1966–67 Chicago Bulls season

1966–67 Chicago Bulls season
Head coach Johnny "Red" Kerr
Arena International Amphitheatre
Results
Record 33–48 (.407)
Place Division: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish West Semifinals
(Eliminated 0-3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television WGN-TV
Radio WGN Radio
Chicago Bulls seasons
< 1965–66 1967–68 >

The 1966–67 Chicago Bulls season was the 1st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Contents:

Offseason

NBA Draft

Main article: 1966 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.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 10 Dave Schellhase G  United States Purdue
2 20 Erwin Mueller F/C  United States San Francisco

Roster

Chicago Bulls roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From
F 19 Boozer, Bob 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Kansas State
C 12 Bowman, Nate 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Wichita State*
F/C 17 Chappell, Len 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Wake Forest
F 16 Clemens, Barry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Ohio Wesleyan*
G/F 15 Erickson, Keith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) UCLA
F 9 Kojis, Don 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Marquette
F/C 18 McLemore, McCoy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Drake*
F/C 14 Mueller, Erwin 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) San Francisco
G 5 Rodgers, Guy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Wake Forest
G 8 Schellhase, Dave 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Purdue
G/F 4 Sloan, Jerry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Evansville
G 6 Ward, Gerry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Boston College
F/C 7 Washington, Jim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Villanova
C 17 Wilson, George 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Cincinnati
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

The brand-new Chicago Bulls franchise earned its first victory on October 15, 1966, with a 104-97 win over the St. Louis Hawks. The team's coach was Johnny "Red" Kerr, a former player with the Syracuse Nationals, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Baltimore Bullets. He is one of a select group of players to surpass the 10,000 mark in both rebounds and points, and he held the league record for consecutive games played with 844 until Randy Smith eclipsed his mark during the 1982-83 season.

Chicago's starting lineup on opening night included Len Chappell, Bob Boozer, Don Kojis, Jerry Sloan, and Guy Rodgers. In the team's victorious debut against St. Louis, Rodgers poured in a game-high 37 points. Three days later the Bulls ran their record to 2-0 by defeating the San Francisco Warriors, 119-116. Then, behind 34 points and 18 assists from Rodgers, Chicago upped its winning streak to three games with a 134-124 triumph over the defending Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Chicago finished with a 33-48 record, the best ever by an expansion team in its first year of play. The Bulls secured a playoff berth in the Western Division, but the Hawks eliminated them in the opening round. Kerr was named NBA Coach of the Year, and center Erwin Mueller made the NBA All-Rookie Team. Rodgers led the NBA in assists with 11.2 per game (including a club-record 24 against the New York Knicks on December 21) and also topped the team in scoring at 18.0 points per game. Rodgers and Sloan represented the new franchise in the 1967 NBA All-Star Game.

Standings

Western Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-San Francisco Warriors 44 37 .543 – 18–10 11–19 15–8 24–12
x-St. Louis Hawks 39 42 .481 5 18–11 12–21 9–10 21–15
x-Los Angeles Lakers 36 45 .444 8 21–18 12–20 3–7 14–22
x-Chicago Bulls 33 48 .407 11 17–19 9–17 7–12 17–19
Detroit Pistons 30 51 .370 14 12–18 9–19 9–14 14–22

Ref

See also

Baltimore • Boston • Cincinnati • New York • Philadelphia
Chicago • Detroit • Los Angeles • San Francisco • St. Louis
Founded in 1966 • Based in Chicago, Illinois
The Franchise
Arenas
Head Coaches
Kerr • Motta • Badger • Costello • Robertson • Sloan • Johnson • Thorn • Westhead • Loughery • Albeck • Collins • Jackson • Floyd • Berry • Cartwright • Myers • Skiles • Boylan • Del Negro • Thibodeau
D-League Affiliate
NBA Finals Appearances (6)
1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998
NBA Championships (6)
1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998
Retired Jerseys
4 • 10 • 23 • 33
Hall of Famers
Key Personnel
Owner: Jerry Reinsdorf • Vice President of Basketball Operations: John Paxson • General Manager: Gar Forman • Coach: Tom Thibodeau
Rivals
Culture & Lore
Media
TV
Radio
Franchise • History • Seasons
1960s 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69
1970s 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79
1980s 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89
1990s 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99
2000s 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09
2010s 2009–10 2010–11