NBA Heritage Week features games with teams wearing retro uniforms, classic rivalries and team celebrations
Bulls take a look back at “Where History Happens”
Luol Deng and the Bulls sported black uniforms with red pinstripes when the Bulls hosted the Sonics on Tuesday.
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Heritage Week 2007 Videos:
Johnny "Red" Kerr, Guy Rodgers, Bob Boozer 
Jerry Sloan & Norm Van Lier
Bob Love & Chet Walker
Tom Boerwinkle & Nate Thurmond
Artis Gilmore & Reggie Theus
Dick Motta & Doug Collins
Scottie Pippen & Horace Grant
Phil Jackson & John Paxson
Michael Jordan & Dennis Rodman
Also see: Heritage Week 2007 at NBA.com
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December 12, 2007 – The Chicago Bulls are one of several teams celebrating NBA Heritage Week 2007 presented by adidas, the league’s salute to the history of the game, from Dec. 7-14.
Through an extensive collection of historical features on NBA TV and at NBA.com, fans will relive the memorable moments of NBA teams and learn about those who shaped today’s game by viewing exclusive interviews, “then and now” highlights, photo galleries, live games with teams wearing retro uniforms and classic games.
As part of its programming, NBA TV will follow footage of current games with highlights of classic matchups between the same two franchises, presented with modern day narration as if the games were happening in 2007. In addition, NBA.com will show fans what the Web site might have looked like in the 1950s. NBA.com also will chronicle the NBA through special features on landmark seasons, including coverage of the 1962 MVP race, power rankings from 1970, and rookie rankings for the class of 1996.
NBA Heritage Week will feature games with teams wearing retro uniforms, classic rivalries, team celebrations and the adidas NBA Heritage Week Collection – a full line of apparel inspired by teams who have won NBA titles.
NBA TV tipped off its coverage by spotlighting long-time rivals, the Bulls and the Pistons, prior to ESPN’s game telecast on Thursday, Dec. 7. The network’s special coverage included exclusive courtside interviews with Pistons’ All-Star Rip Hamilton, Bulls’ All-Star Ben Wallace, former 1989 NBA champion Rick Mahorn, and NBA legend Johnny "Red" Kerr. Hall of Famer Bob Lanier was also in studio to discuss the rivalry.
Throughout Chicago’s home game on Tuesday versus the Seattle Super Sonics, the following Bulls players and their accomplishments were highlighted. Click above for video highlights of each player.
Johnny "Red" Kerr, Guy Rodgers, Bob Boozer
Johnny “Red” Kerr:
First coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1966 and earned NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 1966-67 season (team made the playoffs)
Three-time All-Star during a 12-year playing career that included one of the longest consecutive-game streaks in NBA history (844 consecutive games from 1954 to 1965)
This year marks his 34th season as a Bulls broadcaster
Guy Rodgers:
Obtained by the Bulls in 1966 from San Francisco
Named NBA All-Star for the fourth and final time in his career as a member of the Bulls in 1966-67
The same year, Rodgers handed out a then-NBA record 908 assists, which is still the Bulls single-season record
Bob Boozer:
Taken by the Chicago Bulls in the 1966 NBA Expansion Draft
In 1967-68, averaged 21.5 points and 9.8 rebounds and became the third Bull to appear in the NBA All-Star Game (Guy Rodgers and Jerry Sloan)
Averaged a career-high 21.7 points per game in 1968-69, but the Bulls failed to make the playoffs
Jerry Sloan & Norm Van Lier
Jerry Sloan:
Spent 13 seasons with the Bulls as a player (10) and coach (3)
One of four players to have his jersey (#4) retired by the Bulls (2/17/78)
Nicknamed "The Original Bull" after the Bulls selected him first in the 1966 Expansion Draft
Two-time NBA All-Star and six-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team
Norm Van Lier:
Nicknamed "Stormin' Norman" because of his tenacity and aggressiveness
During his ten-year career, Van Lier was named to eight NBA All-Defensive Teams
Named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1974
Bob Love & Chet Walker
Bob Love:
Nicknamed “Butterbean,” his NBA career spanned 11 years—eight of those seasons with the Bulls
In 1969-70, averaged 25.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists
On 1/14/94, became the second Bull to have his jersey (#10) retired
Three-time NBA All-Star and is ranked second on the Bulls’ all time scoring list with 12,623 points
Chet Walker:
During his 13-year NBA career with the Sixers and the Bulls in the 1960s and 1970s, “Chet the Jet” amassed 18,831 points and earned seven All-Star Team selections
Walker’s teams made the playoffs every year, and he had identical career scoring averages of 18.2 points per game in both the regular season and the postseason
The Bulls reached the playoffs in each of Walker’s six seasons but not in the year before he arrived or the year after he left
Tom Boerwinkle & Nate Thurmond
Tom Boerwinkle:
First round pick (4th overall) out of Tennessee in 1968
Holds team record for most rebounds in a single game (37 vs. Phoenix, 1/8/70), and is second all-time in total rebounding (5,745), and seventh in all-time assists (2,007)
His five career triple-doubles ranks him third in Bulls history behind Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen
Nate Thurmond:
Hall of Famer played 14 professional seasons in the 1960s and 1970s, posting career averages of 15.0 points and 15.0 rebounds per game
Traded by San Francisco to the Bulls for 25-year-old center Clifford Ray, a draft pick, and cash; Bulls Coach Dick Motta hailed the trade for Thurmond as the best in the team's history
On the first night of the 1974-75 season, Thurmond scored 22 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished for 13 assists, and blocked 12 shots; it was the first quadruple-double in NBA history, a feat that would only be matched three times since
That year, the Bulls advanced deep into the postseason, coming within one game of reaching the 1975 NBA Finals
Artis Gilmore & Reggie Theus
Artis Gilmore:
During his long career that spanned 12 seasons in the NBA and five in the ABA, Gilmore was known as a workhorse, playing 670 consecutive games at one stretch
Gilmore was an All-Star in 11 of his 17 years as a pro, his last selection coming at age 36
Bulls selected him with the first pick in the dispersal draft of ABA players, ahead of Maurice Lucas, Moses Malone and other stars
Nicknamed the “A-Train,” his best season was in 1977-78, when he averaged 22.9 points, 13.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.21 blocks
Reggie Theus:
Selected by the Bulls with the 9th pick of the 1978 NBA Draft
Averaged 16.3 points his first season and was the runner-up for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award
In 1981, appeared in his first All-Star Game; he appeared again in 1983, during a season in which he averaged a career high 23.8 points per game
Dick Motta & Doug Collins
Dick Motta:
Hired as head coach of the Bulls in 1968 after a six-year stint at Weber State University
From 1970-74 he led the Bulls to four straight seasons of 50 wins or more, winning the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 1971
Motta’s career in the NBA spanned 25 years; he won an NBA title in 1978 with the Washington Bullets
Doug Collins:
Named Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls on 5/19/86, replacing Stan Albeck
Earned a reputation as a teacher and his record of working with young potential stars is impeccable—Michael Jordan was beginning his third year in the NBA when Collins took the helm and Scottie Pippen was a rookie during his second year coaching in Chicago
Compiled a record of 137-109 during the regular season and 13-17 in the postseason over his three years in Chicago
Scottie Pippen & Horace Grant
Scottie Pippen:
Played in 1,178 games and averaged 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists and 1.96 steals per game during an illustrious career that placed him among the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of all-time in 1996 and brought the Bulls six NBA World Championship titles
Pippen’s 208 career playoff appearances rank second in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 237
Led his teams to post-season appearances in each of his first 16 seasons and compiled NBA Playoff averages of 17.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.96 steals in 208 games
Horace Grant:
Selected with the 10th overall pick of the 1987 NBA Draft and joined Pippen to form the Bulls' forward tandem of the future
Four-time NBA World Champion who was named to the league's All-Defensive Second Team four times
Became a starter in 1989, immediately becoming the Bulls' main rebounder and establishing himself as the team’s third scoring option after Jordan and Pippen, forming one of the league's best trios
Phil Jackson & John Paxson
Phil Jackson:
Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this past summer
Coached the Bulls to six NBA championships in nine seasons and guided the Lakers to three straight titles
Fastest coach in NBA history to reach 900 wins
Also won an NBA title as a player with the New York Knicks in 1973 and later claimed a CBA title and Coach of the Year honors with Albany in 1984
John Paxson:
Has been a part of the Bulls organization as a player, coach, broadcaster or front office executive since 1985 (named EVP of Basketball Operations on 4/142003)
Spent nine of his 11 NBA seasons as a player with Chicago, helping the Bulls to three consecutive (1991, 1992, 1993) NBA World Championships
For his career, he averaged 7.2 ppg, 3.6 apg and 1.2 rpg in 772 games, including 369 starting assignments
Michael Jordan & Dennis Rodman
Michael Jordan:
Single-handedly redefined the NBA superstar and by acclamation; known the greatest basketball player of all time
Rookie of the Year; five-time NBA MVP; six-time NBA champion; six-time NBA Finals MVP; ten-time All-NBA First Team; nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team; Defensive Player of the Year; 14-time NBA All-Star; three-time NBA All-Star MVP
Retired with the NBA's highest scoring average of 30.1 points per game
Dennis Rodman:
Led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years
Earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors seven times, along with five NBA Championships—three with the Bulls (1996, 1997, 1998)
With Rodman and Michael Jordan's return from retirement, the Bulls improved 25 games from the previous year's 47-35 record to an NBA record 72-10 regular season finish in the 1995-96 season
Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Ben Wallace, Kirk Hinrich & Andrés Nocioni
Deng, Gordon and Hinrich were all lottery picks drafted or acquired by GM John Paxson, while Nocioni and Wallace were free agent signees
Deng: 2004-05 NBA All-Rookie First Team, 2007 NBA Sportsmanship Award
Gordon: 2004-05 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, 2004–05 NBA All-Rookie First Team
Wallace: Four-time NBA Defensive POY, four-time NBA All-Star, six-time All-Defensive Team
Hinrich: 2003-04 NBA All-Rookie First Team, 2007 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Nocioni: Won a gold medal with the Argentine national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens
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