The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association. The team was founded in 1966 and is generally regarded as one of the NBA's most successful franchises. They are currently playing their home games at the United Center. The team is well known for having one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history during the 1990s, winning six championships in 8 years with two three-peats. Those championship teams had players such as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc and Dennis Rodman, and Coach Phil Jackson. The Bulls won an NBA record 72 games during the 199596 NBA season and are the only team in NBA history to win 70 games in a single season. During the 1990s, the Bulls helped spread the popularity of the NBA around the world. The 1998 NBA Finals, the Bulls' most recent championship appearance, was the most watched championship series in NBA history. In the summer of 1984 the team's fortunes changed forever when it received the third pick of the NBA draft, after Houston and Portland. The Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon, the Blazers jumped on Sam Bowie, and the Bulls grabbed shooting guard Michael Jordan out of the University of North Carolina. The team, with new management in owner Jerry Reinsdorf and General Manager Jerry Krause, decided to rebuild around Jordan. Jordan set franchise records during his rookie campaign for scoring and steals, and led the Bulls back to the playoffs, for which he was rewarded with a berth on the All-NBA second team and NBA Rookie of the Year Award. In the following offseason, the team acquired point guard John Paxson and drafted power forward Charles Oakley. Along with Jordan and center Dave Corzine, they provided much of the Bulls' offense for the next two years. After suffering a broken foot early in the 198586 season, Jordan finished second on the team to Woolridge in scoring. Jordan returned for the playoffs, and took the 8th-place Bulls up against the 6715 Boston Celtics, led by Larry Bird. Though the Bulls were swept, Jordan recorded a playoff single-game record 63 points in Game 2, prompting Bird to call him 'God disguised as Michael Jordan.'
In 198990, Jordan led the league in scoring for the fourth straight season, and was joined on the all-star squad for the first time by Scottie Pippen. There was also a major change on the sidelines, where head Coach Doug Collins was replaced by assistant Phil Jackson. The Bulls also picked up rookie center Stacey King and rookie point guard B.J. Armstrong in the 1989 draft. With these additional pieces and the previous year's starting five, the Bulls again made it to the Conference Finals, and pushed the Pistons to seven games before being edged out for the third straight year by Detroit, who would go on to repeat as NBA champions. Chicago Bulls tickets continue to be in high demand due to the success of the franchise.
