Chicago Bulls vs Utah Jazz
The 2010–11 Bulls, led by youngest MVP Derrick Rose, posted a league-best 62–20 record and reached the Eastern Conference finals.
The 2010–11 Chicago Bulls season was the 45th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Led by 22-year old guard Derrick Rose, the Bulls finished the season with a 62–20 record, the best in the league and first-place in the Central Division. They advanced to the Eastern Conference finals where they were eliminated by the Miami Heat team led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in 5 games.
- Era of Peak Intensity
- 1997–1998 NBA Finals
- Key Bulls Figures
- Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman
- Key Jazz Figures
- Karl Malone, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan
- Finals Series Outcome
- Bulls won both 4-2 (1997) and 4-2 (1998)
- Defining Game Moment
- 'The Last Shot' (Game 6, 1998 Finals)
Lore & Background
The Bulls won their 8th division title this season and finished with the best record in the NBA, but fell short to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. It is the first time since 1975 that the Bulls failed to follow up a division title with an NBA title (that year, the Bulls were in the Midwest Division). To date, this playoff run is the deepest that the Bulls have advanced in the post-Michael Jordan era, and it is the only season since 1998 where they reached the conference finals.
In Their Own Story
The Delta Center didn't just buzz; it vibrated with a primal, deafening roar that seemed to shake the court beneath the players' feet. Karl Malone set a screen so violent it sounded like a freight train derailing, forcing defenders to choose between breaking ankles or taking a collision. John Stockton tried to slip a pass into the post, but Dennis Rodman's desperate lunge deflected it into chaos. Ten seconds remaining. Michael Jordan didn't just dribble; he orchestrated the silence in his own mind amidst the bedlam, crossing over with a rhythmic precision that defied the clock. He drove left, pulled up at the elbow, and released the ball just as the buzzer screamed. The orange sphere hung against the rafters for an eternal second before swishing through the net, instantly flipping the atmosphere from a hostile fortress to stunned silence, cementing a legacy that would never be duplicated.
Reader's Guide
In the playoffs, the Bulls defeated the Indiana Pacers in five games in the First Round, defeated the Atlanta Hawks in six games in the semifinals, before losing to the Miami Heat in five games in the conference finals. The Heat would eventually lose 4–2 to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, who won their first championship title.
Did You Know?
- Derrick Rose won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, becoming the youngest NBA player ever to win the award, at the age of 22.
- On March 12 the Bulls set a franchise record 18 converted 3-point shots in a game against the Utah Jazz.
- After defeating the New York Knicks on April 12, 2011, the Bulls became the only team of the 2010–2011 season to defeat all 29 other teams at least once.
- The 62 wins by the Bulls is the most since the 97–98 season.
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