Chicago Bulls
The pro basketball team Chicago Bulls is listed among eight others in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association(NBA). Home for the Bulls is the United Center in Chicago Illinois, with their jersey colours being black, white and red.
In 1966 the Bulls began their NBA stint and by mid-1970s they were the winners in over 50 games in four straight seasons. The most significant addition to their ranks was done in the mid-1980s when guard Michael Jordan took the team to new heights of success that had their climax in three consecutive NBA titles from 1991 to 1993. In 1993 Jordan went into retirement, only to return in 1995 to claim another three NBA championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998. In 1995-96, the team which also included forwards Scottie Pippen and Denis Rodman rewrote NBA history with an unprecedented 72-10 win loss record. The Bulls rank among five franchises credited with winning consecutive NBA titles. The rest are the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, the Detroit Pistons and the Houston Rockets.
Starting out in NBA in the 1966-67 season, they established a 33-48 win-loss record, the best ever among NBA expansion teams and went into playoffs. Ahead of the 1968-69 season Dick Motta former coach of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah was roped in by the Bulls. With his emphasis on defense, Motta ensured that the Bulls thundered into the playoffs six consecutive times from 1969-70 to 1974-75.
In barely his third NBA year, Motta was honored with the coach of the year award for his feat of garnering 51 wins for the Bulls in the 1970-71 season. The next three years saw the Bulls average over 50 wins per season, progressing to the Western Conference finals in 1974 in which they fell to the Milwaukee Bucks. They repeated the feat in 1975 again, and once more they were relegated to second best by the Golden State Warriors in a seven game series.
Success proved far more elusive in the nine years following the 1975-76 season, culminating in the 1983-84 season. During this period, the Bulls came up woefully short with only two winning marks, qualifying for the postseason twice and a solitary win in playoff series. The player of note in this phase was center Artis Gilmore.
In the 1983-84 season the Bulls managed a 27-55 win-loss record, earning the rights to the third pick in the 1984 NBA draft. The Bulls welcomed Michael Jordan whose arrival transformed the fortunes of the franchise almost instantly. The 1984-85 season named him the NBA Rookie of the year award thanks to his average of 28.2 points in every game that propelled the Bulls all the way to the play-offs for the first time in four season. The feat was repeated twice in 1986 and 1987, even though the Bulls suffered a first round loss in all three years.
The franchise solidified their presence in the 1987 NBA draft with the addition of forward Horace Grant and trading the draft rights to Scottie Pippen. The two of them made a difference in improving the Bulls to 50-32 in the 1987-88 season where they progressed as far as the conference semifinals before coming up short against the Pistons.
In both 1989 and 1990 the Bulls barged through to the Eastern Conference finals but on both occasions they were held off by the Pistons. Ahead of the 1989-90 season Phil Jackson made the move from an assistant coach to head coach of the Bulls. Jackson concentrated on the defense potential masterminding a complex offense that harnessed the exceptional scoring skills of Jordan and Pippen. In just his second season with the team in 1990-91, the Bulls went through to the NBA finals before tasting victory for their first NBA championship subduing the Lakers in five games. In the next season the Bulls triumphed in 67 games and proved their superiority over the Miami Heat, the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Portland Trail Blazers were taken to six games before being downed in the NBA finals. Jordan earned the most valuable player (MVP) award for the regular season as well as the NBA finals with his league leading score of 31.2 points for each game.
The Bulls added their third straight championship in 1993 bringing down the Phoenix Suns in six games. The winning line-up included Jordan, Pippen, Grant, guard B J Armstrong and center Bill Cartwright. With their championship hattrick the Bulls were elevated into the elite company of the Minneapolis Lakers and the Boston Celtics as the only three teams with three and more consecutive NBA titles.
Jordan opted for retirement from the sport before the 1993-94 season. Despite his exit, the Bulls continued to be the Central Division force with lethal weapons in the form of Pippen and rookie forward Toni Kukoc setting a franchise record of 55-27. The Knicks inflicted a defeat on the Bulls in the post season in the conference semifinals. Towards the end of the 1994-95 season, Jordan made a comeback powering the team to the conference finals where they were denied by the Orlando Magic.
Just in time for the 1995-96 season, forward Denis Rodman was snapped up by the Bulls. He was the league’s foremost rebounder for the past four
consecutive seasons. Rodman formed a trio with Jordan and Pippen which ignited 72 victories for the team besting the NBA record for the maximum number of wins in a single season. In the 1996 NBA finals, the Bulls left the Seattle SuperSonics in the cold, four games to two, taking the club’s total of NBA championship wins to four. The 1996-97 season yielded a 69-13 record on the strength of their star scorers Jordan and Pippen. Flawless rebounding and impregnable defense came from Rodman, Kukoc and center Luc Longley in creating the most formidable team in the Eastern Conference. The playoffs saw the Bulls mow down the Washington Bullets, ground the Atlanta Hawks and freeze Miami Heat. In the NBA finals a tuneless Utah Jazz were silenced by the Bulls, 4 games to 2, to bring home their fifth championship in seven seasons.
The end of the 1997-98 regular season resulted in a 62-20 record. The Nets, Hornets and Pacers were swept aside as were Jazz in the NBA finals, 4 games to 2. The 1999 season was preceded by exits of top players which led to a rebuilding phase. Jordan retired and Pippen and Longley were traded. The dismal season produced a 13-37 record and failure to reach playoffs.
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