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 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

, in six games in the First Round. On December 9, 2005, the Bulls' retired

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 ...

'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, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

, Horace Grant,

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...

Craig Hodges Craig Anthony Hodges (born June 27, 1960)
''basketball-reference.com''. Retrieved March 19, 2011 is an ...

, Randy Brown, Toni Kukoc, his former assistant coach Johnny Bach, and former Bulls head coach

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson is a 13-time NBA champion, having won two as a player and 11 as ...

Offseason

The Bulls did not have any picks in the 2005 draft. The core of the team remained based around Ben Gordon,

Luol Deng Luol Ajou Deng (born 16 April 1985) is a South Sudanese–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 South Sudan that was then part of Republ ...

, 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 Darius Songaila (born February 14, 1978) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as an assistant coach for Manisa Basket of Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He has represented the Lithuania national team. He play ...

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 ...

(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 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 ...

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. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

. The Bulls also traded their once first-round draft pick

Eddy Curry Eddy Anthony Curry Jr. (born December 5, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Coming directly out of Thornwood High School in South Holland, Illinois, Curry was selected fourth overall in the 2001 NBA draft by the Chicag ...

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

, 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 Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

L 106–111
, Ben Gordon (35) ,

Andrés Nocioni Andrés Marcelo Nocioni (born 30 November 1979) is an Argentine former 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. Noci ...

(16) , Kirk Hinrich (8) ,

American Airlines Arena Kaseya Center is a multi-purpose arena on Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida. The arena is home to the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. The arena was previously named American Airlines Arena from opening in 1999 until 2021, FTX ...

20,288 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 24 , @

L 108–115
,

(30) ,

Tyson Chandler Tyson Cleotis Chandler (born October 2, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Chandler was drafted directly out of high school as the second overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, then wa ...

(9) , Kirk Hinrich (7) ,

20,214 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , April 27 ,

W 109–90
, Ben Gordon (24) ,

(9) , Kirk Hinrich (11) ,

United Center The United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

22,133 , 1–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , April 30 ,

W 93–87
,

(24) ,

(7) , Kirk Hinrich (9) ,

22,361 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 2 , @

L 78–92
,

(23) ,

(10) , Kirk Hinrich (5) ,

20,287 , 2–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 6 , May 4 ,

L 96–113
, Kirk Hinrich (23) ,

(6) , Kirk Hinrich (6) ,

22,584 , 2–4 , -

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

* August 8, 2005: Signed G Eddie Basden * August 15, 2005: Resigned G Chris Duhon * August 26, 2005: Resigned F Othella Harrington * September 1, 2005: Resigned C

* September 2, 2005: Signed F Malik Allen * September 23, 2005: Signed F

* October 3, 2005: Resigned G Jannero Pargo * October 4, 2005: Traded C

and F

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 ...

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 ...

for F Mike Sweetney, F Tim Thomas, G

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun (né Jackson; born December 11, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist. He is known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the ...

, a conditional first round draft pick and two second round draft picks * October 18, 2005: Waived G

* January 5, 2006: Signed F Randy Holcomb to a 10-day contract * January 17, 2006: Signed G

Stephen Graham Stephen Graham (born 3 August 1973) is an English actor and film producer. He began his career in 1990, with early notable roles in '' Snatch'' (2000) and ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), before his breakthrough role as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne ...

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 to a 10-day contract * March 15, 2006: Signed C Luke Schenscher to a 10-day contract * March 22, 2006: Signed G Randy Livingston to a 10-day contract * March 25, 2006: Signed C Luke Schenscher for the season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2005-06 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 ...

2005 in Chicago 2006 in Chicago