What life has been like for a Bulls fan after Michael Jordan
When one discusses Chicago, it doesn’t take long for a sports team to be thrown into the conversation. From the Bears and their terribly overpaid quarterback, to the resurgent Blackhawks looking for yet another trophy to add to their collection. Chicago is a city where sports thrive but how soon can we expect to see another banner at the UC?
It’s been 18 years since the Bulls managed to bring an NBA championship to the city. Missing the post season last year for the first time since 2008, brought the team to an all time-low — post Jordan, at least. After the 1998 championship, coach Phil Jackson left the team swearing to move away from the game forever (clearly he lied), Michael Jordan announced that he was retiring (yet again) and Scottie Pippen was traded off to Houston (for basically nobody).
Leaderless and constantly giving up players for draft picks, the Bulls struggled to find any sort of stability from it’s front office and as a response, it’s players. One might recall Metta World Peace (once Ron Artest), Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, or maybe even Jay Williams reppin’ the red and white jersey but none really stuck. I remember going to a Bulls game against the Lakers in the winter of 02’ more excited about catching Kobe and Shaq than anyone on the Bull’s roster. But by 2008, the Bulls had put together a team with strong players such as: Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and 2007 first round pick Joakim Noah. As fate would have it the Bulls added the final piece to their puzzle with the first pick of the 2008 draft — Derrick Rose.
The rise of Chicago’s son Rose
With its native son at the forefront of the team, Chicago made it to the playoffs and went on to battle the Boston Celtics in what became one of the greatest seven game series of all time. I recall being at work when the Bulls started Game 6 at the United Center in 2009. There was a buzz in the city that was defening because the Bulls were playoff bound once again — and competitive.
Three overtimes later, the Bulls pulled out with a 128–127 win, tying the series and taking it back to Boston for one final game. It was crazy! All of a sudden there was this sense of representation, it was like watching a culture reinvent itself like how a country does under a new political regime. From Hinrich getting into a scuffle with current Bulls point guard Rondo in the first half, to Brad Miller’s crucial 3-point shot in the 4th or Noah’s dunk in the second overtime, the Bulls lit a fire that night that had gone missing for close to a decade.
Though the Bulls went on to lose Game 7, they did so with their heads held high. Derrick Rose was named Rookie of the Year and a new era of for the Bulls began.
Taking that energy into the 2009–10 season, the Bulls clinched playoffs glory again, but were tasked with taking down LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Even though the Cavs made short work of the Bulls, Noah and Rose did not disappoint fans as they continued to build on an aggressive style of Chicago basketball in the playoffs.
A year later, LeBron had moved away from Cleveland. With Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Miami was just too much for the Bulls. The Heat won the series in five. However, this was the season many thought would be a turning point for Chicago’s basketball team. In addition to a 62 win season for the Bulls, Rose became the youngest to ever receive an MVP award while Coach Thibs was named the Coach of the Year.
The Jimmy Butler Era
And then, Jimmy Butler was drafted with 30th pick in 2011. With the young, Marquette guard, the Bulls appeared to have enough defensively to stall LeBron. The Bulls, able to match any team’s talent, finally seemed ready to put the King and his team under the throne. Before you can say “crutches,” Rose suffered a season-ending leg injury in the final minutes of Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers, and left the city in awe. I remember hearing about it minutes after I had gotten out of work, “our MVP out for the rest of playoffs? You’ve got to be f@#$ing kidding me.” Too make matters worse, Noah suffered an injury in the third game of the series which wrapped up any chances they had of making it past thier arch-rival.
With Rose hurt, the Bulls started the 2012–13 season without their MVP and yet others stepped up to the plate. The Bulls brought Hinrick back from Atlanta and added Nate Robinson and Marco Belinelli to the lineup. While the season wasn’t very offensively driven, Tibs managed to keep them over .500 with Butler starring on the defensive end.
By the start of the 2013–14 season, no one really knew what was up with the Bulls. Rose was eventually cleared to play the year before but never did. The Bulls also let go of the mercurial Gordon and lost Robinson and Belinelli to the Nuggets and Spurs, respectively. As Rose incorporated himself back to the starting line up, the hope for him was short lived as he injured himself not 10 games later. Rose received much criticism throughout the season igniting a slew of twitter memes on the internet.
The Bulls tried to pull their shit together by letting go of Boozer in the 2014–15 season, while resigning a savvy, veteran Hinrich and bringing over an All-Star Pau Gasol. Adding Euro MVP Niko Mirotic, Creighton’s golden shooter Doug McDermott and the shifty Aaron Brooks to the mix (accompanied by what seemed like a healthy Rose) put the Bulls in a great position. However, it wasn’t enough to topple a LeBron-led team as the Cavs would beat the Bulls in the conference semifinals in six games. Rose’s buzzer beater in Game 3 seemed like it would be enough to spark some championship-caliber basketball, but Butler and Rose failed to mesh offensively.
During the offseason, Thibodeau was fired and Iowa coach Fred Hoiberg came in to man the team for the 2015–16 season. This is where the Bulls began to fall apart.
The shifting of the guard
While Rose had been the face of the franchise for years, Butler was the one who had really came into his own. He was the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2015, made two All-Star appearances (2015, 2016) and even went on to win a gold medal playing for Team USA in the Rio Olympics. As a result, the injury prone Rose was traded off to the Knicks this summer. Beloved Bull Noah followed Rose to New York and Gasol left the team to play for Greg Popovich and the Spurs. Only Butler and Taj Gibson remain from the height of the post-Jordan era. While it’s sad to see players go, another part of all this is exciting because an evolution of Bulls basketball is good for the city.
Hoiberg is trying to speed up the game for the team in hopes of keeping up with the rest of the league. Teams like the Warriors, Clippers, and the Cavaliers, have changed the way the game is played. Our hopes now lie with the incorporation of the 3-time NBA Champion Wade, the pass-first Rajon Rondo, and the newly acquired first round draft pick and college player of the year Denzel Valentine.
Jimmy “Buckets” is now the undisputed face of the team, earning it through his hard play over the last few years. McDermott and Mirotic, having had a few years in the league, will have plenty chances to stretch the floor via the 3-ball. Big men Gibson, Robin Lopez, and Cristiano Felicio can create challenges for teams as bigs with strong interior rebounding and atheticism. I wouldn’t be surprised if this squad made it to the playoffs, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to see this team selecting in the 2017 NBA Draft lottery either.
Only time will tell what kind of culture this new Bull’s era will bring, but the fans in Chicago are excited for it.
