60-Win Bulls

    

PHIL JACKSON and MICHAEL JORDAN

     When LeBron James announced last summer, on his now-infamous live TV show "The Decision," that he was taking his talents to South Beach, the Bulls appeared to be in a bad way. Like a number of other teams, the Bulls had feverishly pursued James, and when they failed to land him, it wasn't clear whether they had a Plan B--and if so, what that plan was. At the time, the Bulls had but a handful of players under contract, not enough to field a team, having cleared roster space and salary-cap space to accommodate James and/or Dwayne Wade and/or Chris Bosh, all three of whom ended up in Miami.
     Well, Plan B has worked out nicely. The Bulls signed a big-name free-agent, power forward Carlos Boozer, brought in some well-chosen complementary players, and saw continued improvement from their own young veterans Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, and the sensational Derrick Rose.
     Under rookie head coach Tom Thibodeau, the retooled Bulls have surpassed all expectations. They have notched 60 wins, and they will enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but reaching the 60-win plateau would seem to bode well. Five previous Bulls teams have won 60 or more games in a season, and each captured the world championship.

50-Win Bulls teams (in ascending order)

1987-88
50-32 (.610)
Head coach: Doug Collins
Playoff record: 4-6 (lost Eastern Conference semifinals)

1970-71
51-31 (.622)
Head coach: Dick Motta
Playoff record: 3-4 (lost Western Conference semifinals)

1972-73
51-31 (.622)
Head coach: Dick Motta
Playoff record: 3-4 (lost Western Conference semifinals)

1973-74
54-28 (.659)
Head coach: Dick Motta
Playoff record: 4-7 (lost Western Conference finals)

1993-94
55-27 (.671)
Head coach: Phil Jackson
Playoff record: 6-4 (lost Eastern Conference semifinals)

1989-90
55-27 (.671)
Head coach: Phil Jackson
Playoff record: 10-6 (lost Eastern Conference finals)

1971-72
57-25 (.695)
Head coach: Dick Motta
Playoff record: 0-4 (lost Western Conference semifinals)

1992-93
57-25 (.695)
Head coach: Phil Jackson
Playoff record: 15-4 (won NBA championship)


60-Win Bulls teams (in ascending order)

1990-91
61-21 (.744)
Head coach: Phil Jackson
Playoff record: 15-2 (won NBA championship)

1997-98
62-20 (.756)
Head coach: Phil Jackson
Playoff record: 15-6 (won NBA championship)

1991-92
67-15 (.817)
Head coach: Phil Jackson
Playoff record: 15-7 (won NBA championship)

1996-97
69-13 (.841)
Head coach: Phil Jackson
Playoff record: 15-4 (won NBA championship)


70-Win Bulls teams

1995-96
72-10 (.878 -- NBA record)
Head coach: Phil Jackson
Playoff record: 15-3 (won NBA championship)