It did not end in an NBA title, but the 2010-11 NBA season for the Chicago Bulls was the first season since the Michael Jordan era where the team truly felt like a championship contender. Behind the superb play of Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah, the Bulls finished with the league’s best overall record in the regular season at 62-20 and set the stage for even greater things in 2011-12.

Derrick Rose has kept Bulls’ fans interested…and hopeful.
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Before the new season gets underway, here is a look back at the top five moments for the Chicago Bulls and their fans from last season:

1. Derrick Rose named NBA MVP:

Rose cemented his status as the franchise’s first worthy successor to Jordan by claiming NBA Most Valuable Player honors for the first time in his career. There is no doubt Rose deserved it. He posted career-highs in several statistical categories. Rose averaged 25.0 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds for Chicago. He is the youngest player in NBA history to win NBA MVP honors.

2. Bulls reach Eastern Conference Finals:

It had been a long time since Chicago had made a deep postseason run. For the first time since 1998, the Bulls made it back to the Eastern Conference finals. Chicago defeated Indiana and Atlanta in the first two rounds before falling to the Miami Heat in five games in the conference finals.

3. Joakim Noah builds on breakout season:

Noah missed 31 games during the course of the season because of surgery on his right thumb and played in only 48 games total. It did not matter. The Bulls center looked every bit worth his contract extension for five years and $60 million. Noah was a defensive force in the middle and posted 11.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocked shots and 1.0 steals per game.

4. Chicago reaches 60 victories:

Last April, the Bulls gave fans one more reason to believe when they crossed the 60 win plateau with just two games remaining in the regular season following a 102-99 victory over the Orlando Magic. Rose had a superhuman performance, scoring 39 points to help Chicago get to 60 victories for the first time since the Jordan era.

5. Bulls set new franchise record for 3-pointers:

Chicago made a habit of breaking the hearts of Utah Jazz fans in the late 90s en route to winning NBA titles. The Jazz were victims of the Bulls again last March. Chicago made a franchise record 18 3-pointers to beat Utah 118-100. Ironically, ex-Jazz guard Kyle Korver was one of the Utah killers. He knocked down three shots from the perimeter and finished with 17 points. Rose led the way, going 5-of-11 from the perimeter and finishing with 26 points.

When he is not working as a freelance sports reporter, John Coon never misses a chance to catch the Chicago Bulls in action. His passion for the Bulls began at seven years old when he first saw Michael Jordan play.

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