Meet the Bulls B asketball fans love to look at statistics Even so numbers umbers don’t tell you everything about a team The Chicago Bulls oo BBuullllss are proof of this They won six championships during the 1990s 90s And though the Bulls of this era had the game’s greatest player the secret to their success was teamwork That type of team spirit has been a tradition in Chicago since the team’s first season in the National Basketball Association NBA The Bulls play with fire and intelligence They work hard on defense and fight for every rebound And they never give up This book tells the story of the Bulls When a game comes down to a few crucial plays they do all the little things that add up to victory The Bulls are known for helping one another making sacrifices and blending their talents to win n Those are the things that statistics can never measure Taj Gibson hugs Tony Snell after a last-second victory during the 2013 14 season 5
f Ch Glory Days The city of Chicago Illinois has a love affair with basketball h h b k b ll that stretches back more than a century High school and college teams have always been popular in and around the Windy City Professional teams have called Chicago home since the 1920s However it was not until the Bulls came to town in 1966 that Chicago sports fans truly embraced a pro team ll h l ff The Bulls joined the NBA when it expanded from nine teams to ten As a new club Chicago had to find creative ways to build its roster The Bulls looked to players that other NBA teams no longer valued Among these cast-offs were a handful of stars including guards Guy Rodgers and Jerry Sloan and forward Bob Boozer 6
The Bulls were also awarded the last pick in each round of the NBA draft Despite its patchwork roster Chicago was able to hold its own during its first season The Bulls finished with more victories than any expansion club before or since During the 1970s the Bulls continued to improve Their best player was Bob Love a forward who could score rebound and play tough defense Love led the Bulls in points seven years in a row Chicago also had one of the NBA’s top one-on-one players in forward Chet Walker Point guard Norm Van Lier led the club from the backcourt Teammates and fans called him Stormin Norman because of his intense desire to win Chicago’s defense was helped by centers Tom Boerwinkle Clifford Ray and Nate Thurmond The Bulls made it to the finals of the Eastern Conference in 1973 74 and again the following season Later in the 1970s the Bulls added more stars including Artis Gilmore Mickey Johnson David Greenwood and Reggie Theus Two more impact players Quintin Dailey and Orlando Woolridge joined the team in the 1980s Unfortunately Chicago was unable LEFT Bob Boozer was an original member of the Bulls ABOVE This trading card features some of Chicago’s top players of the 1970s 7
