2021 Bulls and the Jordan Era Bulls: How similar starts could lead to similar outcomes

The Chicago Bulls, a dynasty that has been surrounded by great players like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, current Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr, and Dennis Rodman to name a few. While those are some of the older era names, involving the years where Jordan took home 6 NBA Championship trophies, the current Bulls team doesn’t look too different. With current 5 year Bulls veteran shooting guard Zach Lavine at the helm, the team is looking strong with their impressive 4-1 start going into the 29th of October.

When the Bulls made the move to hire previous Denver Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas, they knew that a series of big splashes would soon be in store. Not many could imagine however, that they would build a team that resembled none other than the 1996-97 Bulls team that took home the Larry O’Brien trophy. How much do they resemble each other you may ask? Well that was the last year that the Bulls began a season with a 4-0 start, which was exactly how the team led by Zach Lavine began this season leading into the close loss to the New York Knicks of 104-103 tonight. While this could be seen as a minor setback to the great start the team has experienced, sights are set pretty high for a team matching that start of a previous championship team.

Some of those big splashes that the team made this offseason were through the acquisitions of: Demar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso. This of course would in no way discredit some shorter term acquisitions of Tony Bradley, Javonte Green, Alize Johnson, and Devon Dotson. While some of these moves were by way of a trade, others were free agent signings to a team that was looking to boost their roster behind the already consistent performances that Chicago has begun to expect out of Zach Lavine.

Even though that aforementioned Bulls team did begin their season on a 12-0 run, the team finished with an overall record of 69-13 in the regular season, putting them at 1st place in the NBA Central Division. Since this team did have an undefeated preseason and are off to a hot start so far, they have begun to become a team to watch moving forward. It is definitely an exciting time to be a fan of the Bulls in Chicago.