Chicago Bulls Tickets

The Chicago Bulls' guards were hot in round 1 of the NBA playoffs putting a scare into the eventual champion Miami Heat. The Bulls are looking to add a big man to the mix to take their game to the next level.

Staff Writer Nichole P. Pingel
The Chicago Bulls joined the NBA for the 1966-67 season. The franchise struggled for most of its first 25 years, occasionally putting excellent teams on the court, such as the tough squads of the mid-1970s that featured Bob Love and Jerry Sloan. Usually, however, the Bulls worked hard for mediocre results. That all changed with the arrival of Michael Jordan in 1984.

The Chicago Bulls recorded their first victory on October 15, 1966 by defeating the St. Louis Hawks 104-97. The team’s coach was Johnny “Red” Kerr. Chicago finished the season33-48, the best record ever by an expansion team playing in its first season. The team fell apart the next season, finishing 29-53 under new coach Dick Motta. Motta molded Chicago into a tough, defensive-minded team in the early 1970s that was always ready to challenge the opposition, even if they could not match up in talent. The 1968-69 season saw the Bulls trade for Bob Love, thus forming the best rebounding team in Bulls history – pulling down 4,550 boards that season. The following season saw the highest-scoring Bulls in history, putting up 114.9 points per game. A year later, the team finished 51-31, with Love claiming most of the Bulls’ scoring titles (until Jordan came along). Norm Van Lier was acquired in November 1972. Together, he and Sloan formed the toughest defensive duo of the era. Two years later, the Bulls led the league in team defense but lost the Conference Finals to Golden State. The following season, Motta left the Bulls and Sloan retired. Chicago closed the 1970s with a new coach in Sloan.

The team then opened the 1980s with a new home in the Central Division. That alone may have been the best news the Bulls would get in four years. Despite commendable efforts by individual players, as a team Chicago ranked among the worst teams in the NBA. They couldn’t keep a coach or a respectable record. In 1981 Sloan was replaced by Rod Thorn, who led the Bulls to a 34-48 losing season. The switch proved to be a bad move, as Sloan led the team to a 45-37 record in 1980-81. A year later, Paul Westhead, who took Chicago to a 28-54 record, replaced Thorn. Just when Bulls fans (or anyone else still paying attention) thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, Westhead lost his job the following season to Kevin Loughery who guided the team to a new low, 27-55. There was, however, light at the end of the tunnel – and it had Michael Jordan’s name on it. The Bulls misfortune during the regular season resulted in an early draft pick in 1984. With the third pick in the NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls selected Michael Jordan from the University of North Carolina. Houston held the first pick and used it to acquire Hakeem Olajuwon. With Jordan in the starting lineup, the team improved to 38-44. Following Bulls tradition, a new season meant a new coach, Stan Albeck. The team also added a new player in Charles Oakley to the roster. Oakley took much of the rebounding pressure off Jordan. The following season – you guessed it – Chicago found a new coach in Doug Collins, who guided the team to a 40-42 record. Meanwhile, Jordan scored 3,041 points this season. Prior to the beginning of the 1987-88 season, Chicago drafted Horace Grant and made a trade that resulted in Scottie Pippen donning a Bulls uniform. Jordan won virtually every major award this season, including MVP, Slam Dunk Champion (by taking off from the foul line; thus, earning the name “Air” Jordan) and All-Star Game MVP, among others. For the team’s efforts, Chicago finished the season 50-32. Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of the season was that the club finally retained its coach. A year later, the Bulls traded Oakley to the New York Knicks for center Bill Cartwright. The team’s record slipped a bit to 47-35. In the postseason, Jordan hit one of the most memorable shots of his career: a jumper at the buzzer over Cleveland’s Craig Ehlo. This became known as ‘the shot that rocked Cleveland.’ Hopefully Collins enjoyed his three-year reign as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, because “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,” (www.nba.com/bulls/history). Jackson made the squad work together. The result was a winning 55-27 record. Pippen made a name for himself with good ball handling, solid scoring and excellent defensive skills.

The following season marked the beginning of a dynasty and saw one of the most anticipated NBA Finals match-ups of all time. In a series that should have been Bulls vs. Lakers, instead became dominated by two of the league’s biggest stars: Michael vs. Magic. The Lakers could not hold off Chicago, however, and the Bulls won their first league title by defeating Los Angeles four games to one. As a team, Chicago finished the regular season with a 61-21 record and swept the defending champion Detroit Pistons in the playoffs. At the All-Star Weekend, Chicago’s Craig Hodges hit 19 shots straight to win the three-point shootout contest. It was Jordan who brought home most of the hardware, however. He collected MVP, Finals MVP, the scoring title and reached the 15,000 point mark, just to name a few. The 1991-92 campaign saw the Bulls improve to a 67-15 record before eventually defeating Portland in the Finals to win their second consecutive NBA title. “This season’s title run is most remembered for Jordan shrugging his shoulders in disbelief during his 35-point performance in the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against Portland” (ESPN SportsZone). Phil Jackson became the first coach in Bulls history to man the bench at the All-Star Game. Jordan took home his usual round of awards and honors before joining teammate Pippen and Magic Johnson in Barcelona for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. The Dream Team won a gold medal for the U.S.A.

A year later, B.J. Armstrong joined the roster and led the league in three-point percentage (.453). The team slipped to 57-25, but still made it through the playoffs to meet Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in the Finals. After the Bulls’ John Paxson hit the winning three-pointer in Game 6 to give the team a 99-98 victory, Chicago’s three-peat mission was complete. Then Jordan shocked the basketball world with the announcement of his retirement. Six months later, Jordan makes his professional baseball debut in right field for the Birmingham Barons. On May 13, “Pippen refused to take the court with 1.8 seconds remaining in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Knicks. The All-Star forward was upset the Bulls had called for Toni Kukoc to take the final shot. Kukoc drained a 22-footer at the buzzer to give Chicago a 104-102 victory” (ESPN SportsZone). The following season, Croatian Toni Kukoc joined the Bulls as Chicago proved it could live without MJ, finishing the season 55-27. The Bulls held the Knicks to a seven game series in the conference semis before losing. Pippen won All-Star Game MVP while Grant left the team for Orlando.

Chicago opened the 1994-95 season with a new home at the United Center, moving out of Chicago Stadium after 28 years, and Kukoc in the starting lineup. Meanwhile, Jordan decided to leave baseball and rejoined the Bulls on March 18 with these two words: “I’m back.” With his No. 23 hanging in the rafters, Jordan donned the No. 45. Not for long, however, as he returned to his original number May 10. By this time, Bill Wennington joined the roster as well and helped the team to a 47-35 record. Even with Jordan back in the lineup, Chicago still lacked a solid inside player that could fill the void left by Grant. The Bulls found that player in the eccentric rebounder, Dennis “The Worm” Rodman, who signed on with Chicago before the start of the following season. Acquiring Rodman proved to be a key move for the Bulls, as he became a vital ingredient to the team’s fourth championship run. Steve Kerr, Ron Harper and Australian Luc Longley also joined the roster. Annoyed by the constant reminders that he was not the same player he once was, Jordan had all the motivation he needed to help the Bulls to a fourth NBA Championship. He would do far more than that, however, as the Bulls finished the 1995-96 season with a record-breaking 72 wins. A 72-10 record is nice; but, in the words of Harper, “It don’t mean a thing if we ain’t got that ring.” In the postseason, Chicago took Seattle to six games to win the title. The team’s postseason record was 15-3. Individually, Jordan won the scoring title, MVP, All-Star Game MVP and Finals MVP. Rodman earned the rebounding title while Kukoc the league’s Sixth Man Award.

Chicago finished the 1996-97 campaign with a record of 69-13. The season had its individual accomplishments: Jordan scored his 25,000th point and became the first player to record a triple-double in the All-Star Game and Kerr won the AT&T Long Distance Shootout. Jordan, Pippen and new Bull Robert Parish are included among the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players. In the Finals, the Bulls met Karl “The Mailman” Malone and the Utah Jazz. Weakened by a stomach virus in Game 5, Jordan scored 38 including a three-pointer in the final minute to give Chicago a 90-88 victory. He added 39 in Game 6 and connected with Kerr for the game-winning shot. A year later, Jordan, Rodman and Kukoc led the Bulls to a 62-20 record. Pippen began the season on the injured list and missed the first 35 games, allowing Kukoc to join the starting lineup. Rodman won his seventh rebounding title and Jordan won his usual collection of awards as Chicago earned a rematch with Utah in the Finals. At some point late in the second half, Malone was at the foul line preparing to shoot his two free throws. However, before he released the ball, Pippen whispered in his ear, “The mailman doesn’t deliver on a Sunday.” Malone missed the basket, much to Chicago’s delight. In the final minute of Game 6, Jordan stole the ball from Malone for the game-winning jumper that gave Chicago an 87-86 victory and a sixth NBA Championship. While Finals rematches were common in the NBA, never before had the same team won both meetings. This would be the last time anyone saw Michael Jordan in a Chicago Bulls uniform. A repeat three-peat was complete. Coach Jackson had called this, his final season in Chicago, ‘the dance,’ and later said that it had ended in “a beautiful waltz.” Still, instead of rejoicing and celebrating their sixth championship in eight years, the Bulls seemed to be suffering from depression. Many people in Chicago and elsewhere pinned the blame on General Manager Jerry Krause. He had made it perfectly clear that this would be Jackson’s last season as the Bulls head coach. This did not please Jordan, who had said all season that he would not play for anyone but Jackson.

The next season Chicago had to rebuild, as the Bulls were without retired (again) Jordan; Jackson took the year off; Longley, Kerr and Pippen left in sign and trade deals; and Rodman and Jud Buechler signed with other teams. Kukoc stayed in Chicago and led the team to a 13-37 record under new coach Tim Floyd…and the rest, as they say, is history.

For more information on the Chicago Bulls, visit www.nba.com/bulls