In 2007, the Chicago Bulls certainly weren’t the best. In fact, they didn’t even make the playoffs, finishing 33 - 49. They also didn’t have the best odds to get the #1 overall pick. Still, they managed to get it through some, uhh we’ll just say luck? The #1 overall prospect was up for debate. There were some really good options, including Michael Beasley (who has fallen off since), Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, O.J Mayo (who has also fallen off), but the main guy the Bulls were targeting was Chicago native Derrick Rose. They selected him, and Chicago had their guy for the future. Surrounding players included Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Joakim Noah, and more solid players. This team looked like a top 5 seed, right? Nope. This was a packed Eastern Conference. In front of the Bulls were Iguodala’s 76ers, Dwyane Wade’s Miami Heat, Joe Johnson’s Atlanta Hawks, Dwight Howard’s Orlando Magic, the Big 3 Boston Celtics, and LeBron’s Cavaliers. All of the players I just mentioned were either an All-Star that year or were, 3-5 years ago. My point is, they had tough competition. They lost in the 1st Round to Boston.

In that offseason, they no longer had to deal with the Cavs, but now had to deal with the Big 3 Miami Heat team. They drafted James Johnson and Taj Gibson, and while Johnson got traded in 2011 and didn’t serve a huge role, Gibson would turn out to be a steal for Chicago and had the starting Power Forward spot on lock. 2011 was a surprise year to some and thanks to new head coach Tom Thibodeau who won Coach of the Year, the Bulls were top-dog, finishing with a 62-20 record. First Round, the Indiana Pacers. They were a good team for the #8 seed with a young Paul George and pre-injury Danny Granger, but that didn’t matter to the #1 seed. The Bulls won the series in 5 games, with Derrick Rose leading the way with 27.6 PPG. Second Round, the Atlanta Hawks were led by Iso Joe and Josh Smith. The Bulls won in 6, but Game 3 did see D Rose drop 44 points along with 4 threes. Keep in mind, Rose wasn’t a great shooter, and shot less than 30% from beyond the arc in the last round. He averaged 29.8 PPG, and Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer scored 15.2 and 13.3 PPG respectively. Conference Finals, the Miami Heat. This team would become the downfall of the Bulls. Luol Deng was a good defender, but LeBron dominated him. They lost in 5, but D Rose still scored 23.4 points a night. The funny thing is, this was still considered an upset because Chicago was the #1 seed and Miami was #2.

They drafted Kevin Seraphin who didn’t matter and went into the 2012 season. Remember, this was a lockout year, so the Bulls finished 50 - 16. First Round, the nobody 76ers. They were a trash team that somehow made the Playoffs. Then, in Game 1, Derrick Rose went down with an injury. This cost the Bulls the series. They would lose in 6 after a half-court prayer from Chicago was no good. This injury didn’t mean the end of the Bulls being good. In fact, it did let a little kid drafted at the dead end of the 1st Round blossom into something special.

That kid was Jimmy Butler. He played 20 MPG and scored 8 points a night in his rookie year, but he would progress (wait for it, wait for it!) Somehow, without their star, the Bulls still made the playoffs as the #5 seed. They even won in the 1st Round, upsetting the #4 seed Brooklyn Nets with Brook Lopez, Deron Williams, and Joe Johnson. Granted, this was an old team with their 5th youngest player being 27, but in the Playoffs is the only time that age matters. They lost again to the Heat and again in 5 games, but for this team, winning even one game against the best team in the league as a trash team was an accomplishment.

They drafted Marquis Teague and went into the 2014 season with Derrick Rose back. They also brought in some backup guards and Jimmer Fredette and D.J Augustin. Surprisingly, Rose wasn’t the leading scorer on the team. That went to Luol Deng, who scored 19 PPG (and in Totals, that was Taj Gibson, with 1069 points.) There was one important award that a player that Chicago received. Joakim Noah won Defensive Player of the Year. First Round, the Washington Wizards with John Wall and Bradley Beal. Surprisingly, neither of them mattered too much in Game 1, as the player of the game for Washington was Nene (Hilario) with 24 points and 8 rebounds. For Chicago, Kirk Hinrich was their leading scorer with 16, but D.J Augustin scored the same amount as him. Game 2 was a nail-biter but Washington pulled away with it after Kirk Hinrich choked at the free throw line and missed both shots. Game 3 was the only game the Bulls won in the whole series. They didn’t even win by much, 3 to be exact. And Washington could’ve easily won if Trevor Ariza didn’t make a bad pass.

After that, here comes the 2015 season. They tried to get Rose some help by getting Pau Gasol in Free Agency and trading for then rookie Nikola Mirotic on Draft Night, who’d turn out to be a steal. for the Bulls. And it worked, with ChiTown finishing 50 - 32. First Round, the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis and John Henson. Remember, Giannis was only 20 years old, so how do you expect this team to win? That’s exactly what the Bulls thought, and won in 6. Jimmy Butler really came alive for this team, posting 24.8 PPG. Rose was right behind him with 19. Next round, the Cavs and LeBron James. The Bulls were doing great, as they were up 2 - 1 after the D Rose game-winner shot. Then, LeBron hit the shot in the corner. Cleveland would then win the next two games and win the series.

They drafted Bobby Portis, who had a good season in 2018, but that’s about it. They also gave Jimmy Butler a max contract. Under new coach Fred Hoiberg, the Bulls missed the playoffs, finishing 2 games out of the playoffs and going 42 - 40.

They drafted Denzel Valentine who is surprisingly still with the team (not anymore lol) but after Chicago drafted Patrick Williams, he probably won’t get Playing Time this season. However, Gar Forman thought it was time to move on from Rose, and traded him to the Knicks for essentially nothing. Along with that, the Knicks signed Joakim Noah to what would turn out one of the worst contracts in NBA History. For the last 6 years, I will not go into detail too much.

2016, Bulls finish 41 - 41, lose to the Celtics in the 1st Round, draft Justin Patton with the 16th Pick. 2017, in the offseason trade Jimmy Butler for Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn, finish 27 - 55, draft Wendell Carter Jr. with the 7th Pick, draft Chandler Hutchison with the 22nd Pick. 2019, after 23 games, fire Fred Hoiberg, Assistant Coach Jim Boylen takes over, finishes 22 - 60, draft Coby White with the 7th Pick. 2020, finish 22 - 43 (in a lockout year), and draft Patrick Williams with the 4th overall pick. 2021 offseason, fire Jim Boylen, hire Billy Donovan. Fire Gar Forman, hire Arturas Karnisovas. As of 1/27/21 is 7 - 10. And that’s about it.

CREDITS Basketball Reference 2007-2008 Bulls: 2007-2008 Basketball Reference 2008-2009 Bulls: 2008-2009 Basketball Reference 2009-2010 Bulls: 2009-2010 Basketball Reference 2010-2011 Bulls: 2010-2011 Basketball Reference 2011-2012 Bulls: 2011-2012 Basketball Reference 2012-2013 Bulls: 2012-2013 Basketball Reference 2013-2014 Bulls: 2013-2014 Basketball Reference 2014-2015 Bulls: 2014-2015 Basketball Reference 2015-2016 Bulls: 2015-2016