The 2005–06 Chicago Bulls season was one of mixed results. While the Bulls reached the playoffs for a second straight season, they posted a record of just 41–41 (.500) in the regular season, 6 wins fewer than they had recorded in the previous year even though the roster was mostly the same. In the playoffs, the Bulls lost to the eventual NBA champion, the Miami Heat, in six games in the First Round. On December 9, 2005, the Bulls' retired Scottie Pippen's jersey number 33 on his rafters during halftime ceremony reunited with his former teammates

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, Craig Hodges, Randy Brown, his former assistant coach

Johnny Bach John William Bach (July 10, 1924 – January 18, 2016) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A forward/guard, Bach played college basketball at Fordham University and Brown University. He was selected by the Boston Celtics i ...

, and former Bulls head coach Phil Jackson.

Offseason

The Bulls did not have any picks in the 2005 draft. The core of the team remained based around Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Kirk Hinrich, all draft picks from the previous two years. The Bulls did not sign any household name players through free agency, but did add Malik Allen, Darius Songaila and

Michael Sweetney Michael Damien Sweetney (born October 25, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. He is now the assistant coach of the Yeshiva University Men's basketball team and head coach of the girls varsity basketball team at New York's R ...

(through the trade explained below), all of which would split time between the starting lineup and the bench. They also added Tim Thomas; however due to a clash with Scott Skiles he appeared in just 3 games for the Bulls and would eventually move to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

. The Bulls also traded their once first-round draft pick Eddy Curry to the Knicks after Curry missed some of the 2004–05 season with a heart condition.Curry Faces Tests to Evaluate Risk Factor - New York Times
/ref> The move was met with some controversy, although it ended up resulting in high draft picks for the Bulls due to the Knicks' poor records in the coming seasons.

NBA Draft

The Bulls did not have any draft picks in 2005.

Roster

Regular season

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

At 41–41 (.500) record, the Bulls managed to sneak into the Eastern Conference Playoffs as a 7th seed. They would lose in the first round to the eventual NBA Champion Miami Heat, although they did manage to stretch the best of 7 series to 6 games, ending a season in which they played very inconsistently on a somewhat positive note. A year later, the Bulls would defeat the Heat in a sweep in the first round. , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , April 22 , @ Miami
L 106–111
, Ben Gordon (35) ,

Andrés Nocioni Andrés Marcelo Nocioni (born November 30, 1979) is an Argentine retired professional basketball player. He was a two-time All-EuroLeague selection before spending eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 2004 to 2012. No ...

(16) , Kirk Hinrich (8) , American Airlines Arena
20,288 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 24 , @ Miami
L 108–115
,

(35) , Tyson Chandler (9) , Kirk Hinrich (7) , American Airlines Arena
20,214 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , April 27 , Miami
W 109–90
, Ben Gordon (24) ,

(9) , Kirk Hinrich (11) , United Center
22,133 , 1–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , April 30 , Miami
W 93–87
,

(24) ,

(7) , Kirk Hinrich (9) , United Center
22,361 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 2 , @ Miami
L 78–92
,

(23) ,

(10) , Kirk Hinrich (5) , American Airlines Arena
20,287 , 2–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 6 , May 4 , Miami
L 96–113
, Kirk Hinrich (23) , Luol Deng (6) , Kirk Hinrich (6) , United Center
22,584 , 2–4 , -

Awards and records

Transactions

* August 8, 2005: Signed G

Eddie Basden Edward Richard Basden (born February 15, 1983) is an American professional basketball player who formerly played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). College career Basden, born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, played competitive basketball ...

* August 15, 2005: Resigned G Chris Duhon * August 26, 2005: Resigned F Othella Harrington * September 1, 2005: Resigned C Tyson Chandler * September 2, 2005: Signed F Malik Allen * September 23, 2005: Signed F Darius Songaila * October 3, 2005: Resigned G

Jannero Pargo Jannero Pargo (born October 22, 1979) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Neosho Co ...

* October 4, 2005: Traded C Eddy Curry and F Antonio Davis 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 New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

for F

Mike Sweetney Michael Damien Sweetney (born October 25, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. He is now the assistant coach of the Yeshiva University Men's basketball team and head coach of the girls varsity basketball team at New York's R ...

, F Tim Thomas, G Jermaine Jackson, a conditional first round draft pick and two second round draft picks * October 18, 2005: Waived G Jermaine Jackson * January 5, 2006: Signed F

Randy Holcomb Randy Alfred Holcomb Jr. (born August 8, 1979), also known as Raed Farid Elhamali, is an American-Libyan businessman and former professional basketball player. After being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2002 NBA draft, Holcomb went on ...

to a 10-day contract * January 17, 2006: Signed G

Stephen Graham Stephen Joseph Graham (born 3 August 1973) is a British actor. He is best known for playing Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne in the film ''This Is England'' (2006) and its television sequels ''This Is England '86'' (2010), '' This Is England '88'' ( ...

to a 10-day contract * January 27, 2006: Signed F James Thomas to a 10-day contract * March 1, 2006: Waived F Tim Thomas * March 5, 2006: Signed C

Luke Schenscher Luke Dean Schenscher (born 31 December 1982) is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played four years of college basketball for Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball, Georgia Tech before having stints in the National B ...

to a 10-day contract * March 15, 2006: Signed C

to a 10-day contract * March 22, 2006: Signed G

Randy Livingston Randy Livingston (born April 2, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player and current coach. He played parts of eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for nine different teams. The national high school player ...

to a 10-day contract * March 25, 2006: Signed C

for the season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2005-06 Chicago Bulls Season Chicago Bulls seasons Chicago Chicago Chicago