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The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center. The team is well known for having one of the greatest dynasties in NBA and sports history during the 1990s, winning six championships in 8 years with two three-peats. All six of those championship teams were led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson. The first three championship teams included the likes of Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant, John Paxson and B.J. Armstrong, while the latter three championship teams had Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Ron Harper, Toni Kukoč and Dennis Rodman on the roster. The Bulls won an NBA record 72 games during the 1995–96 NBA season and are the only team in NBA history to win at least 70 games in a single season. During the 1990s, the Bulls helped spread the popularity of the NBA around the world. The 1998 NBA Finals, the Bulls' most recent championship appearance, was the most watched championship series in NBA history.
By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the team had hit the cellar of the league. The Bulls' fortunes would have been forever changed were it not for a simple coin flip. In 1979, the Bulls lost a coin flip for the right to pick first in the NBA draft (Rod Thorn, the Bulls General Manager, called "heads"). Had the Bulls won the toss, they would have selected the great Magic Johnson; instead, they selected David Greenwood with the second pick. The Los Angeles Lakers selected Johnson with the pick acquired from the New Orleans Jazz, who traded the selection for Gail Goodrich.
Artis Gilmore, acquired in the ABA dispersal draft in 1976, led a Bulls squad which included guard Reggie Theus, forward David Greenwood, and forward Orlando Woolridge. After Gilmore was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for center Dave Corzine, the Bulls employed a high-powered offense centered around Theus, and which soon included guards Quintin Dailey and Ennis Whatley. However, with continued dismal results, the Bulls decided to change directions, trading Theus to the Kansas City Kings during the 1983–84 season.
In the following offseason, the team acquired point guard John Paxson and on draft day traded with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the rights to power forward Charles Oakley. Along with Jordan and center Dave Corzine, they provided much of the Bulls' offense for the next two years. After suffering a broken foot early in the 1985–86 season, Jordan finished second on the team to Woolridge in scoring. Jordan returned for the playoffs, and took the 8th-place Bulls up against the 67–15 Boston Celtics, led by Larry Bird. Though the Bulls were swept, Jordan recorded a playoff single-game record 63 points in Game 2, prompting Bird to call him 'God disguised as Michael Jordan.'
In the 1986–87 NBA season Jordan continued his assault on the record books, leading the league in scoring with 37.1 points per game and becoming the first Bull named to the all-NBA first team. Despite this, the Bulls could only muster a 40–42 win–loss record, which was good enough to qualify them for the playoffs. However, the Bulls were again swept by the Celtics in the playoffs. In the 1987 draft, to address their lack of depth Krause selected center Olden Polynice 8th overall and power forward Horace Grant 10th overall, then sent Polynice to Seattle in a draft-day trade for the 5th selection, small forward Scottie Pippen. With Paxson and Jordan in the backcourt, Brad Sellers and Oakley at the forward spots, Corzine anchoring center, and rookies Pippen and Grant coming off the bench, the Bulls made major noise in the 1987–88 season, winning 50 games and advancing to the Eastern Conference semi-finals, where they were beaten by the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Detroit Pistons in five games. However, for his efforts Jordan was named NBA Most Valuable Player, an award he would win four more times over his career. The 1987–88 season would also mark the start of the Pistons-Bulls rivalry which was formed from 1987 to 1991.
The 1988–89 season marked a second straight year of major off-season moves. Popular power forward Charles Oakley, who had led the league in total rebounds in both '87 and '88, was traded on the eve of the 1988 draft to the New York Knicks along with a round 1 draft pick used by the Knicks on Rod Strickland for center Bill Cartwright and a 1st Round draft pick which the Bulls used to obtain center Will Perdue. In addition, the Bulls acquired three-point specialist Craig Hodges from Phoenix. The new starting lineup of Paxson, Jordan, Pippen, Grant, and Cartwright took some time to mesh, winning fewer games than the previous season, but making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were subdued in six games by the eventual NBA champion Pistons.
In 1989–90, Jordan led the league in scoring for the fourth straight season, and was joined on the all-star squad for the first time by Scottie Pippen. There was also a major change on the sidelines, where head coach Doug Collins was replaced by assistant Phil Jackson. The Bulls also picked up rookie center Stacey King and rookie point guard B.J. Armstrong in the 1989 draft. With these additional players and the previous year's starting five, the Bulls again made it to the Conference Finals, and pushed the Pistons to seven games before being edged out for the third straight year by Detroit, who would go on to continue as NBA champions.
The Bulls won their second straight title in after racking up another franchise record for wins with 67. They prevailed over the Portland Trail Blazers and Clyde Drexler in six games. Jordan once again won regular season MVP and Finals MVP, to go with his sixth straight scoring title. During the Finals Jordan broke the records for most points in a half (35) and most three-pointers in a half (6) (since broken by Ray Allen on June 6, 2010 with 8 three pointers).
In the Bulls did what no team had done since the legendary Celtics of the 60s by chalking up the three-peat over regular season MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns, with John Paxson's shot that gave them a 99–98 victory in Game six in Phoenix. Jordan was once again the Finals MVP after setting a Finals record for points per game (41.0 ppg). He also tied Wilt Chamberlain by winning his seventh straight scoring title.
In 1994, the Bulls lost Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, and Scott Williams to free agency, and John Paxson to retirement, but picked up shooting guard Ron Harper, the seeming heir-apparent to Michael Jordan in Assistant Coach Tex Winter's triple-post offense, and small-forward Jud Buechler. The Bulls sported the look of Armstrong and Harper in the backcourt, Pippen and Kukoc at the forward spots, and Perdue at center. They also had sharpshooter Steve Kerr, whom they acquired via free agency before the 1993–94 season, Myers, and centers Luc Longley (acquired via trade in 1994 from the Minnesota Timberwolves) and Bill Wennington. However, they were slumping during the season, when on March 17, 1995, they received the best possible news: Michael Jordan was coming out of retirement. He was soon among the best in the league again, scoring 55 points against the Knicks in only his fifth game back, and led the Bulls to the fifth seed in the playoffs, where they upset the Charlotte Hornets. However, Jordan was too rusty, and the Bulls were unable to overcome the eventual Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic, which included Horace Grant, Anfernee Hardaway, and Shaquille O'Neal. When Jordan returned to the Bulls, he initially wore No. 45 (which was his number while playing for the Birmingham Barons, a minor-league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox). He chose the No. 45 because his older brother Larry wore that number in high school. Michael wanted to be half as good as his brother so he chose 23 which is half of 45 (22.5) rounded up. However, Jordan switched back to the familiar 23 before game 2 of the Orlando Magic series.
In the offseason, the Bulls lost B. J. Armstrong in the expansion draft, but Krause pulled off a masterful deal by trading Will Perdue to the San Antonio Spurs for the aggressive and often controversial rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, who had won the past four rebounding titles, and who had also been a member of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" squad that served as the Bulls' chief nemesis in the late 1980s.
In addition, the 1995–96 squad holds several other records, including the best road record in a standard 41-road-game season (33–8), the all-time best start by a team (41–3), the longest home winning streak (44 games, 7 from previous season), and the best start at home (37–0). The Bulls also posted the second-best home record in history (39–2), behind only the 1985–86 Celtics 40–1 home mark, and the second-best point differential in history, trailing the 1972 Lakers by 3 points over the course of an entire season. The team triumphed over Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and the Seattle SuperSonics for their fourth title. The 1995–96 Chicago Bulls are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in the history of basketball.
In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls narrowly missed out on a second consecutive 70-win season by losing their final two games to finish 69–13, and repeated their home dominance going 39–2 at the United Center. The Bulls capped the season by winning their fifth NBA championship over John Stockton, Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz. Jordan earned his second straight and ninth career scoring title, while Rodman earned his sixth straight rebounding title. Jordan and Pippen, along with Robert Parish, who was a member of the Bulls at the time, were also honored as members of the 50 greatest players of all-time with the NBA celebrating its 50th season. Parish, whose single season with the Bulls would be his last year in the league, was nominated for his stellar career with the Boston Celtics.
After a summer in which the Bulls witnessed most major and minor free agents Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Eddie Jones and even Tim Thomas choose to stay with their teams (or go elsewhere) rather than sign with them, Krause signed free agent center Brad Miller and shooting guard Ron Mercer, and drafted power forward Marcus Fizer and traded draft pick Chris Mihm to Cleveland for the rights of guard Jamal Crawford. Brand again led the team in scoring and rebounds with another 20–10 season, but the new acquisitions failed to make a major impact, and they finished with the worst record in team history at 15–67.
Krause shocked Bulls fans on draft day in 2001 when he traded franchise player Brand to the Los Angeles Clippers for the second pick in the draft, Tyson Chandler. He also selected Eddy Curry with the fourth pick. Since both Chandler and Curry came straight out of high school, neither was expected to make much of a contribution for several years, but they were seen as potential franchise players. The team floundered without veteran leadership. At mid-season, the Bulls traded their top three scorers—Mercer, Artest, and Miller along with Kevin Ollie—to the Indiana Pacers for veteran guard Jalen Rose, Travis Best and Norman Richardson. There was also a change in coaching, with Floyd being dismissed in favor of assistant coach and former Bulls co-captain Bill Cartwright, following a series of arguments with players and management. The Bulls improved from 15 to 21 wins, although they were still tied for last in the league.
For the 2002–03 season, the Bulls came to play with much optimism. They picked up college phenom Jay Williams with the second pick in the draft. Rose and Williams teamed with Crawford, Fizer, newcomer Donyell Marshall, Curry, Chandler, and guard Trenton Hassell to form a young and exciting nucleus which improved to 30–52 in Bill Cartwright's first full season as head coach. Curry led the league in field goal percentage, becoming the first Bull since Jordan to lead the league in a major statistical category.
During the summer of 2003, long-time GM Jerry Krause retired, and former player and color commentator John Paxson was tabbed as his successor. Jay Williams, coming off a promising rookie campaign, was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. His contract was bought out by the Bulls in February 2004 and he has yet to return to the game. Paxson selected point guard Kirk Hinrich with the seventh pick in the draft, and signed veteran free agent and former franchise player Scottie Pippen. With Pippen playing, Cartwright at the sidelines, and Paxson in the front office, the Bulls hoped that some of the championship magic from before would return.
However, the 2003–04 season was a resounding disappointment. Eddy Curry regressed, leading to questions about his conditioning and commitment. Tyson Chandler was plagued by a chronic back injury, missing more than thirty games. Pippen's ability to influence games was impaired by knee problems, and he openly contemplated retirement. Jamal Crawford remained inconsistent. Bill Cartwright was fired as head coach in December and replaced with former Phoenix coach Scott Skiles. A trade with the Toronto Raptors brought Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams in exchange for Rose and Marshall in what was seen as a major shift in team strategy from winning with athleticism to winning with hard work and defense. After struggling throughout the season, the Bulls finished with 23 wins and 59 losses, the second-worst record in the league. Fizer was not re-signed, and Crawford was re-signed and traded to the Knicks for expiring contracts. Hinrich provided the lone bright spot, becoming a fan favorite for his gritty determination and tenacious defense. He won a place on the All-Rookie first team.
During the 2005 offseason, the Bulls re-signed free agent Tyson Chandler. However, Curry showed possible symptoms of a heart disease resulting of a heart murmur during checkups, and Paxson would not clear him to play without extensive DNA testing. Ultimately, Curry refused to participate in the tests, and he was traded along with Antonio Davis to the New York Knicks for Michael Sweetney, Tim Thomas, and what became the second pick of the 2006 NBA Draft—as well as the right to swap picks with New York in the 2007 NBA Draft.
Without a significant post presence, the Bulls struggled for most of the 2005–06 season. However, a late-season 12–2 surge allowed them to finish 41–41 and qualify for the 2006 playoffs. There, the Bulls faced the Miami Heat. After two close losses in Miami, the Bulls broke through with a blowout win in Game 3, and another win in Game 4. However, the Heat took the next two games to win the series and went on to win that year's championship. The Bulls' several young players nevertheless earned additional postseason experience, and Nocioni turned in a remarkable series of performances that far exceeded his season averages.
In the 2006 NBA Draft, the Bulls were awarded forward-center LaMarcus Aldridge and immediately traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers for forward Tyrus Thomas and forward Viktor Khryapa. In a second draft-day trade, the Bulls selected Rodney Carney and traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers for guard Thabo Sefolosha. Later that summer, four-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace signed with the Bulls for a reported four-year, $60 million contract. Following the signing of Wallace, the Bulls traded Tyson Chandler, the last remaining player of the Krause era, to the (then) New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for veteran power forward P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith and salary cap space that was used to sign former Chicago co-captain Adrian Griffin.
In 2006–07, the Bulls overcame a 3–9 season start to finish 49–33, the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, the Bulls again faced Miami, the defending NBA champions. The Bulls narrowly won Game 1 at home, then followed it with a blowout victory in Game 2. In Miami, the Bulls rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to win Game 3 and then posted another comeback win in Game 4. The Bulls' four-game sweep of the defending champion stunned many NBA observers. It was Chicago's first playoff series victory since 1998, Jordan's last season with the team.
The Bulls then advanced to face the Detroit Pistons, marking the first time the Central Division rivals had met in the playoffs since 1991. The Pistons won the first three games including a big comeback in Game 3. No NBA team had ever come back from a 0–3 deficit to win the series, but the Bulls avoided a sweep by winning Game 4 by 10 points. The Bulls then easily won Game 5 in Detroit, and had a chance to make NBA history. But they lost at home in game 6 by 10, and the Pistons won the series 4–2 on May 17.
The Bulls started the 2007–08 NBA season by losing 10 of their first 12 games and on December 24, 2007, after a 9–16 start, the Bulls fired head coach Scott Skiles. Jim Boylan was named the interim head coach on December 27, 2007.
On February 21, 2008, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Adrian Griffin and the Bulls' 2009 2nd round draft pick were exchanged for Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons, Larry Hughes and Shannon Brown in a three-team trade deal involving the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Seattle SuperSonics. Boylan was not retained on April 17 at the conclusion of the 2007–08 season after compiling a 24–32 record with the Bulls. The Bulls ended the 2007–08 campaign with a 33–49 record, a complete reversal of last year's record.
After Jim Boylan's interim tenure expired, the Bulls began the process of selecting a new head coach. They were in talks with former Phoenix head coach Mike D'Antoni, but on May 10, 2008 he signed with the New York Knicks. Other possible options included former Dallas head coach Avery Johnson and former Bulls head coach Doug Collins. Collins resigned from the coaching list on June 4, 2008, reporting that he didn't want to ruin his friendship with Jerry Reinsdorf.
On June 10, 2008, the Chicago Bulls G.M. John Paxson hired Vinny Del Negro, with no coaching experience, to coach the young Bulls. The stage was set for a new era in Bulls history. On July 3, 2008, the Chicago Tribune reported that Delmer Harris agreed to become an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls along with former Charlotte Bobcats head coach Bernie Bickerstaff and longtime NBA assistant Bob Ociepka. Along with Bickerstaff and Ociepka, Harris helped establish a veteran presence on the coaching staff and helped rookie head coach Del Negro.
With a 1.7% chance of winning the rights to draft number 1 in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Bulls won the NBA Draft Lottery and selected first overall. With this, the Bulls became the team with the lowest chance of winning to ever win the lottery since it was modified for the 1994 NBA Draft, and second lowest ever. On June 26, 2008, the Bulls drafted Derrick Rose as the Number 1 draft pick, and at pick Number 39 they selected Sonny Weems. The Bulls later traded Weems to the Denver Nuggets for Denver's 2009 regular second-round draft pick. The Bulls then acquired Omer Asik from the Portland Trail Blazers (selected with the 36th pick) for Denver's 2009 regular second-round draft pick, New York's 2009 regular second-round draft pick, and the Bulls' 2010 regular second-round draft pick. The Bulls re-signed Luol Deng to a six-year $71 million contract on July 30, 2008. He was later plagued with an injury keeping him from action for most of the 2008–2009 season. Ben Gordon signed a one-year contract on October 2, 2008.
On February 18, 2009, the Bulls made their first of several trades, sending Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons, and Michael Ruffin to the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons. Then on February 19, 2009, the NBA trade deadline, the Bulls traded Larry Hughes to the New York Knicks for Tim Thomas, Jerome James, and Anthony Roberson. Later that day the Bulls made the third trade in a span of less than 24 hours by sending swingman Thabo Sefolosha to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2009 first-round pick. The trades brought a late-season push for the Bulls, which finally clinched a playoff berth on April 10, 2009, their fourth in the last five years. They finished the season with a 41–41 record. Their record was good enough to secure a No. 7 seed in the 2009 NBA Playoffs, playing a tough series against the Boston Celtics. In Game 1, Derrick Rose scored 36 points, along with 11 assists, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for most points scored by a rookie in a playoff debut. After breaking the record for most overtimes played in a NBA Playoffs Series, the Boston Celtics managed to overcome the Bulls after 7 games and 7 overtimes played.
The Bulls then had two 1st round picks in the 2009 NBA Draft and decided to take Wake Forest stand out forward James Johnson and athletic USC forward Taj Gibson. In the 2009 NBA off-season, the Bulls lost their leading scorer Ben Gordon, who signed with their divisional rival, the Detroit Pistons. On February 18, 2010, John Salmons was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Joe Alexander and Hakim Warrick. Meanwhile, Tyrus Thomas was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Acie Law, Flip Murray and a future protected first round pick. On April 14, 2010, the Bulls clinched the playoffs with the number 8 seed; the fifth time in six years that they have made the playoffs. Unlike the previous year, however, the Bulls' playoff run was shorter and less dramatic as they were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. On May 4, 2010, the Bulls officially fired head coach Vinny Del Negro.
In early June 2010, Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau accepted a three-year contract to fill the Bulls' head coaching vacancy. He was officially introduced on June 23, 2010. On July 7, 2010 it was revealed that Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz had verbally agreed to an $80 million, five year contract. Afterwards, the Bulls traded veteran point guard Kirk Hinrich to the Washington Wizards to create more cap space. The Bulls also signed former 76er and Jazz guard Kyle Korver to a 3 year, $15 million contract. The same day that the Chicago Bulls signed Kyle Korver, they signed Turkish All-Star Ömer Aşık. After being matched by the Orlando Magic for J.J. Redick they signed former Grizzlies player Ronnie Brewer, traded for former Warrior player C.J. Watson, and signed former Bucks player Kurt Thomas as well as former Spurs player Keith Bogans and former Celtics player Brian Scalabrine.
Traditionally, the players have been introduced in the following order: small forward, power forward, center, point guard, shooting guard. Thus during the championship era, Scottie Pippen was usually the first Bulls player introduced, and Michael Jordan the last. (Pippen and Jordan were the only players to play on all six Bulls championship teams.) More recently with Derrick Rose's arrival, the guards have been reversed in order, making the Chicago-bred point guard the last player introduced. Although internal disputes eventually led to the dismissal of Clay, the Bulls in 2006 announced the return of Tommy Edwards as the announcer.
As part of Edwards' return, the introductions changed as a new introduction was developed by Andy and Larry Wachowski, Ethan Stoller and Jamie Poindexter, all from Chicago. The introduction also included a newly composed remix of the traditional Sirius theme.
The Bulls wear white shoes during the regular season, but black shoes during the playoffs. This unofficial tradition goes back to the Jordan era. The Bulls also wear only their red uniform on the road during the playoffs. During the 2008–09 season and first three games of the playoffs, however, the Bulls wore black sneakers on away games only while wearing white sneakers on home games. Since the 2009-10 season, however, the NBA has relaxed its rules on specific sneaker colors on home and away games, and several Bulls players are seen wearing white sneakers on the road, or black at home during the regular season, even seen wearing red on occasion.
In 2006 the Bulls were one of three teams to take part in the NBA's first ever St. Patrick's Day uniform program (with the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks). The program consisted of the teams wearing specially designed green uniforms. For the program The Bulls' changed their red road uniforms to green while maintaining the traditional red and black bull's head on the shorts and the back of the jersey as well as the wording of "Bulls" on the front remaining black. The Bulls wore these uniforms on March 18 against the Miami Heat.
The following year the Bulls once again participated in the St. Patrick's Day uniform program altering their road jerseys in the same way as before. This time the special edition uniforms were worn twice by the Bulls: once on March 13 at home against the Celtics and then again on March 17 in Memphis versus the Grizzlies.
In the 2007–08 season they wore them on March 17, 2008 (at New Orleans) and March 18, 2008 (vs. New Jersey). In the 2008–09 season, they wore the uniforms on March 17, 2009 against Boston.
The Bulls also participated in the NBA's "Noche Latina" celebrations throughout March, beginning in 2009. They used a slightly altered version of their regular red road uniforms, with the wording "Los Bulls" to honor Hispanics throughout Chicago.
During the NBA's "Green Week" celebrations, the Bulls also wore green uniforms, but a slightly darker shade from their St. Patrick's Day counterparts and they used their black alternate uniforms as its template. They donned the uniforms in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 9, 2009.
The Bulls also had an intense rivalry with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1980s and early 1990s. Unlike the rivalry with the Pistons, in which the two teams have been relatively competitive, the Bulls-Cavs rivalry has been one of the more one-sided rivalries, heavily favoring the Bulls. Twice, Michael Jordan hit game- and series- winning shots against the Cavaliers in the playoffs. The rivalry was renewed in the 2010 NBA Playoffs, but this time the Cavaliers reversed the situation with LeBron James, who led the Cavs past the Bulls in five games.
Another franchise that the Bulls have competed fiercely with is the New York Knicks. The two met in the playoffs in four consecutive years (1991–94) and again in 1996, with the teams' series twice (1992 and 1994) going the full seven games.
Their first playoff confrontation, however, came in 1989 when both teams were called "teams on the rise" under Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing, respectively. That first confrontation would belong to Chicago in six games of the Eastern Semifinals. The Bulls triumphed in the first three years (1991–93) before narrowly losing in 1994 but exacted revenge in 1996. As with Detroit, the historic rivalry between the cities has led to animosity between the teams and occasionally their fans.
{|class="wikitable" border="1" style="font-size:95%" |- !rowspan="2"|Season !rowspan="2"|Team !rowspan="2"|Conference !rowspan="2"|Division !colspan="5"|Regular Season !rowspan="2"|Post-Season |- !Finish !Wins !Losses !Win% !GB |- |align="center"|2003–04 |align="center"|2003–04 |align="center"|Eastern |align="center"|Central |align="center"|8th |align="center"|23 |align="center"|59 |align="center"|.280 |align="center"|38 || |- |align="center"|2004–05 |align="center"|2004–05 |align="center"|Eastern |align="center"|Central |align="center"|2nd |align="center"|47 |align="center"|35 |align="center"|.573 |align="center"|7 ||Lost First Round to Washington Wizards 2–4 |- |align="center"|2005–06 |align="center"|2005–06 |align="center"|Eastern |align="center"|Central |align="center"|4th |align="center"|41 |align="center"|41 |align="center"|.500 |align="center"|23 ||Lost First Round to Miami Heat 2–4 |- |align="center"|2006–07 |align="center"|2006–07 |align="center"|Eastern |align="center"|Central |align="center"|3rd |align="center"|49 |align="center"|33 |align="center"|.598 |align="center"|4 |Lost Conference Semifinals to Detroit Pistons, 2–4 |- |align="center"|2007–08 |align="center"|2007–08 |align="center"|Eastern |align="center"|Central |align="center"|4th |align="center"|33 |align="center"|49 |align="center"|.402 |align="center"|26 || |- |align="center"|2008–09 |align="center"|2008–09 |align="center"|Eastern |align="center"|Central |align="center"|2nd |align="center"|41 |align="center"|41 |align="center"|.500 |align="center"|25 ||Lost in First Round vs. Boston Celtics, 3–4 |- |align="center"|2009–10 |align="center"|2009–10 |align="center"|Eastern |align="center"|Central |align="center"|3rd |align="center"|41 |align="center"|41 |align="center"|.500 |align="center"|20 ||Lost in First Round vs Cleveland Cavaliers 1–4 |}
;Contributors {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" ! Contributor ! Seasons with Bulls ! Year of Induction |- | |1966–1968 |2004 |}
NBA Defensive Player of the Year
All-Star Game MVP
NBA All-Star PlayStation Skills Challenge
}}
Category:National Basketball Association teams Category:Basketball clubs established in 1966 Category:Sports clubs established in 1966 Bulls Category:Basketball teams in the United States
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Position | Point guard |
---|---|
Height ft | 6 |
Height in | 3 |
Weight lb | 190 |
Team | Chicago Bulls |
Number | 1 |
Nationality | American |
Birth date | October 04, 1988 |
Birth place | Chicago, Illinois |
High school | Simeon Career Academy (Chicago, Illinois) |
College | Memphis |
Draft round | 1 |
Draft pick | 1 |
Draft year | 2008 |
Draft team | Chicago Bulls |
Career start | 2008 |
Teams | |
Highlights |
Born in Chicago, Rose learned the game of basketball from his three older brothers. In high school, he won two state championships and was rated by scouts as the top point guard prospect in the country after graduation. He played for the University of Memphis Tigers and reached the NCAA national championship game in 2008. Shortly after, Rose declared for the 2008 NBA Draft and was selected first overall by his hometown Chicago Bulls. In his first year of professional basketball, Rose was voted the Rookie of the Year and was selected to the All-Rookie Team. In only his second season, Rose was selected as an All-Star for the first time for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game; he was also named a starter for the U.S. Team at the 2010 FIBA World Championships.
In 2009, an NCAA investigation revealed that Rose's SAT scores had been invalidated, making him retroactively ineligible to play for Memphis. As a result, the NCAA vacated Memphis's entire 2007–08 season.
During his junior year in 2006, the Simeon Wolverines broke through and won the Chicago Public League championship held at the United Center where Rose starred with 25 points and crowd pleasing dunks. The team advanced through the playoffs and earned a berth in the Class AA state championship against Richwoods High School, where a fourth quarter buzzer beater by Richwood forced overtime. The score was knotted at 29 late in the extra period when Rose stole the ball and buried the game winning jumper with 1.5 seconds remaining. The title was the Simeon's first since the Wilson-led Wolverines won in 1984. The team finished 33–4, nationally ranked and Rose was awarded with an All-State Illinois mention, EA Sports All-American Second Team pick and another Parade All-American selection.
Entering his senior year, Rose was ranked the fifth best prospect in the nation by Sports Illustrated. In January 2007, Simeon traveled to Madison Square Garden in New York City in January 2007 to play Rice High School and star guard Kemba Walker. The Wolverines, however, lost 53–51. The season highlight was a nationally televised contest on ESPN against Virginia perennial power Oak Hill Academy two weeks later. Matched up with hyped junior guard Brandon Jennings, Rose had 28 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds and held Jennings to zero points in the first three quarters, 17 overall in a 78–75 win. For his performance, USA Today named him their high school player of the week. Simeon went on to repeat as Public League champions and defended their state championship, defeating O'Fallon High School 77–54. In doing so, Simeon became the first Chicago Public League school to win two straight state championships. In his final high school game, Rose scored 2 points, but pulled down 7 rebounds and totaled 8 assists. The Wolverines ended the season 33–2 and ranked 1st in the nation by Sports Illustrated and 6th on USA Today's Super 25. Rose averaged 25.2 points, 9.1 assists, 8.8 rebounds and 3.4 steals.
Overall Simeon's record while Rose played was 120–12. and was named to the McDonald's All-American team. He was also awarded with First Team honors by Parade selection and USA Today and USA Today First Team All-American. Rose was selected to play in the Jordan Brand All-Star Game and Nike Hoop Summit. In 2009, Rose was named the decade's third greatest high school point guard by ESPN RISE magazine behind Chris Paul and T.J. Ford.
(*) – Non–varsity season
With the addition of Rose and veteran teammates Joey Dorsey and Chris Douglas-Roberts, the Tigers started out the season ranked third in the nation. Memphis sprinted to a 26–0 start and claimed the number one ranking in the country for the first time in over 25 years before falling to the University of Tennessee Volunteers 66–62 in February. Memphis was able to bounce back and capture the Conference USA Tournament to qualify for the "Big Dance" with a 33–1 record. Rose averaged 14.9 points per game, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game during the regular season and earned All-American Third Team honors among others. He finished as a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award as well as the John R. Wooden Award.
Memphis was seeded No. 1 in the South Region and blew out most of its competition on its way to the Final Four. Rose earned high praise for his increased focus on defense, hounding Texas Longhorn guard D.J. Augustin into a low-percentage game in the Elite Eight. In a match-up against the UCLA in the Final Four, Rose finished with 25 points and 9 rebounds while putting tight pressure on Bruins' point Darren Collison to lead the Tigers to the NCAA championship game against the University of Kansas Jayhawks with a 85–67 victory. The win set a NCAA mark for most wins in a season (38). Against Kansas, Rose scored 17 points on 7–17 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and dished seven assists, but missed a critical free throw at the end of the second half, and Memphis fell in overtime, 75–68. Memphis concluded the season 38–2. Rose was named to the All-Final Four team after averaging 20.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6 assists during the tourney.
On April 15, Rose declared for the 2008 NBA Draft.
On May 28, the Memphis Commercial Appeal obtained the letter through the Freedom of Information Act and released it. Although the player's name was redacted due to privacy laws, process of elimination and sources revealed the player as Derrick Rose. The next day in a separate investigation, James Sullivan, Inspector General of the Chicago Public Schools district's Board of Education, released a report of his investigation stating that four student-athletes of a CPS school had one-month grade boosts to alter their college transcripts. The Chicago Sun-Times revealed the school as Simeon Career Academy and that three of the four were Rose and his former teammates Kevin Johnson and Tim Flowers, prominent members of the back-to-back championship teams. Sullivan started the investigation because "none of the grade changes were supported by any documentation”. He also failed to find a suspect as "at least seven people at Simeon had the ability to access student grades and records".
Memphis contended that it had learned of the allegations about Rose's SAT score shortly after he enrolled at the school. It conducted its own investigation, in which Rose was questioned by four school officials. Ultimately, Memphis was unable to find any evidence that Rose had cheated based on what was available at the time, and cleared him to play.
Rose released a statement through his lawyer Daniel E. Reidy: “Mr. Rose is aware of the allegations reported in the press. Mr. Rose cooperated fully with the University of Memphis' athletic and legal departments’ investigation of this issue when he was a student, and that investigation uncovered no wrongdoing on his part."
On August 20, the NCAA vacated Memphis' 2007–08 season. It took the line that even though Rose's score hadn't been thrown out until after the season, strict liability required that he be declared ineligible.
Rose started his rookie year strong, becoming the first Bulls draftee to score 10 points or more in his first 10 games since Michael Jordan, and earned Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors for November and December. During the All-Star Weekend, Rose played in the Rookie Challenge, and won the Skills Challenge, where he beat out several All-Stars to become the first rookie to claim the trophy. Overcoming a January and February slump, Rose returned to form and won monthly rookie honors in March. Meanwhile, the Bulls, re-energized by the trade deadline acquisitions of John Salmons and Brad Miller, finished the regular season on a 12–4 spurt to qualify for the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. Chicago's late push contributed to Rose's winning Rookie of the Year, joining Michael Jordan (1985) and Elton Brand (2000) as the only Bulls to do so. Rose became the second player in NBA history to record 35 points and 10 assists in his playoff debut, after Chris Paul. Rose averaged 19.7 points on 47.5% shooting, 6.3 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game in his playoff debut, as the Bulls were defeated by the Celtics in 7 games.
On April 13, 2010, Rose set a new career-high 39 points against the Celtics, making 15–22 FGs, and 9–10 free throws.
According to a January 2010 report by ESPN, Rose had the 4th best selling jersey in the league.
On December 10, 2010, Rose grabbed 29 points and 9 assists, leading the Bulls to their first victory over the the Los Angeles Lakers since December 19, 2006.
Rose has signed a shoe deal with Adidas for an undisclosed amount of money. He has also signed with Wilson Sporting Goods. His agent is former Bulls guard B. J. Armstrong.
Rose was announced as the cover athlete for the 2K Sports Downloadable Content game, NBA 2K10 Draft Combine, which was released on Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3.
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Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:American basketball players Category:Chicago Bulls draft picks Category:Chicago Bulls players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Memphis Tigers men's basketball players Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:Point guards Category:Basketball players from Illinois Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:United States men's national basketball team members
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