From the Archives: An Expansion Team's Lesson for This Rebuild

The expansion standard. Dick Klein built the first Bulls team in 1966-67 as an expansion franchise, and Johnny "Red" Kerr coached it to a 33-48 finish and a playoff berth — still the only expansion team in NBA history to reach the postseason in its debut year. Guy Rodgers and Jerry Sloan made the All-Star team that season.

October 17 across the archive. Five games have landed on this date in franchise history: an 87-116 loss to the Knicks in 1969, a 98-79 win over Cleveland in 1980, a 94-99 loss at San Diego in 1978, a 99-96 win at New York in 1970, and a 105-107 loss to the Lakers in 1967 — the season right after that playoff debut.

A high pick, bigger name. Michael Jordan went third overall in 1984 and became the measuring stick this franchise still gets held to. Caleb Wilson went fourth this June, the highest pick in years, and Pippen Ain't Easy's GM survey already floated him as a potential franchise player — their read, not a settled fact yet.

Ring of Honor grew. On September 12, 2025, the Bulls added six names to their Ring of Honor: Johnny Bach, Bill Cartwright, Neil Funk, Horace Grant, John Paxson and Norm Van Lier. All six trace back to the 1990s core or the staff and broadcast booth around it — the era this roster still gets compared against, fairly or not.

A wall before this one. Detroit eliminated the Bulls from the playoffs three straight years, 1988 through 1990, before Phil Jackson took over and the titles started. Miami has done the current version of that job, bouncing Chicago from the play-in three straight seasons. History says that kind of wall can turn into a stepping stone.

The number still standing. The 1995-96 Bulls went 72-10, an NBA record that held until Golden State hit 73 wins two decades later. This group isn't chasing anything close to that; last season's 31-51 finish was 23rd in net rating. The identity is inherited. The record on the floor right now is 0-0.