Chicago Bulls

1991–1993: First championship three-peat

In the 1990–91 season, the Bulls recorded a then-franchise record 61 wins, and romped through the playoffs, where they swept the Knicks in the first round, defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the semifinals, then eliminated defending champion Pistons in the Conference Finals and won the NBA Finals in five games over the Magic Johnson-led Los Angeles Lakers.

The Bulls won their second straight title in 1992 after racking up another franchise record for wins with 67. They defeated the Miami Heat in four games in the first round, the Knicks in seven hard-fought games in the second round, then the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games in the Eastern Conference to the Finals for the second year in a row where they defeated the Clyde Drexler-led Portland Trail Blazers in six games.

In 1993, the Bulls won their third consecutive championship by defeating the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks in the first three rounds and then defeating regular season MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns, with John Paxson's three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left giving them a 99–98 victory in Game 6 in Phoenix, Arizona.

1993–1995: Jordan's first retirement

United Center

On October 6, 1993, Michael Jordan shocked the basketball community by announcing his retirement, three months after his father's murder. The Bulls were then led by Scottie Pippen, who established himself as one of the top players in the league by winning the 1994 All-Star MVP. He received help from Horace Grant and B.J. Armstrong, who were named to their first all-star games. The three were assisted by Cartwright, Perdue, shooting guard Pete Myers, and Croatian rookie forward Toni Kukoč. Despite the Bulls winning 55 games during the 1993–94 season, they were beaten in seven games by the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs, after a controversial foul call by referee Hue Hollins in game 5 of that series. The Knicks eventually reached the finals that year, but lost to the Houston Rockets. The Bulls opened the 1994–95 season by leaving their home of 27 years, Chicago Stadium, and moving into their current home, the United Center.

In 1994, the Bulls lost Grant, Cartwright and Scott Williams to free agency, and John Paxson to retirement, but picked up shooting guard Ron Harper, the seeming heir apparent to Jordan in assistant coach Tex Winter's triple-post offense, and small-forward Jud Buechler. The Bulls started 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 struggling during the season, on March 18, 1995, they received the news that Michael Jordan was coming out of retirement. He scored 55 points against the Knicks in only his fifth game back, and led the Bulls to the fifth seed in the playoffs, where they defeated the Charlotte Hornets. However, Jordan 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 off-season, the Bulls lost Armstrong in the expansion draft, and Krause traded Perdue to the San Antonio Spurs for 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.

1995–1998: Second championship three-peat

Michael Jordan

Scottie Pippen

With a lineup of Harper, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and Longley, and perhaps the league's best bench in Steve Kerr, Kukoc, Wennington, Buechler, and guard Randy Brown, the Bulls posted one of the best single-season improvements in league history and the best single-season record at that time, moving from 47–35 to 72–10, becoming the first NBA team to win 70 or more games.^[10] Jordan won his eighth scoring title, and Rodman his fifth straight rebounding title, while Kerr finished second in the league in three-point shooting percentage. Jordan garnered the elusive triple crown with the NBA MVP, NBA All-Star Game MVP, and NBA Finals MVP. Krause was named NBA Executive of the Year, Jackson Coach of the Year, and Kukoc the Sixth Man of the Year. Both Pippen and Jordan made the All-NBA First Team, and Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman made the All-Defensive First Team, making the Bulls the only team in NBA history with three players on the All-Defensive First Team.^[11]

In addition, the 1995–96 team 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), 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. The team triumphed over the Miami Heat in the first round, the New York Knicks in the second round, the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals and finally 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.^[12]

Bulls head coach Phil Jackson consulting Michael Jordan in 1997

In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls missed out on a second consecutive 70-win season by losing their final two games to finish 69–13. They repeated their home dominance, going 39–2 at the United Center.^[13] The Bulls capped the season by defeating the Bullets, Hawks and Heat in the first three rounds of the playoffs en route to 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.^[14] 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.^[15]

The 1997–98 season was one of turmoil for the NBA champion Bulls.^[16] Many speculated this would be Michael Jordan's final season with the team.^[16] Phil Jackson's future with the team was also questionable, as his relationship with team general manager Jerry Krause was one of growing tension. Scottie Pippen was looking for a significant contract extension that he thought he deserved, but was not getting from the organization. In spite of the turmoil that surrounded the Bulls, they still had a remarkable season, with a final regular-season record of 62–20. Michael Jordan would be named the league MVP for the fifth and final time, and the Bulls went into the playoffs as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.

The first round of the playoffs for the Bulls was against the New Jersey Nets, a team led by Keith Van Horn, Kendall Gill and Sam Cassell. The Bulls swept the Nets three to nothing in a best of five series. The conference semi-finals were more challenging with the Charlotte Hornets stealing game two from the Bulls at the United Center, and tying the series 1–1. But the Bulls easily defeated the Hornets in the next three games of the series. The Conference Finals was a challenge for the Bulls as they went up against the Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers. Experts were of the opinion that the Pacers had the best chance to defeat the Bulls.^[16] The Pacers gave the Bulls no road wins, winning games 3, 4, and 6, sending the series to a deciding game seven at the United Center. The Bulls prevailed and beat the Pacers 88–83, winning their 6th Eastern Conference Championship.

In a much anticipated Finals, The Bulls faced the team they beat the previous year, the Utah Jazz. Led by Karl Malone and John Stockton, the Jazz felt confident that they could defeat the Bulls, winning game one at Utah's Delta Center. Facing a potential two to nothing deficit, the Bulls won Game 2 at the Delta Center and tied the series. The Bulls returned to the United Center and, by winning the next two games, took a 3–1 series lead. The Jazz won Game 5 by two points, 83–81. Game 6 was a tough battle for both teams, as the Jazz had a lead late in the game. Down by three points to the Jazz, Michael Jordan led the Bulls to one final win. Jordan hit a shot to bring the Bulls within 1, then stole the ball from Karl Malone and hit the game winning shot with 5.2 seconds remaining on the clock. With a score of 87–86, John Stockton put up a three-pointer, but missed, giving the Bulls their sixth championship in eight years. Jordan would be named the Finals MVP for the sixth time in his career. He retired for the second time on January 13, 1999.

2004–2007: Resurgence

Luol Deng made his first All-Star appearance with the team in 2012 and his second in 2013.

During the 2004 off-season, Paxson traded a 2005 draft pick to the Phoenix Suns in return for an additional pick in the 2004 NBA draft. He used the picks to select Connecticut guard Ben Gordon and Duke small forward Luol Deng in the first round, and Duke point guard Chris Duhon in the second. Paxson also signed free agent small forward Andrés Nocioni, who had recently won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the Argentine national team. After losing the first nine games of the season, the Bulls began to show signs of improvement behind their improved team defense and clutch fourth-quarter play from Gordon. The Bulls, who were 0–9 to start the season, finished the regular season 47–35, with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and advanced to the NBA playoffs for the first time since Jordan's departure. In the first round, the 4th-seeded Bulls played the Washington Wizards. Despite an injury to Deng and a heart issue with Curry, the Bulls opened the series with two wins at home, but lost the next four games and the series. After the season, Ben Gordon became the first rookie to win the NBA Sixth Man Award and the first Bull to win the award since 1996 with Toni Kukoč.

During the 2005 off-season, 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 as the seventh seed. 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 champions 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.

2007–2008: Missing the playoffs

Joakim Noah was drafted by the Bulls in 2007. He was named an All Star for the first time in 2013 and for the second time in 2014.

During the off season, the Bulls signed forward Joe Smith and guard Adrian Griffin, and drafted center Joakim Noah. However, distractions began when Luol Deng and Ben Gordon turned down contract extensions, never citing reasons. Then rumors surfaced that the Bulls were pursuing stars like Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, and most notably, Kobe Bryant. None of these deals happened, and general manager John Paxson denied a deal was ever imminent.

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.^[18] 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 did not 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. On July 3, 2008, the Chicago Tribune reported that Del 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.

2008–2010: Derrick Rose appearance

With a slim 1.7% chance of winning the rights to draft number 1, the Bulls won the 2008 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 Chicago native Derrick Rose from the University of Memphis as the number 1 draft pick. 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 Ömer Aşık from the Portland Trail Blazers (selected with the 36th pick) for Denver's 2009 second round draft pick, New York's 2009 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 2008–09 season. Ben Gordon signed a one-year contract on October 2, 2008.

Derrick Rose was drafted first overall by the Bulls in 2008. He was the 2010–2011 regular season MVP.

On February 18, 2009, the Bulls made their first of several trades, sending Andrés Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons,and Michael Ruffin to the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons.^[19] 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.^[20] 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.^[21] 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 an NBA Playoffs Series, the Boston Celtics managed to overcome the Bulls after 7 games and 7 overtimes played.^[22]

The Bulls had two first round picks in the 2009 NBA draft and decided to take Wake Forest stand out forward James Johnson and athletic USC forward Taj Gibson.^[23] In the 2009 NBA off-season the Bulls lost their leading scorer, Ben Gordon, when he 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. 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.^[24]

2010–2011: Arrival of Tom Thibodeau

Tom Thibodeau coached the Bulls to 62 wins in his first season.

In early June 2010, Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau accepted a three-year contract to fill the Bulls' head coaching vacancy.^[25] He was officially introduced on June 23.^[26] On July 7, 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 sharpshooter Kyle Korver to a three-year, $15 million contract. The same day that the Bulls signed Kyle Korver, they signed Turkish All-Star Ömer Aşık. After being matched by the Orlando Magic for J. J. Redick, they signed their third free agent from the Jazz in the off-season in shooting guard Ronnie Brewer, traded for former Warrior point guard C.J. Watson, and signed former Bucks power forward Kurt Thomas as well as former Spurs player Keith Bogans and former Celtic Brian Scalabrine.

Rose earned the 2011 NBA MVP Award, thereby becoming the youngest player in NBA history to win it. He became the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan to win the award. As a team, Chicago finished the regular season with a league-best 62–20 record and clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1998. The Bulls defeated the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks in five and six games, respectively, thereby reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1998, and faced the Miami Heat. After winning the first game of the series, they lost the next four games, ending their season.

2011–2014: Injury-plagued seasons for Derrick Rose

During the off-season, the Bulls drafted Jimmy Butler 30th overall in the 2011 NBA draft. After the NBA lockout ended, the Bulls lost Kurt Thomas to free agency, and released Keith Bogans. The Bulls signed veteran shooting guard Richard "Rip" Hamilton to a three-year deal, after he was waived by the Detroit Pistons. The Bulls also gave MVP Derrick Rose a 5-year contract extension worth $94.8 million.

Derrick Rose was voted as an NBA All-Star starter for the second consecutive year, and was the third leading voted player overall behind Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant. Luol Deng was also selected as a reserve for the Eastern Conference. This was the first time that the Bulls had two all stars since 1997, when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the duo. Derrick Rose was injured for most of the 2011–12 NBA season; however, the team was still able to finish with a 50–16 record and clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference for the second straight year and the best overall record in the NBA (tied with the San Antonio Spurs). Rose suffered a new injury when he tore his ACL during the 4th quarter of the first playoff game on April 28, 2012, against the Philadelphia 76ers and missed the rest of the series. Head coach Tom Thibodeau was criticized for keeping Rose in the game even though the Bulls were essentially minutes away from their victory over the 76ers. The Bulls lost the next three games, and also lost Noah to a foot injury after he severely rolled his ankle stepping on Andre Iguodala's foot in Game 3; he briefly returned for part of the fourth quarter of that game, but missed the following games in the series. After winning Game 5 at home, Bulls were eliminated by the 76ers in Game 6 in Philadelphia, becoming the fifth team in NBA history to be eliminated as a first seed by an eighth seed. In Game 6, Andre Iguodala sank two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to put the 76ers up 79–78 after getting fouled by Ömer Aşık, who had missed two free throws five seconds earlier. At the end of the season, Boozer and Aşık were the only members on the Bulls' roster to have played in every game, with Korver and Brewer missing one game apiece. In the offseason, the Bulls gave up Lucas to the Toronto Raptors, Brewer to the New York Knicks, Korver to the Atlanta Hawks, Watson to the Brooklyn Nets and Aşık to the Houston Rockets, but brought back Kirk Hinrich. In addition, they added Marco Belinelli, Vladimir Radmanovic, Nazr Mohammed and Nate Robinson to the roster via free agency.

Rose missed the entire 2012–13 season, but despite his absence, the Bulls finished 45–37, second in the Central Division (behind the Indiana Pacers) and 5th in their conference. They defeated the Brooklyn Nets 4–3 (after leading 3–1) in the first round of the playoffs and lost to the Miami Heat 4–1 in the next round.

During the season, the Bulls snapped both Miami's 27-game winning streak and the New York Knicks' 13-game winning streak, becoming the second team in NBA history to snap two winning streaks of 13 games or more in a season.

Just 10 games into the 2013–14 season, Derrick Rose would tear his medial meniscus on a non-contact play. He declared he would miss the remainder of the season. On January 7, 2014, veteran forward Luol Deng was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for center Andrew Bynum and a set of picks. Bynum was immediately waived after the trade went through. The Bulls would finish second in the Central Division with 48 wins, and earned home-court advantage in the first round. However, due to lack of a strong offensive weapon, they failed to win a single home game en route to losing to the Washington Wizards in five games.

In the 2014 NBA draft, the Bulls traded their 16th and 19th picks for Doug McDermott, the former Creighton star and 5th leading scorer in NCAA history, who was selected with the 11th pick, and in the second round, took Cameron Bairstow with the 49th pick. That offseason, they signed Pau Gasol, re-signed Kirk Hinrich and brought over Eurostar Nikola Mirotić, who was acquired via a draft day trade in 2011, but could not come over sooner, due to salary cap constraints.

2014–2015: Derrick Rose return to health

The second return of Derrick Rose gave the Bulls and their fans optimism for the 2014–15 season. With 2-time NBA Champion Pau Gasol and a deep bench consisting of Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotić, Tony Snell, Aaron Brooks, Doug McDermott, Kirk Hinrich, among others, the Bulls were one of the two favorite teams to come out of the Eastern Conference along with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bulls started off the season in style with a blowout win of the New York Knicks, and then winning 7 of their first 9 games (losses coming to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics). The emergence of Jimmy Butler as a primary scorer for the Bulls was a major surprise and he surged into the forefront of the "Most Improved Player of the Year" award race. Butler's statistical jump was noted by many as one of the greatest in NBA History,^[27] going from scoring just 13 points per game in 2013–14 to scoring 20 points per game in 2014–15. Pau Gasol was considered a huge asset for the Bulls and averaged a double-double throughout the season. Both Butler and Gasol ended up making the Eastern Conference All-Star team. The Bulls' second half of the season was marred by inconsistency and frustration set in with Derrick Rose blasting the team for not being on the same page. Tension between management and Tom Thibodeau continued to be a dark cloud hanging over the organization. The Bulls finished with a 50–32 record and the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference. They faced the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, and took advantage of the young and inexperienced Bucks by going up a quick 3–0 in the series. However, inconsistency and not being on the same page yet again plagued the Bulls as the Bucks won the next two games, sending a scare to Chicago. The Bulls bounced back with fury in Game 6 however, beating the Bucks by a playoff record 54 points winning the series 4–2. The next round saw the Bulls facing their arch-rival Cleveland Cavaliers, and their biggest nemesis, LeBron James, who had beaten the Bulls in all three of their previous playoff meetings. The Bulls shocked the Cavs in Game 1 dominating them and never trailing. The Cavs answered back in Game 2 in the same fashion, never trailing the entire game. In a pivotal Game 3 in Chicago, the Bulls and Cavs battled closely all the way through, but the Bulls prevailed on a last-second buzzer beating 3-pointer by Derrick Rose. In Game 4, the Cavs would answer once again, with LeBron James hitting the buzzer-beating shot to win the game. The Bulls lack of consistency and poor offensive showing doomed them once again as the Cavs won the next 2 games handily and closed out the series 4–2. After the series, speculation erupted about Tom Thibodeau's job security due to escalating feud between Thibodeau and Bulls front office managers Gar Forman and John Paxson.

2015–2016: Change in approach

Fred Hoiberg is the 19th head coach in the franchise's history.

On May 28, 2015, the Bulls fired Tom Thibodeau to seek a "change in approach".^[28] The Bulls named Fred Hoiberg as their head coach on June 2, 2015.^[29] The Bulls had only 1 draft pick in the 2015 NBA draft, and selected center Bobby Portis from the University of Arkansas. Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. was ruled out for at least the first four months of the season after completing back surgery. With Dunleavy out indefinitely, the Bulls promoted Doug McDermott to the starting lineup in his place at small forward. Before the season started, coach Fred Hoiberg made an incredibly controversial move by putting Nikola Mirotić as his starting power forward to pair with center Pau Gasol, meaning Joakim Noah, a long-time Bulls veteran and a fan-favorite was to come off the bench. Hoiberg told the media that the move was suggested by Noah himself but Noah denied having made any suggestions to Hoiberg, which sparked a distrust between the two before the season even began.

The Bulls started the 2015–16 season off well with an impressive season-opening 97–95 victory against archrivals and defending Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers and jumped to an 8–3 record in the first month. The Bulls went 10–9 and through late November and December. The Bulls came back and won six straight games. However soon afterwards, they lost 12 of their next 17 games and Butler missed four weeks after injuring his knee. The Bulls were eliminated from playoff contention after a loss to the Miami Heat on April 7, 2016 although finishing with season with a winning record of 42–40. It was the first time in 8 years that the Bulls had missed the playoffs.

2016–2017: Derrick Rose departs

On June 22, 2016, Derrick Rose and Justin Holiday, along with a 2017 second round draft pick, were traded to the New York Knicks for center Robin Lopez, and point guards Jerian Grant and José Calderón, who was soon traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.^[30] On July 7, the Bulls announced the signing of Rose's replacement, guard Rajon Rondo.^[31] On July 15, the Bulls signed Chicago native Dwyane Wade.^[32] On October 17, 2016, the Bulls acquired 2014 Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams in exchange for Tony Snell.^[33]

On February 23, 2017, Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott, along with a 2018 second round draft pick, were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for point guard Cameron Payne, shooting guard Anthony Morrow, and power forward/center Joffrey Lauvergne. The Bulls clinched the eighth seed in 2017 NBA Playoffs after winning seven of their final ten games and finishing the season with a 41–41 record.^[34] The team struck an early 2–0 lead against the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, but ultimately lost the series after losing the next four games.^[35]

1966–73 uniforms

The Bulls currently wear three different uniforms: a white uniform, a red uniform, and a black alternate uniform. The original uniforms were aesthetically close to what the Bulls wear today, featuring the iconic diamond surrounding the Bulls logo on the shorts and block lettering. What distinguished the original uniforms were the black drop shadows, red or white side stripes with black borders, and white lettering on the red uniforms. For the 1969–70 season, the red uniforms were tweaked to include the city name. ^[51]

1973–85 uniforms

For the 1973–74 season, the Bulls drastically changed their look, removing the side stripes and drop shadows while moving the front numbers to the left chest. While the white uniforms saw the "Bulls" wordmark go from a vertically arched to radially arched arrangement, the red uniforms saw a more significant makeover, featuring black lettering and a script "Chicago" wordmark. With a few tweaks in the lettering, these uniforms were used until 1985.^[51]

This uniform set was later revived as a throwback uniform during the 2003–04 and 2015–16 seasons.

1985–present uniforms

Starting with the 1985–86 season, the Bulls updated their uniform. Among the more notable changes in the look were centered uniform numbers and a vertically arched "Bulls" wordmark in both the red and white uniforms. Like the previous set, this uniform saw a few tweaks particularly in the treatment of the player's name.^[51]

When Nike became the NBA's uniform provider in 2017, the Bulls kept much of the same look save for the truncated shoulder striping and the addition of the Chicago four stars on the waistline. With Nike and the NBA eliminating any designations on home and away uniforms, the Bulls also announced that their red "Icon" uniforms would become their primary home uniforms while the white "Association" uniforms would become their primary away uniforms for the 2017–18 season.^[52]

Alternate black uniforms

In the 1995–96 season, the Bulls added a black uniform to their set. The initial look featured red pinstripes and lacked the classic diamond on the shorts. This set was revived as throwback uniforms in the 2007–08 and 2012–13 seasons.^[51]

From the 1997–98 to the 2005–06 seasons, the Bulls wore slightly modified black uniforms without pinstripes. This set, with a few slight changes in the template, also marked the return of the city name in front of the uniform during the 1999–2000 season.

The 2006–07 season saw another change in the Bulls' black alternate uniform, now resembling the red and white uniform with the addition of a red diamond in the shorts. For the 2014–15 season, the uniforms were tweaked a bit to include sleeves and a modernized diamond treatment in black with red and white borders.^[51]

Since the 2017–18 season, the Bulls' black uniforms remained mostly untouched save for the aforementioned switch to the new Nike logo that affected the treatment towards the shoulder piping. Nike also dubbed this uniform as the "Statement" uniform in reference to its third jerseys. The Bulls began wearing the Statement uniforms after Thanksgiving and is currently used in away games against teams that wear their white or cream uniforms.

Other uniforms

During the 2005–06 season, the Bulls honored the defunct Chicago Stags by wearing the team's red and blue throwback uniforms. The set featured red tops and blue shorts.

From 2006 to 2017, the Bulls wore a green version of their red uniforms during the week of St. Patrick's Day in March. The only red elements visible were those found on the team logo. For 2015 the Bulls wore sleeved versions of the green uniform that featured white lettering with gold and black trim and the "Chicago" wordmark replacing "Bulls in front. In 2016 and 2017, they wore the same uniforms minus the sleeves.

Between 2009 and 2017, the Bulls wore a variation of their red uniforms as part of the NBA's "Noche Latina" festivities every March. The only notable change in this uniform was the "Los Bulls" wordmark in front. For 2014, the Bulls briefly retired the look in favor of a black sleeved uniform featuring "Los Bulls" in white with red trim.

During the NBA's "Green Week" celebrations, the Bulls also wore green uniforms, but with a slightly darker shade from their St. Patrick's Day counterparts. 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 wore special edition Christmas uniforms as part of the NBA's Christmas Day games. The one-off Christmas uniforms were as follows:

• 2012: Monochrome red uniforms with lettering in red with black trim.
• 2013: Sleeved red uniforms with Bulls logo rendered in silver.
• 2014: Modified version of red uniform featuring the Bulls logo in front and a contrasting white nameplate of the player's first name.
• 2015: Red uniforms with ornate script letters in cream.
• 2016: Monochrome red uniforms with ornate script letters in black.

From 2015 to 2017, the Bulls wore a grey "Pride" sleeved uniform, featuring the team name and other lettering in red with white trim. The shorts featured a more modernized version of the diamond, along with four six-pointed stars on either side.

In the 2017–18 season, the Bulls wore special "City" uniforms designed by Nike. The uniforms, designed to pay homage to Chicago's flag, are in white and feature the classic "Chicago" script and numbers in red with light blue trim along with four six-pointed stars on each side.