From the Archives: The Only Expansion Team to Make the Playoffs

An expansion team's trick. Dick Klein built the Bulls from nothing in 1966, and Johnny Kerr coached that team to a 33-48 record and a playoff berth, the only expansion club in league history to manage that. Guy Rodgers and Jerry Sloan made the All-Star team; Kerr won Coach of the Year. Splitter's rebuild has no such head start.

Third overall, twice. Michael Jordan went third in 1984, behind Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie, and became the engine of six titles. Caleb Wilson went fourth this June. The draft slot does not promise the player, but the Bulls are again betting a top-five rookie turns a losing roster into something else.

Detroit on this date. Chicago played Detroit on October 13 in both 1972 and 1973, losing 91-100 the first year and winning 101-94 the next. The Pistons eliminated the Bulls from the playoffs three straight seasons at the turn of the 1990s, the rivalry that shaped Phil Jackson's early years as head coach.

72-10, still the ceiling. Dennis Rodman's addition pushed the 1995-96 Bulls to 72-10, a record that stood until Golden State broke it two decades later. Last season's team finished 31-51, 23rd in net rating. The gap between those two numbers is the whole argument for patience with Splitter's rebuild.

New names on the wall. The Bulls added six names to their Ring of Honor on September 12, 2025: Johnny Bach, Cartwright, Neil Funk, Grant, Paxson and Van Lier. The ceremony fell one year into a teardown that has since cost the team Vucevic, White, Dosunmu, Karnisovas and Eversley.

Miami still the measuring stick. Three straight play-in eliminations at Miami's hands ended with last summer's total roster turnover. Giddey, Powell, Buzelis, Claxton, Jones, Okoro, Smith and Williams now carry a question the 1966-67 team never had to answer: whether a rebuild can get back to the postseason at all, let alone past the Heat.