In their 58-year history, the Chicago Bulls have selected the following players in the National Basketball Association draft.
Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer | First Overall NBA Draft Pick | Selected for an NBA All-Star Game |
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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16, 1966, and played its first game during the 1966–67 NBA season. The Bulls play their home games at the United Center, an arena on Chicago's West Side.
John MacBeth Paxson is an American basketball administrator and former player who was vice president of basketball operations for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2009 to 2020. He was their general manager from 2003 to 2009. Paxson played eleven NBA seasons for the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls, winning three championships as a member of the Bulls. He was an All-American college player at the University of Notre Dame.
Benjamin Ashenafi Gordon is a British-American former professional basketball player. Gordon played for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and he played college basketball for the University of Connecticut, where he won a national championship in 2004.
James William Cartwright is an American former professional basketball player and a former head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 7'1" center, he played 16 seasons for the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics, helping the Bulls capture consecutive championships in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons. He attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, California, and played college basketball at the University of San Francisco.
Eddy Anthony Curry Jr. 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 Chicago Bulls. Curry played for the Bulls until 2005, then played for the New York Knicks from 2005 to 2010. Curry played for the Miami Heat in the 2011–12 season and was part of the Heat's 2012 championship team. Curry played for the Dallas Mavericks for the early part of the 2012–13 season before playing out the season for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association.
The 1986 NBA draft was held on June 17, 1986.
Kurt Vincent Thomas is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'9", 230 lb. power forward-center, Thomas was known for his hard-nosed playing style and tough defense during his eight year tenure with the New York Knicks. Having played college basketball at Texas Christian University, he was drafted by the Miami Heat in 1995 and went on to play parts of 18 seasons in the NBA.
The 1977 NBA draft was the 31st annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1977, before the 1977–78 season. In this draft, 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Milwaukee Bucks won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Kansas City Kings, who obtained the New York Nets first-round pick in a trade, were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. Before the draft, six college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule. These players had applied and gave evidence of financial hardship to the league, which granted them the right to start earning their living by starting their professional careers earlier. Four former American Basketball Association (ABA) franchises who joined the NBA when both leagues merged, the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, the New York Nets and the San Antonio Spurs, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time. Prior to the start of the season, the Nets relocated to New Jersey and became the New Jersey Nets. The draft consisted of 8 rounds comprising the selection of 170 players.
Joakim Simon Noah is a former professional basketball player. Born in New York, Noah was a member of the France national team and played college basketball for the Florida Gators, winning back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007. The Chicago Bulls selected Noah with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. Noah is a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the All-NBA First Team in 2014 when he also was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
The 1971 NBA draft was the 25th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 29 and 30, 1971, before the 1971–72 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Portland Trail Blazers were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Prior to the start of the season, the San Diego Rockets and the San Francisco Warriors relocated to Houston, Texas, and Oakland, California, and became the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors respectively. The draft consisted of 19 rounds comprising the selection of 237 players. The league also hosted a supplemental hardship draft on September 20, 1971, for college underclassmen who wished to join the league.
The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this draft, fourteen NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated.
Sidney Green is an American former professional basketball player and former coach. He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels and was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) by the Chicago Bulls in 1983. After a ten-year career in the NBA he went into college coaching. He now works as a Chicago Bulls team ambassador.
The 2007 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2007, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was broadcast on television in 115 countries. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players.
The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponsor of the 2011 NBA draft. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The Cleveland Cavaliers had the first pick due to a previous trade they had involving the Los Angeles Clippers, choosing point guard Kyrie Irving of Duke. Of the 60 players drafted, 7 were freshmen, 7 were sophomores, 14 were juniors, 19 were seniors, 12 were international players without U.S. college basketball experience, and 1 was a D-League player.
The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at Barclays Center, Brooklyn. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The draft lottery took place on May 7, 2014. The Cleveland Cavaliers won the draft lottery to earn the first overall pick in the draft; this is the fourth number-one pick for Cleveland since 2003 and third number-one pick over a four-year span from 2011 to 2014. This draft would also be the first for the reborn Charlotte Hornets, who played as the Bobcats from 2004 to 2014, since 2001, when the original Charlotte Hornets last selected as the Charlotte Hornets before moving to New Orleans and eventually becoming the current New Orleans Pelicans.
Noah Vonleh is an American professional basketball player for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers.
The 2014–15 Chicago Bulls season was the franchise's 49th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and fifth under head coach Tom Thibodeau. In the off-season, the Bulls let Carlos Boozer go and signed Pau Gasol. Chicago had its first 50-win season since the 2011–12 season with a record of 50–32. Seeded number three in the playoffs, the Bulls met the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round and defeated them, 4–2. However, Chicago's season ended with a 2–4 loss to the eventual Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference semifinals.
The 2015 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2015, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The draft lottery took place on May 19, 2015.
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 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing at the time COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, with the event held via videoconferencing. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. It was televised nationally on ESPN. The draft lottery was originally scheduled to take place on May 19, 2020, but due in part to the 2020 NBA Bubble, it was rescheduled to take place on August 20, 2020 instead. This was the first draft since 1975 to not be held in June and was also the second to be done later than that month after the inaugural 1947 draft, which was conducted in July by the NBA's predecessor, the Basketball Association of America (BAA). This draft also featured the lack of a proper "green room" due to pandemic restrictions. The first pick was made by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who selected Anthony Edwards out of Georgia.