The 1999–2000 Chicago Bulls season was the 34th season for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association.
Season summary
Off-season The Bulls won the NBA draft lottery, and selected power forward Elton Brand out of Duke University with the first overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft; the team also selected small forward Ron Artest out of St. John's University with the 16th overall pick. During the off-season, the team acquired Hersey Hawkins from the Seattle SuperSonics, acquired Australian center Chris Anstey from the Dallas Mavericks, signed free agent Fred Hoiberg, and re-signed former Bulls guard B. J. Armstrong, and former Bulls center Will Perdue, who both won three NBA championships from the team's first three-peat in the early 1990s.
Regular season Despite the addition of Brand, Artest and Hawkins, the Bulls continued to struggle as the team lost 26 of their first 28 games of the regular season, posting 10 and 11-game losing streaks respectively. As the season progressed, the team signed free agent Chris Carr, who was previously released by the Golden State Warriors, and also signed three-point specialist Matt Maloney. The Bulls held a 10–37 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Toni Kukoč to the Philadelphia 76ers, and acquired John Starks from the Warriors in a three-team trade. However, after just four games with the Bulls, Starks was released to free agency. The Bulls finished in last place in the Central Division with a 17–65 record.
Brand averaged 20.1 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and was also named the co-NBA Rookie of the Year along with Steve Francis of the Houston Rockets. In addition, Artest averaged 12.0 points and 1.7 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while Carr contributed 9.8 points per game in 50 games, Hoiberg provided with 9.0 points and 1.3 steals per game, but only played just 31 games due to a knee injury, and Hawkins contributed 7.9 points per game. Meanwhile, Armstrong averaged 7.4 points and 2.9 assists per game, but only played just 27 games, Randy Brown provided with 6.4 points and 3.4 assists per game, and Maloney contributed 6.4 points per game. On the defensive side, Anstey averaged 6.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while Dickey Simpkins averaged 4.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, Perdue provided with 3.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, but only shot .351 in field-goal percentage, and rookie power forward, and second-round draft pick Michael Ruffin contributed 2.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California, Brand was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Rookies team. Brand scored 16 points along with 21 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, and was named the Rookie Challenge Game's Most Valuable Player, as the Rookies defeated the Sophomores team in overtime, 92–83. Despite a stellar rookie season, Artest was not selected for the Rookie Challenge Game.
The Bulls led the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 907,064 at the United Center during the regular season.
Aftermath Following the season, Hawkins re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Charlotte Hornets, while Brown signed with the Boston Celtics, Maloney signed with the Atlanta Hawks, and Carr, Armstrong, Simpkins, Anstey and Perdue were all released to free agency.
Offseason
Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 1 Elton Brand PF Duke 1 16 Ron Artest SF/SG St. John's 2 32 Michael Ruffin PF Tulsa 2 49 Lari Ketner C Massachusetts
Roster
Roster notes Point guard Khalid Reeves was waived on January 4, 2000. Shooting guard John Starks was waived on March 21, 2000.
Regular season
Season standings
Player statistics
Regular season PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG 81 80 37.0 .482 .000 .685 10.0 1.9 0.8 1.6 20.1 24 23 36.2 .381 .231 .761 5.4 5.2 1.8 0.8 18.0 72 62 31.1 .407 .314 .674 4.3 2.8 1.7 0.5 12.0 50 2 21.8 .400 .333 .858 3.2 1.6 0.6 0.3 9.8 4 1 32.3 .349 .143 .714 3.5 2.7 1.3 0.1 9.3 31 11 27.3 .387 .340 .908 3.5 2.7 1.3 0.1 9.0 61 49 26.6 .424 .390 .899 2.9 2.2 1.2 0.2 7.9 48 10 18.0 .414 .340 .598 1.8 1.1 0.6 0.5 7.7 25 1 20.3 .341 .296 .765 2.0 2.6 0.9 0.1 7.6 4 0 20.5 .324 .300 1.000 2.5 2.8 1.3 0.3 7.5 27 18 21.6 .446 .448 .880 1.7 2.9 0.3 0.0 7.4Kornél Dávid26517.0.426.000.8082.80.60.50.16.5Randy Brown595527.5.361.500.7382.43.41.00.36.4Matt Maloney511223.0.358.356.8221.32.70.60.16.4Chris Anstey731113.8.442.167.7893.80.90.40.36.0Dickey Simpkins694823.9.405.000.5425.41.40.30.34.2Khalid Reeves3016.0.250.0001.0001.34.30.70.03.7 67 15 15.1 .351 .000 .476 3.9 1.0 0.2 0.6 3.5Michael Ruffin71613.7.420.000.4893.50.60.40.42.2Lari Kenter606.8.400.0001.0001.20.20.20.21.7
Player statistics citation:
Awards and records Elton Brand, NBA Rookie of the Year Award (shared with Steve Francis) Elton Brand, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team Ron Artest, NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team
Transactions
Free agents AdditionsPlayerDate signedFormer teamRon ArtestJuly 15St. John's (16th pick)Elton BrandJuly 26Duke (1st overall pick)Michael RuffinAugust 24Tulsa (32nd overall pick)Will PerdueAugust 25San Antonio SpursCory CarrTexas Tech (selected 49th in 1998)Brett Robisch unknownLari KetnerMassachusetts Amherst (49th overall pick)
Player Transactions Citation:
References
External links