1967–68 Chicago Bulls season explained

The 1967–68 Chicago Bulls season was the second season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Draft picks

See main article: article and 1967 NBA draft. Note: This is not an extensive list; it only covers the first and second rounds, and any other players drafted by the franchise that played at least one NBA game.

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationality School/Club Team
13Clem HaskinsGWestern Kentucky
215Byron BeckF/CDenver
434Jim BurnsGNorthwestern

Regular season

After that promising beginning the Bulls fell apart. During the 1967-68 NBA season the club traded Guy Rodgers, the steadiest player on the squad, to the Cincinnati Royals for Flynn Robinson and two future draft choices. Chicago lost its first nine games, slumping to 1–15 before climbing back to respectability. The Bulls went 28–38 the rest of the way but still finished 29–53.

Even that record was better than those of the new expansion teams in Seattle and San Diego, so the Bulls still snuck into the playoffs, where they were drubbed by the Lakers in the division semifinals. Bob Boozer, a 6–8 forward who had the most productive seasons of his 11-year career while playing for Chicago, led the team in scoring with 21.5 points per game, and Jim Washington topped the club in rebounding with 10.1 boards per contest.

When Jerry Colangelo left the Bulls' front office to run the Phoenix Suns expansion franchise, he took Kerr along as coach. Kerr's replacement for the 1968–69 season was Dick Motta, who had won three Big Sky Conference championships at Weber State. Motta was an unlikely choice, but he proved to be a fortuitous one. In the early 1970s he molded Chicago into a tough, defensive-minded squad that was always ready to challenge the opposition, even if it couldn't match up in talent.

Chicago owned the fourth overall pick in the 1968 NBA draft and selected 7-foot, 265-pound center Tom Boerwinkle of Tennessee. Boerwinkle would spend his entire 10-year career with Chicago and wind up as the Bulls' all-time leading rebounder with 5,745 career boards.

Record vs. opponents

1967-68 NBA Records
width=100TeamBALBOSCHICINDETLALNYKPHISDRSFWSEASTL
3–5 2–5 5–3 4–4 3–4 3–5 0–8 7–0 2–5 5–2 2–5
5–3 5–2 3–5 6–2 4–3 6–2 4–4 7–0 4–3 6–1 4–3
Chicago 5–2 2–5 5–2 3–4 1–7 2–5 1–6 4–4 2–6 3–5 1–7
3–5 5–3 2–5 4–4 1–6 3–5 3–5 7–0 4–3 6–1 1–6
4–4 2–6 4–3 4–4 2–5 4–4 1–7 5–2 4–3 6–1 4–3
4–3 3–4 7–1 6–1 5–2 4–3 2–5 7–1 4–4 4–4 6–2
5–3 2–6 5–2 5–3 4–4 3–4 3–5 6–1 5–2 4–3 1–6
8–0 4–4 6–1 5–3 7–1 5–2 5–3 6–1 4–3 7–0 5–2
0–7 0–7 4–4 0–7 2–5 1–7 1–6 1–6 2–6 3–5 1–7
5–2 3–4 6–2 3–4 3–4 4–4 2–5 3–4 6–2 7–1 1–7
2–5 1–6 5–3 1–6 1–6 4–4 3–4 0–7 5–3 1–7 0–8
5–2 3–4 7–1 6–1 3–4 2–6 6–1 2–5 7–1 7–1 8–0

Game log

1967–68 game log
Date Opponent Score High points Record
1 October 14 90–105 Jim Washington (24) 0–1
2 October 17 107–105 Bob Boozer (36) 0–2
3 October 19 116–106 Jerry Sloan (26) 0–3
4 October 20 126–99 Bob Boozer (19) 0–4
5 October 21 107–109 Haskins, Mueller (21) 0–5
6 October 25 99–107 Bob Boozer (26) 0–6
7 October 27 @ Los Angeles 117–125 Bob Boozer (42) 0–7
8 October 29 @ San Francisco 105–125 Keith Erickson (22) 0–8
9 October 31 104–114 Barry Clemens (29) 0–9
10 November 2 N Seattle 105–119 Bob Boozer (29) 1–9
11 November 7 St. Louis 111–106 Bob Boozer (25) 1–10
12 November 9 Boston 107–93 Boozer, Sloan (24) 1–11
13 November 12 @ Los Angeles 96–97 Barry Clemens (22) 1–12
14 November 15 @ Los Angeles 115–124 Flynn Robinson (34) 1–13
15 November 16 91–99 McCoy McLemore (23) 1–14
16 November 17 @ San Francisco 109–111 Bob Boozer (24) 1–15
17 November 18 Detroit 130–132 McCoy McLemore (28) 2–15
18 November 21 123–125 (2OT) McCoy McLemore (32) 2–16
19 November 22 105–100 Jerry Sloan (35) 3–16
20 November 23 N New York 96–106 Keith Erickson (33) 4–16
21 November 24 122–104 Flynn Robinson (17) 4–17
22 November 25 @ Philadelphia 119–114 Bob Boozer (28) 5–17
23 November 28 Seattle 111–108 Flynn Robinson (25) 5–18
24 December 1 New York 100–102 Bob Boozer (25) 6–18
25 December 2 @ Cincinnati 126–110 McCoy McLemore (26) 7–18
26 December 5 N Cincinnati 104–105 Bob Boozer (21) 8–18
27 December 6 @ Detroit 121–135 Bob Boozer (30) 8–19
28 December 7 San Diego 118–108 Bob Boozer (23) 8–20
29 December 8 @ Seattle 115–114 Jim Washington (24) 9–20
30 December 9 @ San Francisco 112–119 Barry Clemens (25) 9–21
31 December 12 @ San Diego 104–118 Keith Erickson (24) 9–22
32 December 13 @ San Francisco 109–104 Jerry Sloan (35) 10–22
33 December 14 @ Los Angeles 106–101 Bob Boozer (26) 11–22
34 December 15 Seattle 122–115 Barry Clemens (25) 11–23
35 December 16 Philadelphia 143–123 Bob Boozer (27) 11–24
36 December 21 Baltimore 116–108 Keith Erickson (34) 11–25
37 December 22 @ Baltimore 112–117 McCoy McLemore (28) 11–26
38 December 26 Los Angeles 104–101 McCoy McLemore (26) 11–27
39 December 29 San Francisco 100–107 Bob Boozer (24) 12–27
40 January 1 Baltimore 103–109 Flynn Robinson (34) 13–27
41 January 2 Boston 84–95 Bob Boozer (21) 14–27
42 January 3 @ Baltimore 113–94 Bob Boozer (24) 15–27
43 January 5 N New York 121–99 Erickson, Washington (23) 15–28
44 January 6 @ Cincinnati 114–109 Bob Boozer (24) 16–28
45 January 9 N St. Louis 121–109 Bob Boozer (23) 16–29
46 January 13 Baltimore 106–110 Bob Boozer (32) 17–29
47 January 14 @ St. Louis 92–99 Flynn Robinson (21) 17–30
48 January 16 San Diego 110–123 Flynn Robinson (35) 18–30
49 January 17 N San Diego 110–104 Keith Erickson (20) 18–31
50 January 20 Philadelphia 135–111 Bob Boozer (27) 18–32
51 January 21 @ St. Louis 90–98 Boozer, Erickson (21) 18–33
52 January 25 New York 126–118 Flynn Robinson (35) 18–34
53 January 30 San Francisco 123–119 Keith Erickson (25) 18–35
54 January 31 @ Boston 109–118 Flynn Robinson (24) 18–36
55 February 1 N New York 112–103 Bob Boozer (28) 18–37
56 February 2 Cincinnati 125–113 Flynn Robinson (34) 18–38
57 February 6 San Francisco 126–124 (OT) Jerry Sloan (33) 18–39
58 February 8 Detroit 110–131 Jim Washington (22) 19–39
59 February 9 @ Philadelphia 113–118 Bob Boozer (24) 19–40
60 February 10 @ St. Louis 107–108 Flynn Robinson (23) 19–41
61 February 12 N Cincinnati 104–112 (OT) Boozer, Washington (19) 20–41
62 February 13 San Diego 102–114 Clem Haskins (28) 21–41
63 February 15 N Los Angeles 132–105 Flynn Robinson (32) 21–42
64 February 16 Boston 124–108 McCoy McLemore (20) 21–43
65 February 18 @ St. Louis 113–107 McLemore, Washington (24) 22–43
66 February 20 N Detroit 121–124 (OT) Bob Boozer (35) 23–43
67 February 21 N Seattle 106–108 Bob Boozer (26) 24–43
68 February 24 @ New York 101–109 Flynn Robinson (25) 24–44
69 February 29 N Los Angeles 117–107 Bob Boozer (26) 24–45
70 March 1 @ Boston 87–94 Boozer, Clemens (17) 24–46
71 March 3 @ Detroit 123–134 McCoy McLemore (23) 24–47
72 March 5 Detroit 121–119 Bob Boozer (30) 24–48
73 March 7 Boston 112–118 Bob Boozer (26) 25–48
74 March 9 St. Louis 115–109 Flynn Robinson (34) 25–49
75 March 11 Cincinnati 98–104 Boozer, Robinson (19) 26–49
76 March 12 N Philadelphia 139–115 Jim Washington (29) 26–50
77 March 13 @ Baltimore 100–96 Clem Haskins (22) 27–50
78 March 15 Seattle 113–101 Flynn Robinson (21) 27–51
79 March 16 Philadelphia 144–122 McCoy McLemore (26) 27–52
80 March 17 @ San Diego 129–121 Jim Barnes (27) 28–52
81 March 19 N Seattle 104–122 Clem Haskins (18) 28–53
82 March 20 @ San Diego 121–112 Flynn Robinson (29) 29–53

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 1| March 24| @ Los Angeles| L 101–109| Bob Boozer (27)| Jim Washington (11)| Keith Erickson (5)| The Forum
7,352| 0–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 2| March 25| @ Los Angeles| L 106–111| Flynn Robinson (32)| Jim Washington (13)| Bob Boozer (4)| The Forum
8,158| 0–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 3| March 27| Los Angeles| W 104–98| Flynn Robinson (41)| Jim Washington (17)| Flynn Robinson (4)| Chicago Stadium
3,456| 1–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 4| March 29| Los Angeles| L 87–93| Keith Erickson (20)| Jim Washington (19)| Erickson, Sloan (2)| Chicago Stadium
5,678| 1–3|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 5| March 31| @ Los Angeles| L 99–122| Jim Washington (24)| Jim Washington (15)| three players tied (4)| The Forum
12,108| 1–4|-

Awards and records

Bob Boozer, NBA All-Star Game