Emeka Okafor for Rookie of the Year honors, but did win Sixth Man of the Year honors, averaging 15.1 points per game despite making only three starts.

Roster