About the Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are a professional basketball team and one of eight teams in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The Bulls began NBA play in 1966, and in the mid-1970s the squad won more than 50 games in four consecutive seasons. The arrival of guard Michael Jordan in the mid-1980s was the beginning of a new period of success for Chicago, culminating in three straight NBA titles (1991-1993). Jordan retired in 1993, but after he came back to the Bulls in 1995, the team won three more NBA championshipsin 1996, 1997, and 1998. The 1995-96 team compiled a 72-10 win-loss record, the NBAs best record ever. Chicago is one of five teams to have won consecutive NBA titles.

The Bulls first season was the 1966-67 season. The team notched a 33-48 record, the best ever for an NBA expansion team, and qualified for the playoffs. Before the 1968-69 season, Chicago acquired Dick Motta, who had previously coached at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Stressing a defensive approach, Motta directed the Bulls to the playoffs for six straight seasons, from 1969-70 through 1974-75.

In his third year in the NBA, Motta received the coach of the year award for directing the Bulls to 51 wins during the 1970-71 season. For the next three years the Bulls had over 50 wins a season, and in 1974 the team advanced to the Western Conference Finals before falling to the Milwaukee Bucks. (Chicago moved to the Eastern Conference in 1980.) A second run at the conference finals followed in 1975, but Chicago lost to the Golden State Warriors in a seven-game series.

In the nine years from the 1975-76 season through the 1983-84 season, the Bulls had little success, notching only two winning marks, qualifying for the postseason only twice, and winning only one playoff series.

A 27-55 record after the 1983-84 season gave Chicago rights to the third pick in the 1984 NBA draft. The Bulls drafted Michael Jordan, who had an instant impact on the team. During the 1984-85 season he won the NBA rookie of the year award, averaging 28.2 points per game and helped the Bulls reach the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

Chicago strengthened its roster in the 1987 NBA draft, drafting forward Horace Grant and trading for the draft rights to Scottie Pippen. The two players helped the Bulls improve to 50-32 during the 1987-88 season and get to the conference semifinals, where they lost to the Pistons.

The Bulls made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1989 and 1990 but fell to the Pistons both years. Before the 1989-90 season, Chicago hired Phil Jackson as their head coach, promoting him from assistant coach. Jackson stressed a team-oriented defense and a prescision offense that made the most of Jordan and Pippens scoring talents. In his second season (1990-91), Jackson led the team to the NBA Finals, where the Bulls captured the franchises first NBA championship, defeating the Lakers in five games. In 1991-92 the Bulls won 67 games and beat the Miami Heat, the New York Knicks, and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference playoffs. In the NBA Finals they beat the Portland Trail Blazers in six games. Jordan won the MVP award for both the regular season and the NBA Finals, and he led the league in points with 31.2 points per game.

With a lineup that featured Jordan, Grant, Pippen, guard B. J. Armstrong, and center Bill Cartwright, the Bulls won their third straightchampionship in 1993, beating the Phoenix Suns in six games.

Before the 1993-94 season Jordan retired from basketball. Without Jordan the Bulls remained a Central Division powerhouse as Scottie Pippen, with rookie forward Toni Kukoc, led the team to a 55-27 record. In the postseason the team lost to the Knicks in the conference semifinals. Jordan came back to the Bulls late in the 1994-95 season and helped the club advance to the conference finals, where they fell to the Orlando Magic.

Before the 1995-96 season the Bulls acquired forward Dennis Rodman, who had been the leagues leading rebounder for four straight seasons. The trio of Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman propelled the Bulls to 72 wins, breaking the NBA record for the most wins in a single season. The Bulls crushed the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals, four games to two, to capture the teams fourth NBA championship. The Bulls ran to a 69-13 record during the 1996-97 season behind the teams best scorers, Jordan and Pippen. Rodman, Kukoc, and center Luc Longley provided rebounding and exceptional defense to complete a team that dominated the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs Chicago swept the Washington Bullets, then leveled the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat. In the NBA Finals, the Bulls bull-dozed the Utah Jazz, 4 games to 2, to capture their fifth championship in seven seasons.

Chicago finished the 1997-98 regular season with a 62-20 record. The Bulls then trounced the New Jersey Nets, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Indiana Pacers to advance to the NBA Finals against the Jazz. In the championship series, the Bulls again beat the Jazz, 4 games to 2, and Jordan was named the series MVP. Shortly after the victory, Jackson, who had coached the club to six NBA championships, announced he was leaving the team to pursue other options.

Before the start of the lockout-shortened 1999 season, the Bulls top players left the franchise and the team entered a rebuilding phase. Jordan again retired, and then the club dealt Pippen to the Houston Rockets and Longley to the Phoenix Suns. Rodman became a free agent and signed with the Lakers. The Bulls finished the 1999 season with a record of 13-37 and missed the playoffs.