2021–22 Chicago Bulls season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 2021–22 Chicago Bulls season was the 56th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After 5 straight non-winning record seasons, the Bulls looked to their off-season major acquisitions. They signed Lonzo Ball and traded for DeMar DeRozan. Highlights included DeRozan's back-to-back buzzer-beater game-winners, the first ever in NBA history, despite them happening on separate calendar years (The New Year's Eve Heave at Indianapolis and New Year's Day at DC). The Bulls had not made the playoffs since the 2016–17 season,[1] but on April 5, 2022, following the loss of the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Orlando Magic, the Bulls clinched a playoff berth, ending their five-year playoff drought. The sixth-seeded Bulls fell to the third-seeded (and defending NBA champion) Milwaukee Bucks in the first round in five games.[2] As of the 2025-26 NBA season, this is the most recent season that the Bulls made the playoffs.
| 2021–22 Chicago Bulls season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Billy Donovan |
| President | Michael Reinsdorf |
| General manager | Marc Eversley |
| Owner | Jerry Reinsdorf |
| Arena | United Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 46–36 (.561) |
| Place | Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 6th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | First round (lost to Bucks 1–4) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | NBC Sports Chicago |
| Radio | WLS WSCR |
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 38 | Ayo Dosunmu | PG |  United States |
Illinois |
The Bulls had a single pick in the draft from a second-round swap with the New Orleans Pelicans as part of the Nikola Mirotić trade in 2018.[3][4] They had traded their original first-round pick, which was top 4 protected, to the Orlando Magic in March 2021 as an exchange for Nikola Vučević.[5]
Standings
Division
| Central Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Milwaukee Bucks | 51 | 31 | .622 | – | 27–14 | 24–17 | 12–4 | 82 |
| x – Chicago Bulls | 46 | 36 | .561 | 5.0 | 27–14 | 19–22 | 10–6 | 82 |
| pi − Cleveland Cavaliers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 7.0 | 25–16 | 19–22 | 10–6 | 82 |
| Indiana Pacers | 25 | 57 | .305 | 26.0 | 16–25 | 9–32 | 2–14 | 82 |
| Detroit Pistons | 23 | 59 | .280 | 28.0 | 13–28 | 10–31 | 6–10 | 82 |
Conference
| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c – Miami Heat * | 53 | 29 | .646 | – | 82 |
| 2 | y – Boston Celtics * | 51 | 31 | .622 | 2.0 | 82 |
| 3 | y – Milwaukee Bucks * | 51 | 31 | .622 | 2.0 | 82 |
| 4 | x – Philadelphia 76ers | 51 | 31 | .622 | 2.0 | 82 |
| 5 | x – Toronto Raptors | 48 | 34 | .585 | 5.0 | 82 |
| 6 | x – Chicago Bulls | 46 | 36 | .561 | 7.0 | 82 |
| 7 | x − Brooklyn Nets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 9.0 | 82 |
| 8 | pi − Cleveland Cavaliers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 9.0 | 82 |
| 9 | x − Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 10.0 | 82 |
| 10 | pi − Charlotte Hornets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 10.0 | 82 |
| 11 | New York Knicks | 37 | 45 | .451 | 16.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Washington Wizards | 35 | 47 | .427 | 18.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Indiana Pacers | 25 | 57 | .305 | 28.0 | 82 |
| 14 | Detroit Pistons | 23 | 59 | .280 | 30.0 | 82 |
| 15 | Orlando Magic | 22 | 60 | .268 | 31.0 | 82 |
Notes
c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference; y – Clinched division title; x – Clinched playoff spot; pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot; * – Division leader
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Game log
Preseason
| 2021 preseason game log Total: 4–0 (home: 3–0; road: 1–0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 4–0 (home: 3–0; road: 1–0)
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| 2021–22 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
| 2021–22 game log Total: 46–36 (home: 27–14; road: 19–22) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 5–1 (home: 3–1; road: 2–0)
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November: 9–7 (home: 4–3; road: 5–4)
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December: 9–2 (home: 5–0; road: 4–2)
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January: 8–8 (home: 6–2; road: 2–6)
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February: 8–5 (home: 6–3; road: 2–2)
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March: 6–9 (home: 3–1; road: 3–8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
April: 1–4 (home: 0–4; road: 1–0)
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| 2021–22 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
| 2022 playoff game log Total: 1–4 (home: 0–2; road: 1–2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Round: 1–4 (home: 0–2; road: 1–2)
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| 2022 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
| Player | Pos. | GP | GS | MP | Reb. | Ast. | Stl. | Blk. | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lonzo Ball | PG | 35 | 35 | 1,212 | 190 | 178 | 64 | 31 | 455 |
| Jordan Bell≠ | C | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Bradley | C | 55 | 7 | 549 | 186 | 27 | 10 | 33 | 163 |
| Troy Brown Jr. | SF | 66 | 7 | 1,055 | 203 | 66 | 36 | 5 | 283 |
| Alex Caruso | PG | 41 | 18 | 1,147 | 148 | 165 | 71 | 15 | 304 |
| Tyler Cook | PF | 20 | 2 | 200 | 53 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 67 |
| DeMar DeRozan | SF | 76 | 76 | 2,743 | 392 | 374 | 68 | 24 | 2,118 |
| Ayo Dosunmu | G | 77 | 40 | 2,110 | 214 | 256 | 60 | 29 | 679 |
| Devon Dotson‡ | PG | 11 | 0 | 85 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 29 |
| Javonte Green | SG/PG | 65 | 45 | 1,519 | 276 | 60 | 67 | 32 | 468 |
| Malcolm Hill≠ | SG/SF | 16 | 0 | 166 | 29 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 55 |
| Alize Johnson‡ | PF | 16 | 0 | 121 | 36 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 28 |
| Derrick Jones Jr. | SF | 51 | 8 | 899 | 169 | 30 | 25 | 33 | 286 |
| Zach LaVine | SG | 67 | 67 | 2,328 | 308 | 303 | 41 | 23 | 1,635 |
| Mac McClung≠ | SG | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Alfonzo McKinnie≠ | SF | 17 | 3 | 206 | 33 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 59 |
| Marko Simonović | C | 9 | 0 | 35 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
| Matt Thomas | SG | 40 | 0 | 459 | 50 | 20 | 8 | 3 | 161 |
| Tristan Thompson≠ | C | 23 | 3 | 376 | 109 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 130 |
| Nikola Vučević | C | 73 | 73 | 2,418 | 804 | 236 | 70 | 71 | 1,288 |
| Coby White | PG | 61 | 17 | 1,675 | 182 | 176 | 29 | 11 | 772 |
| Patrick Williams | PF | 17 | 9 | 422 | 69 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 153 |
After all games.[9]
‡Waived during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season