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, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, Craig Hodges, Randy Brown, Toni Kukoc, his former assistant coach Johnny Bach, and former Bulls head coach Phil Jackson.
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 (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 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.[1] 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.
The Bulls did not have any draft picks in 2005.
| 2005-06 NBA Records | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| width=100 | Team | ATL | BOS | CHA | CHI | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GSW | HOU | IND | LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN | NJN | NOK | NYK | ORL | PHI | PHO | POR | SAC | SAS | SEA | TOR | UTA | WAS |
| Atlanta | — | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | |
| Boston | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | |
| Charlotte | 3–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | |
| Chicago | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | — | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | |
| Cleveland | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | |
| Dallas | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| Denver | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | |
| Detroit | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | |
| Golden State | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | — | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | |
| Houston | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | |
| Indiana | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | |
| L.A. Clippers | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | — | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| L.A. Lakers | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | |
| Memphis | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| Miami | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | |
| Milwaukee | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | |
| Minnesota | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | |
| New Jersey | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| New Orleans/Oklahoma City | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | |
| New York | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | — | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | |
| Orlando | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | |
| Philadelphia | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | |
| Phoenix | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| Portland | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | |
| Sacramento | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | |
| San Antonio | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | |
| Seattle | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| Toronto | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–2 | |
| Utah | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | |
| Washington | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | |
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 (16)| Kirk Hinrich (8)| American Airlines Arena
20,288| 0–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 2| April 24| @ Miami| L 108–115| Andrés Nocioni (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)| Andrés Nocioni (9)| Kirk Hinrich (11)| United Center
22,133| 1–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 4| April 30| Miami| W 93–87| Andrés Nocioni (24)| Andrés Nocioni (7)| Kirk Hinrich (9)| United Center
22,361| 2–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 5| May 2| @ Miami| L 78–92| Andrés Nocioni (23)| Andrés Nocioni (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|-
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82 | 43 | 27.3 | .461 | .391 | .843 | 6.1 | 1.4 | .5 | .6 | 13.0 | ||
| 81 | 81 | 36.5 | .418 | .370 | .815 | 3.6 | 6.3 | 1.2 | .3 | 15.9 | ||
| 80 | 47 | 31.0 | .422 | .435 | .787 | 2.7 | 3.0 | .9 | .1 | 16.9 | ||
| 79 | 50 | 26.8 | .565 | .000 | .503 | 9.0 | 1.0 | .5 | 1.3 | 5.3 | ||
| 78 | 56 | 33.4 | .463 | .269 | .750 | 6.6 | 1.9 | .9 | .6 | 14.3 | ||
| 74 | 38 | 29.1 | .400 | .360 | .818 | 3.0 | 5.0 | .9 | .0 | 8.7 | ||
| 72 | 23 | 11.4 | .495 | .626 | 2.1 | .5 | .1 | .2 | 4.8 | |||
| 66 | 44 | 18.5 | .450 | .652 | 5.3 | .9 | .3 | .8 | 8.1 | |||
| 62 | 7 | 21.4 | .481 | .400 | .817 | 4.0 | 1.4 | .6 | .3 | 9.2 | ||
| 57 | 0 | 11.3 | .373 | .379 | .810 | 1.1 | 1.6 | .4 | .0 | 4.8 | ||
| 54 | 20 | 13.0 | .490 | 1.000 | .605 | 2.6 | .4 | .3 | .3 | 4.9 | ||
| 29 | 1 | 7.9 | .393 | .273 | .400 | .8 | .4 | .2 | .0 | 2.0 | ||
| 20 | 0 | 7.5 | .615 | .308 | 1.5 | .4 | .1 | .2 | 1.8 | |||
| 19 | 0 | 7.4 | .405 | .143 | .800 | 1.5 | .4 | .5 | .1 | 2.1 | ||
| † | 7 | 0 | 3.7 | .500 | 1.1 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .9 | |||
| 5 | 0 | 4.4 | .000 | .8 | .2 | .2 | .0 | .0 | ||||
| 4 | 0 | 2.8 | 1.000 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .5 | ||||
| † | 3 | 0 | 10.7 | .375 | .167 | 1.3 | .7 | .0 | .3 | 4.3 | ||
| † | 3 | 0 | 6.7 | .200 | .250 | 1.000 | 1.0 | .3 | .0 | .0 | 1.7 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 6 | 40.8 | .406 | .366 | .676 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 21.0 | ||
| 6 | 6 | 39.0 | .415 | .346 | .857 | 3.3 | 7.7 | 1.3 | .3 | 20.5 | ||
| 6 | 6 | 38.3 | .560 | .476 | .857 | 8.8 | 1.5 | .8 | .3 | 22.3 | ||
| 6 | 6 | 20.0 | .412 | .789 | 5.5 | 1.2 | .5 | 1.0 | 7.2 | |||
| 6 | 6 | 19.3 | .467 | .000 | 3.0 | 1.2 | .3 | 1.0 | 4.7 | |||
| 6 | 0 | 30.0 | .429 | .200 | .571 | 4.8 | .5 | .8 | .7 | 10.2 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 21.8 | .360 | .438 | .833 | 2.7 | 2.2 | .3 | .0 | 5.0 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 17.3 | .667 | .300 | 4.5 | .5 | .3 | .3 | 1.8 | |||
| 6 | 0 | 4.7 | .500 | .400 | 1.000 | .8 | .2 | .0 | .2 | 1.7 | ||
| 5 | 0 | 3.8 | .417 | .600 | .800 | 1.2 | .6 | .0 | .0 | 3.4 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 5.7 | 1.000 | .750 | 2.3 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.3 | |||
| 3 | 0 | 5.0 | .000 | .7 | .0 | .3 | .0 | .0 |