The

2003–04 NBA season The 2003–04 NBA season was the 58th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Detroit Pistons defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the 2004 NBA Finals. The 2003–04 NBA season was the culmination of ...

was the Bulls' 38th season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. During the offseason, the Bulls re-signed free agent and former Superstar forward

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with th ...

. However, they continued to struggle finishing last place in the Central Division with a 23–59 record, missing the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

for the sixth straight season. Following the season, Pippen retired and

Jamal Crawford Aaron Jamal Crawford (born March 20, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2000 to 2020. Nicknamed "J-Crossover", he is regarded as one of the best ball handlers in ...

was traded to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. (See '' 2003–04 Chicago Bulls season#Regular season'')

Offseason

* July 20, 2003: Signed F

* August 20, 2003: Signed G Kendall Gill * September 4, 2003: Bought out contract of C Dalibor Bagaric * October 23, 2003: Waived G

Trenton Hassell Trenton Lavar Hassell (born March 4, 1979) is an American former professional basketball forward. A , guard-forward, Hassell was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 30th overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft. Early life and college career Hasse ...

NBA draft

Roster

Roster Notes

* Point guard Jay Williams missed the entire season due to a dislocated left knee from a motorcycle accident.

Regular season

Heading in to the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, Bulls fans were as optimistic as they had been in years. Before it was done, however, winds of change had blown through the Windy City leaving a roster and a coaching staff upside down. After closing out the previous season with four solid wins in the final six games to reach the 30–victory plateau, the team was hopeful of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 1998 and new pieces were added to the team's puzzle for that to happen. First, Kirk Hinrich was taken with the seventh overall pick in the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

to fill the void at the guard spot. This happened just days after the team learned it would be without services of Jay Williams, who was injured in a motorcycle accident in June and would miss this entire season. Later in the summer, the Bulls brought back one of the sport's all-time legends when free agent

—a seven-time NBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist and one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history—returned to Chicago on 07/20/03. “I think I know how to win games in the NBA. It may sound simple, but both winning and losing can become a mindset, and I won’t accept losing—ever. Whether it’s on the floor, in the huddle, at practice or just demonstrating a winning leadership, I plan on helping this team win,” said Pippen. Just one month into the season, however, it became clear that expectations were not being met and changes were necessary. With a 4–10 record, the team relieved

Bill Cartwright James William Cartwright (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player and a former coach. A center, he played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Seat ...

of his head coaching duties (11/24/03). A few days later,

Scott Skiles Scott Allen Skiles Sr. (born March 5, 1964) is an American former basketball coach and player. He coached the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic. A first-round draft pick out of Michigan State University, Skiles played ...

was named head coach (11/28/03) as he set out to instill a tough, defensive-minded, and high-effort mentality upon his new team. The Bulls makeover wasn't done yet. A blockbuster of a deal went down on 12/01/03, when Chicago traded

Lonny Baxter Lonny Leroy Baxter (born January 27, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. He is in height, and played the power forward and center positions. College career While attending the University of Maryland, College Park, Ba ...

Donyell Marshall Donyell Lamar Marshall (born May 18, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. Drafted with the fourth pick in the 1994 NBA draft, he played for eight different teams during his National Basketball Association (NBA) ...

and

Jalen Rose Jalen Anthony Rose (born January 30, 1973) is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player. In college, he was a member of the University of Michigan Michigan Wolverines, Wolverines' "Fab Five (University of Michigan), Fa ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

for

Antonio Davis Antonio Lee Davis (born October 31, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, and New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also played f ...

, Chris Jefferies and Jerome Williams. “This trade helps us address a couple of different areas, areas that we needed to get stronger in. It not only provides us with size, but also with energy,” said

John Paxson John MacBeth Paxson (born September 29, 1960) is an American basketball administrator and former player who was vice president of basketball operations for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2009 to 2020. He was t ...

. While the Bulls continued to struggle, improvements in effort under Coach Skiles were evident, and the roster re-make had only begun. The team's 23–59 record qualified it for a sixth consecutive NBA Draft Lottery appearance. Other Notes: Hired Assistant Coaches Johnny Bach (07/15/03) and Ron Adams (07/16/03) ... snapped a 26-game road losing streak versus Western Conference teams with a 95–79 win at Utah (02/04/04) ... Hinrich dished out 506 assists and his average of 6.7 apg ranked tied for 7th in the NBA, despite the Bulls ranking last in the league in team field goal percentage (.414) ... Hinrich was the only rookie in the NBA to tally a triple–double when he registered 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against the visiting Golden State Warriors (02/28/04) ...

went for a career–high 50 points (18–34 FG, 8–11 FT) at Toronto (04/11). Honors: Kirk Hinrich (freshman team) participated in the Schick Rookie Challenge at All-Star Weekend ... Hinrich also was named to the got milk? NBA All-Rookie First Team ... the Bulls drew an average of 19,736 fans through 41 home games (third in the NBA), including 11 sellouts ... the Bulls also hosted the seven largest crowds in the NBA, including a season-high draw of 23,067 versus the L.A. Lakers at the United Center.

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

* Kirk Hinrich,

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

1st Team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-04 Chicago Bulls Season Chicago Bulls seasons

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

2003 in Chicago 2004 in Chicago

Offseason

NBA draft

Roster

Roster Notes

Regular season

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

See also

References