Bulls–Cavaliers rivalry
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The Bulls–Cavaliers rivalry is a
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
(NBA)
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...
. The teams have played each other since the Cavaliers joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970, but the rivalry didn't begin in earnest until the Bulls drafted Michael Jordan with the third overall pick in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
. After Jordan would go on to the
Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...
and eventually retire, the rivalry died down, but when Cleveland picked
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...
with the first selection in 2003, the rivalry heated up again.


The Michael Jordan era

Chicago had the third selection in the 1984 NBA Draft, and selected Michael Jordan out of
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
. Jordan won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1985 and led the Bulls to a record and the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. As for Cleveland, they had a record, just a single seed under Chicago with the eighth seed. The Cavaliers wouldn't play the Bulls in 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 eit ...
until
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
, which the Bulls would win, 3–2.


The Shot

Back when the first round was best-of-5 instead of best-of-7, it was game 5 of the First Round in 1989, on May 7, Jordan hit what is known today as "
The Shot The Shot was a basketball play that occurred during a 1989 playoff game between the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It took place on May 7, 1989 at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield Township, ...
" even with Cleveland sweeping Chicago in the season, it wasn't enough to get by Jordan's shot to win and play the
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 ...
the next round.
Craig Ehlo Joel Craig Ehlo (; born August 11, 1961) is a retired American basketball player. He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with four teams, amassing career totals of 7,492 points, 2,456 assists and 3,139 rebounds. ...
was the player Jordan shot over to win the game. The Cavaliers wouldn't play the Bulls in the playoffs until 1992, which Chicago would win yet again 4–2. The Shot is remembered by Cleveland fans as part of the
Cleveland sports curse The Cleveland sports curse was a sports superstition involving the city of Cleveland, Ohio, and its major league professional sports teams, centered on the failure to win a championship in any major league sport for 52 years, from 1964 to 2016. T ...
, along with
The Drive The Drive was an offensive series in the fourth quarter of the 1986 AFC Championship Game played on January 11, 1987, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium between the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns. Broncos quarterback John Elway, in a span of 5 ...
,
The Fumble ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
and
Red Right 88 Red Right 88 was a passing play called by the Cleveland Browns during the January 4, 1981 American Football Conference divisional playoff game against the Oakland Raiders; in the years since, the term has been used to refer to the game itself an ...
. The Bulls would win six
NBA championships The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is aw ...
with Jordan and his partner
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 the ...
, and 3 of those championships with
Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best reboundin ...
.


The LeBron James era

The Cleveland Cavaliers were dominated by the Bulls in the rivalry, even with likes of
Mark Price William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers. As a player, he played for 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from ...
, Steve Kerr,
Ron Harper Ronald Harper (born January 20, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1986 and 2001 and is a five-time NBA champion. Early life Harper was born ...
and others playing the franchise, Jordan was too much to handle and adding
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 the ...
made it even more difficult on the Cavaliers, but Jordan would eventually retire and Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets. Cleveland would have the first 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 ...
and used that selection to pick
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...
. The Cavaliers would take over the rivalry with LeBron, Chicago would pick a hometown player with the first pick as well in Derrick Rose. However, Rose had an injury in the playoffs against Philadelphia that would destroy Rose's promising career that won him the MVP in 2011. Both teams met up in the first round in 2010, and Cleveland won their first ever series against Chicago, 4–1. They would play again in 2015 which Cleveland won again, 4–2.


Bulls' resurgence

In the summer of 2010, Cavaliers superstar LeBron James became a free agent, and announced on
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
that he would
join Join may refer to: * Join (law), to include additional counts or additional defendants on an indictment *In mathematics: ** Join (mathematics), a least upper bound of sets orders in lattice theory ** Join (topology), an operation combining two top ...
the
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...
, to join
Chris Bosh Christopher Wesson Bosh (born March 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. A Texas Mr. Basketball in high school, he played one season of college basketball for Georgia Tech before declaring for the 2003 NBA draft. Bo ...
and Dwyane Wade. Cleveland's first season without James was an awful year, finishing with a record of . Meanwhile, the Bulls finished and earned the first seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs; Derrick Rose would win the
NBA MVP The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. Starting with the 2022–23 ...
. However, the Bulls lost in the Eastern Conference finals against the
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...
, who would lose in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Cleveland would draft
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
point guard
Kyrie Irving Kyrie Andrew Irving (; lkt, Ȟéla, italic=no, ; born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named the Rookie of the Year after being selected ...
with the first pick and
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
center
Tristan Thompson Tristan Trevor James Thompson (born March 13, 1991) is a Canadian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the 2016 NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavali ...
with the fourth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Irving would win the Rookie of the Year Award. However, the Cavaliers' best season without James was when they finished in 2013-14.


Return of LeBron James, 2015 semifinals rematch

On July 11, 2014, James announced his return to Cleveland in a letter published to ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
''. The Cavaliers would select
Andrew Wiggins Andrew Christian Wiggins (born February 23, 1995) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the List of first overall NBA draft picks, first ov ...
in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
first overall, who they would trade along with Anthony Bennett to the
Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
in exchange for
Kevin Love Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time NBA All-Star Game, All-Star, a two-time member of the All-NBA ...
. Both the Bulls and Cavaliers would qualify to play in 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 eit ...
. The Cavaliers earned the Eastern Conference's second seed, and the Bulls earned the third seed. The teams would play each other in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Chicago won game 1 with Derrick Rose scoring 25 points. Cleveland won game 2 with James scoring 33 points. Chicago won game 3, as Derrick Rose made a shot as time expired. Cleveland won game 4, as James also made a shot as time expired. The Cavaliers would also win games 5 and 6 to eliminate the Bulls, and advanced to play in the
2015 NBA Finals The 2015 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2014–15 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeated the Eastern Confe ...
, where they would lose to the Golden State Warriors in 6 games. The Cavaliers played Golden State in the NBA Finals again the next year and came back from a 3–1 series deficit to end the 52-year championship drought in Cleveland.


LeBron leaves again, both teams start rebuilds

During the
2017 NBA Draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...
the Bulls traded all-star
Jimmy Butler Jimmy Butler III (born September 14, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Jimmy Buckets", he is a six-time NBA All-Star, a four-time All-NBA Team honore ...
to the
Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
in exchange for the 7th overall pick (used to pick
Lauri Markkanen Lauri Elias Markkanen (born 22 May 1997) is a Finnish professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the 2017 NBA draft, he was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the seventh overall pick b ...
),
Zach LaVine Zachary Thomas LaVine ( ; born March 10, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft with the 13th overall pick ...
and
Kris Dunn Kristofer Michael Dunn (born March 18, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League. He played four seasons of college basketball for the Providence Friars before being drafted with the fifth ...
to start a rebuild for the Bulls. Meanwhile for Cleveland they traded superstar
Kyrie Irving Kyrie Andrew Irving (; lkt, Ȟéla, italic=no, ; born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named the Rookie of the Year after being selected ...
(upon request) to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas,
Jae Crowder Corey Jae Crowder (born July 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Not being heavily recruited out of high school, Crowder committed to South Georgia Technical ...
,
Ante Žižić Ante Toni Žižić (; born 4 January 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the Euroleague. He was selected 23rd overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft ...
and the
Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...
first round draft pick, later used for Alabama star Collin Sexton. Towards the beginning of the season there was rumors of LeBron possibly leaving Cleveland again in free agency. The Cavaliers finished with a record of 50–32 and earned the 4th seed. Meanwhile for Chicago they finished with 27–55. The Cavaliers beat the fifth seeded Pacers, first seeded Raptors, and second seeded
Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
to make their fourth straight finals appearance. However they would fall to Golden State lead by Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry again, this time getting swept. The 2018 NBA draft came with possible big NBA stars, and Chicago took
Wendell Carter Jr. Wendell Andre Carter Jr. (born April 16, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. High school career Carter a ...
with their 7th pick, and Cleveland took Collin Sexton straight afterwards with the 8th pick. The LeBron rumors for Cleveland would turn out to be true, as he signed a 4-year $154 million deal with the Lakers. Both Cleveland and Chicago entered the rebuilding stages. On January 3, 2023, the Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell scored 71 points against the Bulls for the highest scoring performance since Kobe Bryant's 81-point game. However, Mitchell was found to have committed an uncalled foul in the last play of regulation


Results

Note: All game scores are listed with the visiting score first


Summary


Players

The following players have played for both the Bulls and Cavaliers: *
Kay Felder Kahlil Ameer "Kay" Felder Jr. (born March 29, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Felder, a point guard, declared for the 2016 NBA draft at the conclusion of his ...
*
Carlos Boozer Carlos Austin Boozer Jr. (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. The two-time NBA All-Star played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers, and then spent his last seas ...
* Derrick Rose * Dwyane Wade *
Shannon Brown Shannon Brown (born November 29, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He attended Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2003, and played college basketball for Michigan State ...
*
Kyle Korver Kyle Elliot Korver (born March 17, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who currently serves as the director of player affairs and development for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played col ...
*
Mike Dunleavy Jr. Michael Joseph Dunleavy Jr. (born September 15, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who is the vice president of basketball operations for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previo ...
*
Luol Deng Luol Ajou Deng (born 16 April 1985) is a British former professional basketball player. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Born in what is now South Sudan, Deng fled the country with his ...
* Drew Gooden * Steve Kerr * Ben Wallace *
Nate Thurmond Nathaniel Thurmond (July 25, 1941 – July 16, 2016) was an American basketball player who spent the majority of his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors franchise. He played the center and p ...
*
Donyell Marshall Donyell Lamar Marshall (born May 18, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He's currently an assistant coach for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. During his National Basketball Association (NBA) career, ...
* David Nwaba *
Lou Amundson Louis Gabriel Amundson ( born December 7, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for UNLV and 12 years professionally, including 10 seasons in the NBA. Early life and college Amundson was born i ...
*
Larry Hughes Larry Darnell Hughes Sr. (born January 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Hughes played for eight different teams during his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hughes attended Saint Louis Un ...
*
McCoy McLemore McCoy McLemore Jr. (April 3, 1942 – April 30, 2009) was an American professional basketball player in the 1960s and 1970s. He played college basketball for Drake University. Basketball career Early years Born in Houston, Texas, McLemo ...
*
Ron Harper Ronald Harper (born January 20, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1986 and 2001 and is a five-time NBA champion. Early life Harper was born ...
* James Edwards


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulls-Cavaliers rivalry National Basketball Association rivalries Chicago Bulls Cleveland Cavaliers Sports in the Midwestern United States