title: Warren G. Harding

text: Harding's unexpected death came as a great shock to the nation. He was liked and admired, both the press and public had followed his illness closely, and had been reassured by his apparent recovery. Harding's body was carried to his train in a casket for a journey across the nation, which was followed closely in the newspapers. Nine million people lined the railroad tracks as the train carrying his body proceeded from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., where he lay in state at the United States Capitol rotunda. After funeral services there, Harding's body was transported to Marion, Ohio, for burial.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: In Marion, Harding's body was placed on a horse-drawn hearse, which was followed by President Coolidge and Chief Justice Taft, then by Harding's widow and his father. They followed the hearse through the city, past the "Star" building and finally to the Marion Cemetery where the casket was placed in the cemetery's receiving vault. Funeral guests included inventor Thomas Edison and industrialist businessmen Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. Warren Harding and Florence Harding, who died the following year, rest in the Harding Tomb, which was dedicated in 1931 by U.S. President Herbert Hoover.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Harding appointed friends and acquaintances to federal positions. Some served competently, such as Charles E. Sawyer, the Hardings' personal physician from Marion who attended to them in the White House, and alerted Harding to the Veterans' Bureau scandal. Others proved ineffective in office, such as Daniel R. Crissinger, a Marion lawyer whom Harding made Comptroller of the Currency and later a governor of the Federal Reserve Board; another was Harding's old friend Frank Scobey, Director of the Mint, who Trani and Wilson noted "did little damage during his tenure." Still others of these associates proved corrupt and were later dubbed the "Ohio Gang."


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Most of the scandals that have marred the reputation of Harding's administration did not emerge until after his death. The Veterans' Bureau scandal was known to Harding in January 1923 but, according to Trani and Wilson, "the president's handling of it did him little credit." Harding allowed the corrupt director of the bureau, Charles R. Forbes, to flee to Europe, though he later returned and served prison time. Harding had learned that Daugherty's factotum at the Justice Department, Jess Smith, was involved in corruption. The president ordered Daugherty to get Smith out of Washington and removed his name from the upcoming presidential trip to Alaska. Smith committed suicide on May 30, 1923. It is uncertain how much Harding knew about Smith's illicit activities. Murray noted that Harding was not involved in the corruption and did not condone it.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Hoover accompanied Harding on the Western trip and later wrote that Harding asked what Hoover would do if he knew of some great scandal, whether to publicize it or bury it. Hoover replied that Harding should publish and get credit for integrity, and asked for details. Harding stated that it had to do with Smith but, when Hoover enquired as to Daugherty's possible involvement, Harding refused to answer.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: The scandal which has likely done the greatest damage to Harding's reputation is Teapot Dome. Like most of the administration's scandals, it came to light after Harding's death, and he was not aware of the illegal aspects. Teapot Dome involved an oil reserve in Wyoming which was one of three set aside for use by the Navy in a national emergency. There was a longstanding argument that the reserves should be developed; Wilson's first Interior Secretary Franklin Knight Lane was an advocate of this position. When the Harding administration took office, Interior Secretary Fall took up Lane's argument and Harding signed an executive order in May 1921 transferring the reserves from the Navy Department to Interior. This was done with the consent of Navy Secretary Edwin C. Denby.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: The Interior Department announced in July 1921 that Edward Doheny had been awarded a lease to drill along the edges of the Elk Hills naval reserve in California. The announcement attracted little controversy, as the oil would have been lost to wells on adjacent private land. Wyoming Senator John Kendrick had heard from constituents that Teapot Dome had also been leased, but no announcement had been made. The Interior Department refused to provide documentation, so he secured the passage of a Senate resolution compelling disclosure. The department sent a copy of the Teapot Dome lease granting drilling rights to Harry Sinclair's Mammoth Oil Company, along with a statement that there had been no competitive bidding because military preparedness was involved—Mammoth was to build oil tanks for the Navy as part of the deal. This satisfied some people, but some conservationists, such as Gifford Pinchot, Harry A. Slattery, and others, pushed for a full investigation into Fall and his activities. They got Wisconsin Senator Robert M. La Follette to begin a Senate investigation into the oil leases. La Follette persuaded Democratic Montana Senator Thomas J. Walsh to lead the investigation, and Walsh read through the truckload of material provided by the Interior Department through 1922 into 1923. The documents included a letter from Harding stating that the transfer and leases had been with his knowledge and approval.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Hearings into Teapot Dome began in October 1923, two months after Harding's death. Fall had left office earlier that year, and he denied receiving any money from Sinclair or Doheny; Sinclair agreed. The following month, Walsh learned that Fall had spent lavishly on expanding and improving his New Mexico ranch. Fall reappeared and stated that the money had come as a loan from Harding's friend and "The Washington Post" publisher Edward B. McLean, but McLean denied it when he testified. Doheny told the committee that he had given Fall the money in cash as a personal loan out of regard for their past association, but Fall invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when he was compelled to appear again, rather than answer questions.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Investigators found that Fall and a relative had received a total of about $400,000 from Doheny and Sinclair, and that the transfers were contemporaneous with the controversial leases. Fall was convicted in 1929 of accepting bribes, and in 1931 became the first U.S. cabinet member to be imprisoned for crimes committed in office. Sinclair was convicted only of contempt of court for jury tampering. Doheny was brought to trial before a jury in April 1930 for giving the bribe that Fall had been convicted of accepting, but he was acquitted.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Harding's appointment of Harry M. Daugherty as Attorney General received more criticism than any other. Daugherty's Ohio lobbying and back-room maneuvers were considered to disqualify him for his office. When the various scandals broke in 1923 and 1924, Daugherty's many enemies were delighted at the prospect of connecting him with the dishonesty, and assumed he had taken part in Teapot Dome, though Fall and Daugherty were not friends. In February 1924, the Senate voted to investigate the Justice Department, where Daugherty remained Attorney General.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Democratic Montana Senator Burton K. Wheeler was on the investigating committee and assumed the role of prosecutor when hearings began on March 12, 1924. Jess Smith had engaged in influence peddling, conspiring with two other Ohioans, Howard Mannington and Fred A. Caskey, to accept payoffs from alcohol bootleggers to secure either immunity from prosecution or the release of liquor from government warehouses. Mannington and Caskey's residence became infamous as the Little Green House on K Street. Some witnesses, such as Smith's divorced wife Roxy Stinson, and corrupt former FBI agent Gaston Means, alleged that Daugherty was personally involved. Coolidge requested Daugherty's resignation when the Attorney General indicated that he would not allow Wheeler's committee access to Justice Department records, and Daugherty complied on March 28, 1924.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: The illicit activity that caused Daugherty the most problems was a Smith deal with Colonel Thomas W. Miller, a former Delaware congressman, whom Harding had appointed Alien Property Custodian. Smith and Miller received a payoff of almost half a million dollars for getting a German-owned firm, the American Metal Company, released to new U.S. owners. Smith deposited $50,000 in a joint account with Daugherty, used for political purposes. Records relating to that account were destroyed by Daugherty and his brother. Miller and Daugherty were indicted for defrauding the government. The first trial, in September 1926, resulted in a hung jury; at the second, early in 1927, Miller was convicted and served prison time, but the jury again hung as to Daugherty. Though charges against Daugherty were then dropped, and he was never convicted of any offense, his refusal to take the stand in his own defense devastated what was left of his reputation. The former Attorney General remained defiant, blaming his troubles on his enemies in the labor movement and on the Communists, and wrote that he had "done nothing that prevents my looking the whole world in the face."


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Charles R. Forbes, the energetic director of the Veterans' Bureau, sought to consolidate control of veterans' hospitals and their construction in his bureau. At the start of Harding's presidency, this power was vested in the Treasury Department. The politically powerful American Legion backed Forbes and denigrated those who opposed him, like Secretary Mellon, and in April 1922, Harding agreed to transfer control to the Veterans' Bureau. Forbes' main task was to ensure that new hospitals were built around the country to help the 300,000 wounded World War I veterans.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Near the beginning of 1922, Forbes had met Elias Mortimer, agent for the Thompson-Black Construction Company of St. Louis, which wanted to construct the hospitals. The two men became close, and Mortimer paid for Forbes' travels through the West, looking at potential hospital sites for the wounded World War I veterans. Forbes was also friendly with Charles F. Hurley, owner of the Hurley-Mason Construction Company of Washington state. Harding had ordered that all contracts be pursuant to public notice, but Forbes and the contractors worked out a deal whereby the two companies would get the contracts with the profits divided three ways. Some of the money went to the bureau's chief counsel, Charles F. Cramer. Forbes defrauded the government, increasing construction costs from $3,000 to $4,000 per bed. A tenth of the inflated construction billings was set aside for the conspirators, with Forbes receiving a third of the take. The graft then spread to land acquisition, with Forbes authorizing the purchase of a San Francisco tract worth less than $20,000 for $105,000. At least $25,000 of the resulting financial excess was divided between Forbes and Cramer.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Intent on making more money, Forbes in November 1922 began selling valuable hospital supplies warehoused under his control at the Perryville Depot in Maryland. The government had stockpiled huge quantities of hospital supplies during the first World War, which Forbes unloaded for a fraction of their cost to the Boston firm of Thompson and Kelly, at a time when the Veterans' Bureau was buying supplies for the hospitals at a much higher price.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: The check on Forbes' authority at Perryville was Dr. Sawyer, Harding's physician and chairman of the Federal Hospitalization Board. Sawyer told Harding that Forbes was selling valuable hospital supplies to an insider contractor. At first Harding did not believe it, but Sawyer secured proof in January 1923. A shocked Harding, who alternated between rage and despondency over the corruption in his administration, summoned Forbes to the White House and demanded his resignation. Harding did not want an open scandal and allowed Forbes to flee to Europe, from where he resigned on February 15, 1923. In spite of Harding's efforts, gossip about Forbes' activities resulted in the Senate ordering an investigation two weeks later, and in mid-March, Cramer committed suicide.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Mortimer was willing to tell all, as Forbes had been in an affair with his wife, which also broke up the Forbes' marriage. The construction executive was the star witness at the hearings in late 1923, after Harding's death. Forbes returned from Europe to testify, but convinced few, and in 1924, he and John W. Thompson, of Thompson–Black, were tried in Chicago for conspiracy to defraud the government. Both were convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. Forbes began to serve his sentence in 1926; Thompson, who had a bad heart, died that year before commencing his. According to Trani and Wilson, "One of the most troublesome aspects of the Harding presidency was that he appeared to be far more concerned with political liabilities of a scandal than in securing justice."


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Harding had an extramarital affair with Carrie Fulton Phillips of Marion, which lasted about 15 years before ending in 1920. The affair was revealed when Harding biographer Francis Russell, while researching his book in 1963, discovered letters from Harding to Phillips. The letters were donated to the Ohio Historical Society, and some there wanted the letters destroyed to preserve what remained of Harding's reputation. A lawsuit ensued, with Harding's heirs claiming copyright over the letters. The case was ultimately settled in 1971, with the letters donated to the Library of Congress. They were sealed until 2014, but before their opening, historians used copies at the Western Reserve Historical Society (Kenneth W. Duckett Papers) and in Russell's papers at the University of Wyoming. Russell concluded from the letters that Phillips was the love of Harding's life—"the enticements of his mind and body combined in one person," but historian Justin P. Coffey in his 2014 review of Harding biographies criticizes him for "obsess[ing] over Harding's sex life."


title: Warren G. Harding

text: The allegations of Harding's other known mistress, Nan Britton, long remained uncertain. In 1927, Britton, also a Marionite, published "The President's Daughter", alleging that her child Elizabeth Ann Blaesing had been fathered by Harding. The book, which was dedicated to "all unwedded mothers" and "their innocent children whose fathers are usually not known to the world," was sold, like pornography, door-to-door, wrapped in brown paper. The late president's reputation had deteriorated since his death in 1923, and many believed Britton. The public was tantalized by salacious details such as Britton's claim that the two had sex in a closet near the Oval Office, with Secret Service agents posted to ward off intruders. Although part of the public believed her, a jury found against her when she alleged she was libeled by a rebuttal of her book. According to Harding family lore, the late president was infertile and could not have fathered a child, having suffered from mumps in childhood; Britton maintained that Harding had provided child support of $500 per month for the daughter he never met, but she had destroyed romantic correspondence from him at his request.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Harding's biographers, writing while Britton's allegations remained uncertain, differed on their truth; Russell believed them unquestioningly while Dean, having reviewed Britton's papers at UCLA, regarded them as unproven. In 2015, DNA tests performed by Ancestry.com were used by members of the Harding and Blaesing families, which confirmed that Harding was Elizabeth's father. Sinclair suggested that a harsher standard was applied to Harding compared with Grover Cleveland, who was elected president in 1884, although it was known he had a mistress and may have fathered a son out of wedlock.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Upon his death, Harding was deeply mourned—not only in the United States, but around the world. He was called a man of peace in many European newspapers. American journalists praised him lavishly, with some describing him as having given his life for his country. His associates were stunned by his demise. Daugherty wrote, "I can hardly write about it or allow myself to think about it yet." Hughes stated, "I cannot realize that our beloved Chief is no longer with us."


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Hagiographic accounts of Harding's life quickly followed his death, such as Joe Mitchell Chapple's "Life and Times of Warren G. Harding, Our After-War President" (1924). By then, the scandals were breaking, and the Harding administration soon became a byword for corruption in the view of the public. Works written in the late 1920s helped shape Harding's dubious historical reputation: "Masks in a Pageant", by William Allen White, mocked and dismissed Harding, as did Samuel Hopkins Adams' fictionalized account of the Harding administration, "Revelry". These books depicted Harding's time in office as one of great presidential weakness. The publication of Nan Britton's bestselling book disclosing they had had an affair also lowered the late president in public esteem. President Coolidge, wishing to distance himself from his predecessor, refused to dedicate the Harding Tomb. Hoover, Coolidge's successor, was similarly reluctant, but with Coolidge in attendance, presided over the dedication in 1931. By that time, with the Great Depression in full swing, Hoover was nearly as discredited as Harding.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Adams continued to shape the negative view of Harding with several nonfiction works in the 1930s, culminating with "The Incredible Era—The Life and Times of Warren G. Harding" (1939) in which he called his subject "an amiable, well-meaning third-rate Mr. Babbitt, with the equipment of a small-town semi-educated journalist ... It could not work. It did not work." Dean views the works of White and Adams "remarkably unbalanced and unfair accounts, exaggerating the negative, assigning responsibility to Harding for all wrongs, and denying him credit for anything done right. Today there is considerable evidence refuting their portrayals of Harding. Yet the myth has persisted."


title: Warren G. Harding

text: The opening of Harding's papers for research in 1964 sparked a small spate of biographies, of which the most controversial was Russell's "The Shadow of Blooming Grove" (1968), which concluded that the rumors of black ancestry (the "shadow" of the title) deeply affected Harding in his formative years, causing both Harding's conservatism and his desire to get along with everyone. Coffey faults Russell's methods, and deems the biography "largely critical, though not entirely unsympathetic." Murray's "The Harding Era" (1969) took a more positive view of the president, and put him in the context of his times. Trani and Wilson faulted Murray for "a tendency to go overboard" in trying to connect Harding with the successful policies of his cabinet officers, and for asserting, without sufficient evidence, that a new, more assertive Harding had emerged by 1923.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Later decades saw revisionist books published on Harding. Robert Ferrell's "The Strange Deaths of President Harding" (1996), according to Coffey, "spends almost the entire work challenging every story about Harding and concludes that almost everything that is read and taught about his subject is wrong." In 2004, John Dean, noted for his involvement in another presidential scandal, Watergate, wrote the Harding volume in "The American Presidents" series of short biographies, edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Coffey considered that book the most revisionist to date, and faults Dean for glossing over some unfavorable episodes in Harding's life, like his silence during the 1914 Senate campaign, when his opponent Hogan was being attacked for his faith.


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Harding has traditionally been ranked as one of the worst presidents. In a 1948 poll conducted by Harvard University, historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. conducted a survey of scholars' opinions of the presidents, ranking Harding last among the 29 presidents considered. He has also been last in many other polls since, which Ferrell attributes to scholars reading little but sensational accounts of Harding. Murray argued that Harding deserves more credit than historians have given: "He was certainly the equal of a Franklin Pierce, an Andrew Johnson, a Benjamin Harrison, or even a Calvin Coolidge. In concrete accomplishments, his administration was superior to a sizable portion of those in the nation's history." Coffey believes "the academic lack of interest in Harding has cost him his reputation, as scholars still rank Harding as nearly dead last among presidents."


title: Warren G. Harding

text: Trani faults Harding's own lack of depth and decisiveness as bringing about his tarnished legacy. Still, some authors and historians continue to call for a reevaluation of the Harding presidency. In "The Spoils of War" (2016), Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith place Harding first in a combined ranking of fewest wartime deaths and highest annual per capita income growth during each president's time in office. Murray argued that Harding sowed the seeds for his administration's poor standing:


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982). She later received critical praise for her performances in "Last Exit to Brooklyn" (1989), "Miami Blues" (1990), "Backdraft" (1991), "Single White Female" (1992), and "Short Cuts" (1993).


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh was nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Dorothy Parker in "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" (1994). She starred in a 1995 film written by her mother, screenwriter Barbara Turner, titled "Georgia". In 2001, she co-wrote and co-directed a film with Alan Cumming titled "The Anniversary Party". In 2002, Leigh appeared in the neo-noir crime drama film "Road to Perdition". In 2007, she starred in the family drama film "Margot at the Wedding". She had a recurring role on the Showtime comedy-drama series "Weeds" as Jill Price-Gray. In 2015, she received critical acclaim for her voice work as Lisa in Charlie Kaufman's "Anomalisa", and for her role as Daisy Domergue in "The Hateful Eight", for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. From 2017 to 2021, she starred in the Netflix comedy-drama series "Atypical". Leigh starred in the science-fiction horror films, "Annihilation" (2018) and "Possessor" (2020).


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: For her stage work, Leigh was nominated for a Drama Desk award for her off-Broadway performance as Beverly Moss in Mike Leigh's "Abigail's Party". Her Broadway debut occurred in 1998, when she became the replacement for the role of Sally Bowles in the musical "Cabaret".


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Vic Morrow (born Victor Morozoff), was an actor, and her mother, Barbara Turner, was a screenwriter. Her parents divorced when she was two. Leigh's birth name was Jennifer Leigh Morrow. She changed her surname early in her acting career, taking the middle name "Jason" in honor of actor Jason Robards, a family friend. Leigh's parents were Jewish; her father's family was from Russia and her mother's from Austria.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh is the middle child of three sisters. Her older sister, Carrie Ann Morrow, who was credited as a "technical advisor" on her 1995 film "Georgia", died in 2016. Leigh also has a half-sister, actress Mina Badie (born 'Badiyi' – from her mother's second marriage). Badie acted alongside Leigh in "The Anniversary Party". Film director Reza Badiyi became Leigh's stepfather when he married Leigh's mother, Barbara.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh had a nonspeaking role at the age of nine for her film debut "Death of a Stranger (The Execution)" (1973). At the age of 14, she attended acting workshops, taught by Lee Strasberg, and the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in Loch Sheldrake, New York. Afterwards, she landed a role in the film "The Young Runaways" (1978). She also appeared in an episode of "Baretta" and an episode of "The Waltons". Several television films followed, including a portrayal of an anorexic teenager in "The Best Little Girl in the World", for which Leigh dropped to under medical supervision. She made her big-screen debut playing a blind, deaf, and mute rape victim in the 1981 slasher film "Eyes of a Stranger"; she quit school to star in the film.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: In 1982, Leigh played a teenager who gets pregnant in the Cameron Crowe-scripted high-school comedy film "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", which served as a launching pad for several of its young stars. While decrying the writing as sexist and exploitative, film critic Roger Ebert was enthusiastic about the acting, singling out Leigh and writing, "Don't they know they have a star on their hands?" With the exception of "Ridgemont High" and a supporting role in the 1983 comedy film "Easy Money" alongside Rodney Dangerfield, Leigh's early film work consisted of playing fragile, damaged, or neurotic characters in low-budget horror or thriller genre films. She played a virginal princess kidnapped and raped by mercenaries in "Flesh and Blood" (1985), an innocent waitress pursued by the psychopathic title character in "The Hitcher" (1986) (both films pitting her alongside Rutger Hauer), a mentally-disturbed, child-like young woman on the threshold of sexual awakening in the Southern Gothic film "Sister, Sister" (1987), and a young woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown in "Heart of Midnight" (1989).


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: In 1990, Leigh made a significant career breakthrough when she was awarded New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayals of two very different prostitutes: the tough streetwalker Tralala who is brutally gang-raped in "Last Exit to Brooklyn", and Susie, a teenage prostitute who falls in love with ex-con Alec Baldwin in "Miami Blues". Roger Ebert included "Last Exit" in his list of Best Movies of 1990, calling Leigh's performance brave, though his review of "Miami Blues" was much less sympathetic, simultaneously criticizing Leigh's ability to play dumb roles and praising her ability to play smart roles. "Entertainment Weekly" called her "the Meryl Streep of bimbos".


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: In his 1991 book "Cult Movie Stars", Danny Peary described Leigh as "an interesting, always watchable, and extremely talented young actress," summarizing her appeal "For those who believe that the preacher's angelic-looking daughter is as interested in sex as the farmer's daughter. This pretty, sweet-looking blonde has played a number of shy and innocent-looking women who are curious about sex; once they learn, they display wicked imaginations." Peary added, "Leigh seems too gentle and looks too young and innocent to play the parts she has taken. Her females are either hungry for sex and/or have been psychologically affected by past sexual incidents... Her characters are vulnerable and almost always victimised, but usually they gave surprising resilience, and try to use their bad experiences to make themselves stronger."


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh was cast in her first mainstream Hollywood studio film, the firefighter drama "Backdraft" (1991), in which she played a more conventional role, the girlfriend of lead actor William Baldwin. She found more success in the gritty crime drama "Rush" (1991), portraying an undercover cop who becomes a junkie and falls in love with her partner, played by Jason Patric. Reviewing "Rush", Roger Ebert noted, "Leigh of course is a veteran by now of grubby characters in sleazy films; she has become one of the best young actresses by accepting roles some of her contemporaries would not even consider... After her extraordinary work as a doomed prostitute in "Last Exit to Brooklyn", here she is again, looking sweet and wholesome, and descending into a world of people who have forgotten their better natures." Leigh's next film, "Single White Female" (1992), was a surprise box-office success, bringing Leigh to her largest mainstream audience yet, portraying a mentally-ill woman who terrorizes roommate Bridget Fonda.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh was awarded the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain at the 1993 MTV Movie Awards and nominated for Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress. Leigh co-starred with Kathy Bates as a tormented, pill-popping woman hiding a history of childhood sexual abuse in the adaptation of Stephen King's novel "Dolores Claiborne" (1995). Leigh achieved her greatest acclaim in the role of Sadie Flood, an angry, drug-addicted rock singer living in the shadow of her successful older sister (Mare Winningham), in "Georgia" (1995). For the role, Leigh dropped to and sang all of her songs live, including a rambling -minute version of Van Morrison's "Take Me Back". "Georgia" was met with critical praise. James Berardinelli wrote, "There are times when it's uncomfortable to watch this performance because it's so powerful", and Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" described Leigh's "fierce, risk-taking performance and flashes of overwhelming honesty".


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh won New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and Best Actress from the Montreal World Film Festival, as well as an Independent Spirit Award nomination and Sensual Knife fight nomination Some expressed surprise that she was not nominated for an Academy Award, while Winningham was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Throughout the 1990s, Leigh worked with many independent film directors. She worked with Robert Altman in "Short Cuts" (1993), playing a phone-sex operator, and "Kansas City" (1996), as a streetwise kidnapper. Leigh has expressed admiration for Altman and called him her mentor. In a change of pace from her "bad girl" roles, Leigh played the fast-talking reporter Amy Archer in the Coen Brothers' comic homage to 1950s comedy, "The Hudsucker Proxy" (1994). Leigh took her first lead role as the writer and critic Dorothy Parker in Alan Rudolph's film "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" (1994). She received a Golden Globe Award nomination and a National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress, as well as Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and Fort Lauderdale Film Critics Best Actress Award.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: In another change of pace, she starred in Agnieszka Holland's version of the Henry James novel "Washington Square" (1997), as a mousy 19th-century heiress courted by a gold digger. In 1998, she appeared alongside Campbell Scott in the Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie "The Love Letter". In David Cronenberg's "eXistenZ" (1999), she played a virtual-reality game designer who becomes lost in her own creation.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh had a brief role as a gangster's doomed wife in Sam Mendes's "Road to Perdition" (2002) and co-starred as Meg Ryan's brutally murdered sister in Jane Campion's erotic thriller "In the Cut" (2003). She went on to play Stevie, the prostitute girlfriend of Christian Bale's character in the dark thriller "The Machinist" (2004). Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle" commented that "As the downtrodden, sexy, trusting, and quietly funny prostitute, Leigh is, of course, in her element". Her performance as a manipulative stage mother in Don McKellar's film "Childstar" won her a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in 2005.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: After many years of wanting to be in a Todd Solondz film, she appeared in "Palindromes" (2004). She also appeared in the psychological thriller "The Jacket" (2005), alongside Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley. Leigh appeared in the 2008 ensemble film "Synecdoche, New York" and has acted in two films written and directed by her then-partner Noah Baumbach: "Margot at the Wedding", co-starring Nicole Kidman, and "Greenberg". Leigh has said that the roles were not specifically written for her, as Baumbach does not write roles with actors in mind. In 2009, Leigh was cast in the Showtime comedy-drama series "Weeds", becoming a regular guest in the eighth season.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh has received three separate career tributes: at the Telluride Film Festival in 1993, a special award for her contribution to independent cinema from the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2002, and a week-long retrospective of her film work held by the American Cinematheque at Los Angeles's Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in 2001.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh joined the drama series "Revenge" on ABC in 2012. In 2015, Leigh starred in Quentin Tarantino's western film "The Hateful Eight". It is set in Wyoming after the Civil War, and was released on December 25. Leigh, along with the rest of the cast, appeared at the San Diego Comic-Con to promote the film in July 2015. Leigh's performance has received multiple award nominations at various award ceremonies, including her third Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, her first BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 2017, Leigh was reunited with her "Hateful Eight" co-star Tim Roth when the pair played a husband-and-wife team of contract killers in six episodes of Showtime's revival of David Lynch and Mark Frost's "Twin Peaks". In 2019, Leigh appeared in two episodes of Showtime's last season of "The Affair". In 2022, Leigh was cast in a lead role as Lorraine Lyon in the upcoming fifth season of the FX black comedy crime drama anthology series "Fargo".


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: In 1998, Leigh took on the lead role of Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes's Broadway revival of the musical "Cabaret", succeeding Natasha Richardson, who originated the role in Mendes's production. She succeeded Mary-Louise Parker in the lead role in "Proof" on Broadway in 2001. Her other theatrical appearances include "The Glass Menagerie", "Man of Destiny", "The Shadow Box", "Picnic", "Sunshine" and "Abigail's Party". In 2011, she played Bunny in the Broadway revival of "House of Blue Leaves" in New York City alongside Ben Stiller and Edie Falco.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: In 2001, Leigh co-wrote and co-directed "The Anniversary Party", an independently produced feature film about a recently reconciled married couple who assemble their friends at their Hollywood Hills house, ostensibly to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary. As the evening progresses, the party disintegrates into emotional confrontations and bitter arguments as the façade of their happy marriage crumbles. Leigh was inspired by her recent experience filming the low-budget Dogme 95 film "The King Is Alive". Leigh and co-writer Alan Cumming drew freely from their personal experiences in the writing of the film. Leigh plays an aging actress who makes jokes about her lack of Academy Award nominations and is fearful of losing her bisexual husband (Cumming). The film was shot in 19 days on digital video, and costarred the pair's real-life Hollywood friends, including Kevin Kline, Phoebe Cates, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Beals, John C. Reilly, Parker Posey, and Leigh's sister Mina Badie. Leigh and Cumming jointly received a citation for Excellence in Filmmaking from the National Board of Review, and were nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. The movie received generally positive reviews.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh filmed a role in Stanley Kubrick's final film "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999) as a grieving patient of Dr. Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) who declares her love for him after her father's death. Kubrick wanted to reshoot the scenes, but Leigh was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with "eXistenZ"; instead, her scenes were cut. Leigh was originally cast as Vincent Gallo's girlfriend in his self-directed film "The Brown Bunny", and was apparently prepared to perform oral sex on Gallo as the script required. Leigh subsequently commented that "it just didn't work out" and the role was eventually played by Chloë Sevigny. In 1997, she was featured in Faith No More's music video for "Last Cup of Sorrow". She was selected as one of "America's 10 Most Beautiful Women" by "Harper's Bazaar" magazine in 1989 and served as a jury member at the 57th Venice International Film Festival in 2000. She narrated the audiobook for Quentin Tarantino 2021´s novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: In 1982, Leigh's father, Vic Morrow, was accidentally killed along with two child actors when a helicopter stunt went wrong during the filming of "". Leigh and her sister filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Warner Bros., John Landis, and Steven Spielberg. They settled out of court a year later.


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: Leigh has described herself as shy, introverted, and averse to Hollywood publicity and scandal. Speaking about her roles in smaller, independent films, she said, "I'd much rather be in a movie that people have really strong feelings about than one that makes a hundred million dollars but you can't remember because it's just like all the others."


title: Jennifer Jason Leigh

text: She met independent film writer-director Noah Baumbach in 2001 while starring on Broadway in "Proof". The couple married on September 2, 2005. Their son was born on March 17, 2010. Leigh filed for divorce on November 15, 2010, in Los Angeles, citing irreconcilable differences. She sought spousal support as well as primary custody of the couple's son, with visitation for Baumbach. The divorce was finalized in September 2013.


title: Dan Stevens

text: Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is a British actor and writer. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV acclaimed period drama series "Downton Abbey" (2010–2012). He also starred as David in the thriller film "The Guest" (2014), Sir Lancelot in the adventure film "" (2014), The Beast/Prince in Disney's live action adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast" (2017), Lorin Willis in the biographical legal drama "Marshall" (2017), Charles Dickens in the biographical drama "The Man Who Invented Christmas" (2017) and Russian Eurovision singer Alexander Lemtov in "" (2020). From 2017 to 2019, he starred as David Haller in the FX series "Legion". In 2018, he starred in the Netflix horror-thriller "Apostle".


title: Dan Stevens

text: Stevens was adopted at birth by parents who were both teachers, and grew up in Wales and southeast England. He has a biological younger brother, Jason Andrew Stevens (b. 1984), who was adopted by different parents. Stevens boarded on a scholarship at Tonbridge School, an independent school in Kent. There he became interested in drama after auditioning for the title role in "Macbeth" with his teacher, novelist Jonathan Smith. From the age of 15, he spent his summers training and performing with the National Youth Theatre in London.


title: Dan Stevens

text: Stevens studied English Literature at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, he was a member of the Footlights with Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key and Mark Watson, and was also active in the Marlowe Society. He was first spotted by director Peter Hall at a Marlowe Society production of "Macbeth", in which he played the title character alongside Hall's daughter, Rebecca Hall.


title: Dan Stevens

text: In 2004, Stevens began his professional acting career when Peter Hall cast him as Orlando in his touring production of Shakespeare's "As You Like It". The tour took the production to the Rose Theatre in Kingston upon Thames, the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City, the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, and the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. His debut performance earned him glowing reviews from prominent critics in Britain and the United States, as well as a commendation at the 2004 Ian Charleson Awards.


title: Dan Stevens

text: In 2006, Stevens starred as Nick Guest in the BBC adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst's Man Booker Prize-winning novel "The Line of Beauty". Later that year, he played Simon Bliss in "Hay Fever" by Noël Coward at London's Haymarket Theatre, alongside Peter Bowles and Dame Judi Dench; the director was Peter Hall. He also performed as Lord Holmwood in an adaptation of "Dracula" for the BBC, and as Basil Brookes in the BBC Emmy Award-winning film, "Maxwell". That same year, he was named one of Screen International's 2006 Stars Of Tomorrow.


title: Dan Stevens

text: In 2008, Stevens appeared in the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's novel, "Sense & Sensibility", playing Edward Ferrars, and the West End revival of Noël Coward's "The Vortex". In January 2009, he appeared on New Year's Day in "Agatha Christie's Marple: Nemesis" on ITV1 in Britain. He also appeared in an adaptation of "The Turn of the Screw" featuring future "Downton Abbey" costar Michelle Dockery. In June 2009, he returned to the West End, playing Septimus Hodge in an acclaimed revival of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" at the Duke of York's Theatre.


title: Dan Stevens

text: In 2010, Stevens got his biggest break when he was cast as Matthew Crawley in the ITV series "Downton Abbey", created and written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes. The series went on to be a global sensation and has been nominated for several Emmy, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards since its debut. The central love story of Matthew Crawley and his distant cousin, Lady Mary Crawley, played by Michelle Dockery, was enormously popular. Determined to move on with his career, Stevens chose to leave the series after finishing the third season and the Christmas Special in 2012. His exit caused a huge uproar with fans, who notably took to Twitter and other social media sites to express their anger at the character's death. Fellowes later explained that Stevens did not give sufficient notice for a less drastic departure.


title: Dan Stevens

text: In November 2011, Stevens guest-hosted an episode of "Have I Got News for You". In March 2012, he completed shooting "Vamps", the latest film from Amy Heckerling, and "Summer in February", an Edwardian romance film set in an artist colony. Also in 2012, Stevens moved with his family to New York City, when he made his Broadway debut that year opposite Jessica Chastain and David Strathairn in "The Heiress".


title: Dan Stevens

text: In 2014, Stevens starred in the independent film "The Guest", winning critical acclaim for his portrayal of a recently discharged army veteran who goes on a killing spree to protect his true identity. He earned a Saturn Award for Best Actor nomination for his performance. Also in 2014, he appeared in the magic realism comedy-drama film "The Cobbler", and in the dark action film "A Walk Among the Tombstones". He played a simulacrum of Sir Lancelot in the 2014 comedy film "".


title: Dan Stevens

text: In February 2016, Stevens was cast in the lead role of David Charles Haller in the FX series "Legion", an X-Men-related drama created by Noah Hawley. The first season began airing in February 2017 and received critical acclaim; a second season aired the next year, and was renewed for a third season in June 2018.


title: Dan Stevens

text: In 2017, Stevens lent his voice as the Beast, opposite Emma Watson as Belle, in Disney's live-action adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast", directed by Bill Condon. The film was released in March 2017 to positive reviews, and earned over $1.2 billion in worldwide box office revenue, making it the highest-grossing live-action musical film, the second highest-grossing film of 2017, and the 17th highest-grossing film of all time. At the same year, he appeared in "Marshall" with Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad and Kate Hudson, and "The Man Who Invented Christmas", directed by Bharat Nalluri, and co-starring Christopher Plummer and Jonathan Pryce.


title: Dan Stevens

text: In 2018, Stevens starred in the Netflix thriller film "Apostle", directed by Gareth Huw Evans. In 2019, Stevens co-starred in the drama "Lucy in the Sky", released in September 2019. It co-stars Natalie Portman and Jon Hamm, and is directed by "Legion" creator, Noah Hawley.


title: Dan Stevens

text: In 2020, Stevens co-starred alongside Harrison Ford in "The Call of the Wild", released on 21 February 2020. The film is based on the American classic novel by Jack London. He also returned to Broadway to star in Martin McDonagh's dark comedy "Hangmen". The Atlantic Theater Company production co-starred Mark Addy and Ewen Bremner. Stevens played the pivotal role of Mooney. The production was to have a 20-week limited engagement at the Golden Theatre in Manhattan. Previews began on 29 February, however the production's run was suspended on 11 March, before it had officially opened, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 20 March the producers announced with regret that the production was closed permanently. All Broadway theatres were shut down soon afterwards. The same year, he appears as an "absurdly lascivious" Russian crooner in the Netflix musical comedy film "", co-starring with Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams.


title: Dan Stevens

text: Stevens has narrated over 30 audiobooks, including "Casino Royale", "Wolf Hall" and "War Horse". In 2014, he was nominated for two Audie Awards, in the Classic category and Solo Narration (Male) category for "Frankenstein".


title: Dan Stevens

text: Outside acting, Stevens maintains an interest in writing and literature and is editor-at-large for "The Junket", an online quarterly that he co-founded in 2011 with some friends. He was a member of the judging panel for the 2012 Man Booker Prize, and was a regular columnist for the "Sunday Telegraph".


title: Dan Stevens

text: A cricket enthusiast, he played for the Authors XI team, which is composed of a number of prominent British writers, in 2012. He also contributed a chapter to the team's book "The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon", which was shortlisted for the 2014 Cricket Society and M.C.C. Book of the Year Award.


title: Dan Stevens

text: In 2009, Stevens married South African jazz singer and singing teacher Susie Hariet. They have three children. He is fluent in French and German.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 16, 1966, and played its first game during the 1966–67 NBA season. The Bulls play their home games at the United Center, an arena on Chicago's West Side.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The Bulls saw their greatest success during the 1990s when they played a major part in popularizing the NBA worldwide. They are known for having one of the NBA's greatest dynasties, winning six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998 with two three-peats. All six of their championship teams were led by Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and coach Phil Jackson. The Bulls are the only NBA franchise to win multiple championships while never losing an NBA Finals series in their history.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The Bulls won 72 games during the 1995–96 season, setting an NBA record that stood until the Golden State Warriors won 73 games during the 2015–16 season. The Bulls were the first team in NBA history to win 70 games or more in a single season, and the only NBA franchise to do so until the 2015–16 Warriors.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: Since 1998, the Bulls have failed to regain their former success. The franchise struggled throughout the 2000s, but showed promise in the early 2010s led by Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, culminating in back-to-back seasons above .732 in 2010–11 and 2011–12. The injury to Rose and subsequent trades of key players triggered a rebuild, culminating in the current lineup built around all-stars Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: Jordan and Rose have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award while playing for the Bulls, for a total of six MVP awards. The Bulls share rivalries with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, and the New York Knicks. The Bulls' rivalry with the Pistons was highlighted heavily during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Outside of basketball, the Chicago Bulls are also known for their community work through their charity department which provides youth and non-for-profit organizations with tickets to games and merchandise.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On January 16, 1966, Chicago was granted an NBA franchise to be called the Bulls. The Chicago Bulls became the third NBA franchise in the city, after the Chicago Stags (1946–1950) and the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs (1961–1963, now the Washington Wizards). The Bulls' founder, Dick Klein, was the Bulls' only owner to ever play professional basketball (for the Chicago American Gears). He served as the Bulls' general manager and president in their initial years.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: After the 1966 NBA Expansion Draft, the newly founded Chicago Bulls were allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league for the upcoming 1966–67 season. The team started during the 1966–67 season, and posted a 33–48 record, the best by an expansion team in NBA history. Coached by Chicagoan and former NBA star Johnny "Red" Kerr, and led by former NBA assist leader Guy Rodgers, guard Jerry Sloan and forward Bob Boozer, the Bulls qualified for the playoffs, the only NBA team to do so in their inaugural season.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In their first season, the Bulls played their home games at the International Amphitheatre, before moving to Chicago Stadium.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: Fan interest was diminishing after four seasons, with one game in the 1967–68 season having an official attendance of 891 and some games being played in Kansas City. In 1969, Klein dropped out of the general manager job and hired Pat Williams, who as the Philadelphia 76ers' business manager created promotions that helped the team become third in attendance the previous season. Williams revamped the team roster, acquiring Chet Walker from Philadelphia in exchange for Jim Washington and drafting Norm Van Lier – who was traded to the Cincinnati Royals and only joined the Bulls in 1971 – while also investing in promotion, with actions such as creating mascot Benny the Bull. The Bulls under Williams and head coach Dick Motta qualified for four straight playoffs and had attendances grow to over 10,000. In 1972, the Bulls set a franchise win–loss record at 57 wins and 25 losses. During the 1970s, the Bulls relied on Jerry Sloan, forwards Bob Love and Chet Walker, point guard Norm Van Lier, and centers Clifford Ray and Tom Boerwinkle. The team made the conference finals in 1975 but lost to the eventual champions, the Golden State Warriors, 4 games to 3.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: After four 50-win seasons, Williams returned to Philadelphia, and Motta decided to take on the role of GM as well. The Bulls ended up declining, winning only 24 games in the 1975–76 season. Motta was fired and replaced by Ed Badger.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: Klein sold the Bulls to the Wirtz Family, longtime owners of the Chicago Blackhawks. Indifferent to NBA basketball, the new ownership group infamously implemented a shoestring budget, putting little time and investment into improving the team.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: Artis Gilmore, acquired in the ABA dispersal draft in 1976, led a Bulls squad which included guard Reggie Theus, forward David Greenwood and forward Orlando Woolridge.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In 1979, the Bulls lost a coin flip for the right to select first in the NBA draft (Rod Thorn, the Bulls' General Manager, called "heads"). Had the Bulls won the toss, they would have selected Magic Johnson; instead, they selected David Greenwood with the second pick. The Los Angeles Lakers selected Johnson with the pick acquired from the New Orleans Jazz, who traded the selection for Gail Goodrich.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: After Gilmore was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for center Dave Corzine, the Bulls employed a high-powered offense centered around Theus, and which soon included guards Quintin Dailey and Ennis Whatley. However, with continued dismal results, the Bulls decided to change direction, trading Theus to the Kansas City Kings during the 1983–84 season. Attendance began to dwindle, with the Wirtz Family looking to sell to ownership groups interested in moving the team out of Chicago, before selling to local ownership.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In the summer of 1984, the Bulls had the third pick of the 1984 NBA draft, after Houston and Portland. The Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon, the Blazers picked Sam Bowie and the Bulls chose shooting guard Michael Jordan. 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 (third in the league) and steals (fourth), and led the Bulls back to the playoffs, where they lost in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a selection to the All-NBA Second Team and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In the following off-season, the team acquired point guard John Paxson and on draft day traded with the Cavaliers for the rights to 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 1985–86 season, Jordan finished second on the team to Woolridge in scoring. Jordan returned for the playoffs, and led the eighth-place Bulls against the 67–15 Boston Celtics, led by Larry Bird. At the time, the Bulls had the fifth-worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history. Though the Bulls were swept, Jordan recorded a playoff single-game record 63 points in Game 2 (which still stands to this day), prompting Bird to call him 'God disguised as Michael Jordan.'


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In the 1986–87 season, Jordan continued his assault on the record books, leading the league in scoring with 37.1 points per game and becoming the first Bull named to the All-NBA First Team. The Bulls finished 40–42, which was good enough to qualify them for the playoffs. However, they were again swept by the Celtics in the playoffs.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In the 1987 draft, to address their lack of depth, Krause selected center Olden Polynice eighth overall and power forward Horace Grant 10th overall, then sent Polynice to Seattle in a draft-day trade for the fifth selection, small forward Scottie Pippen. With Paxson and Jordan in the backcourt, Brad Sellers and Oakley at the forward spots, Corzine anchoring center, and rookies Pippen and Grant coming off the bench, the Bulls won 50 games and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they were beaten by the eventual Eastern Conference Champions Detroit Pistons in five games. For his efforts, Jordan was named NBA Most Valuable Player, an award he would win four more times over his career. The 1987–88 season would also mark the start of the Pistons-Bulls rivalry which was formed from 1988 to 1991.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The 1988–89 season marked a second straight year of major off-season moves. Power forward Charles Oakley, who had led the league in total rebounds in both 1987 and 1988, was traded on the eve of the 1988 NBA draft to the New York Knicks along with a first-round draft pick used by the Knicks to select Rod Strickland for center Bill Cartwright and a first-round pick, which the Bulls used to obtain center Will Perdue. In addition, the Bulls acquired three-point shooter Craig Hodges from Phoenix. The new starting lineup of Paxson, Jordan, Pippen, Grant, and Cartwright took some time to mesh, winning fewer games than the previous season, but made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were defeated in six games by the NBA champion Pistons.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In 1989–90, Jordan led the league in scoring for the fourth straight season and was joined on the all-star squad for the first time by Pippen. There was also a major change during the off-season, where head coach Doug Collins was replaced by assistant coach 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 players 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 eliminated for the third straight year, the Pistons going on to repeat as NBA champions.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In the 1990–91 season, the Bulls recorded a then-franchise record 61 wins, and romped through the playoffs, where they swept the Knicks in the first round, defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the semifinals, and then swept the defending champion Pistons in the Conference Finals, then winning the NBA Finals in five games over the Magic Johnson-led Los Angeles Lakers.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The Bulls won their second straight title in after racking up another franchise record for wins with 67. They swept the Miami Heat in the first round, defeated the Knicks in seven games in the second round, then the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games in the third round, advancing to the Finals for the second year in a row where they defeated the Clyde Drexler-led Portland Trail Blazers in six games.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In , the Bulls won their third consecutive championship by defeating the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks in the first three rounds of the playoffs and then defeating regular-season MVP Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in the Finals, with Paxson's three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left giving them a 99–98 victory in Game 6 in Phoenix.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On October 6, 1993, Michael Jordan shocked the basketball community by announcing his retirement, three months after his father's murder. The Bulls were then led by Scottie Pippen, who established himself as one of the top players in the league by winning the 1994 All-Star MVP. He received help from Horace Grant and B. J. Armstrong, who were named to their first all-star games. The three were assisted by Cartwright, Perdue, shooting guard Pete Myers, and Croatian rookie forward Toni Kukoč. Despite the Bulls winning 55 games during the 1993–94 season, they were beaten in seven games by the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs, after a controversial foul call by referee Hue Hollins in game 5 of that series. The Knicks eventually reached the NBA Finals that year, but lost to the Houston Rockets. The Bulls opened the 1994–95 season by leaving their home of 27 years, Chicago Stadium, and moving into their current home, the United Center.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In 1994, the Bulls lost Grant, Cartwright and Scott Williams to free agency, and John Paxson to retirement, but picked up shooting guard Ron Harper, the seeming heir apparent to Jordan in assistant coach Tex Winter's triple-post offense, and small-forward Jud Buechler. The Bulls started Armstrong and Harper in the backcourt, Pippen and Kukoč at the forward spots, and Perdue at center. They also had sharpshooter Steve Kerr, whom they acquired via free agency before the 1993–94 season, Myers, and centers Luc Longley (acquired via trade in 1994 from the Minnesota Timberwolves) and Bill Wennington. However, the Bulls struggled during the season, and on March 18, 1995, they received the news that Michael Jordan was coming out of retirement. He scored 55 points against the Knicks in only his fifth game back, and led the Bulls to the fifth seed in the playoffs, where they defeated the Charlotte Hornets. However, Jordan and the Bulls were unable to overcome the eventual Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic, which included Horace Grant, Penny Hardaway, and Shaquille O'Neal.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In the off-season, the Bulls lost Armstrong in the expansion draft, and Krause traded Perdue to the San Antonio Spurs for rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, who had won the past four rebounding titles, and who had also been a member of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" squad that served as the Bulls' chief nemesis in the late 1980s.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: With a lineup of Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Harper and Longley, and perhaps the league's best bench in Steve Kerr, Kukoč, Wennington, Buechler, and guard Randy Brown, the Bulls were seen as the team to win again for the NBA Finals.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The Bulls started their 1995–96 campaign with a 105–91 win over the visiting Hornets. In that game, Michael Jordan recorded 42 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists for the Bulls. The next game, they were up against the Boston Celtics. The Bulls scored 35 points in the 3rd quarter as they pull away against the Celtics, 107–85. Six Bulls players scored in double figures in this win. The 1995–96 Bulls posted one of the best single-season improvements in league history and the best single-season record at that time, moving from 47–35 to 72–10, becoming the first NBA team to win 70 or more games. Jordan won his eighth scoring title, and Rodman his fifth straight rebounding title, while Kerr finished second in the league in three-point shooting percentage. Jordan garnered the elusive triple crown with the NBA MVP, NBA All-Star Game MVP, and NBA Finals MVP. Krause was named NBA Executive of the Year, Jackson Coach of the Year, and Kukoč the Sixth Man of the Year. Both Pippen and Jordan made the All-NBA First Team, and Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman made the All-Defensive First Team, making the Bulls one of several teams in NBA history with three players on the All-Defensive First Team.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In addition, the 1995–96 team holds several other records, including the best road record in a standard 41-road-game season (33–8), the all-time best start by a team (41–3), and the best start at home (37–0). The Bulls also posted the second-best home record in history (39–2), behind only the 1985–86 Celtics 40–1 home mark. The team triumphed over the Miami Heat in the first round, the New York Knicks in the second round, the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals and finally Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and the Seattle SuperSonics for their fourth title. The 1995–96 Chicago Bulls are widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in the history of basketball.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls missed out on a second consecutive 70-win season by losing their final two games to finish 69–13. They repeated their home dominance, going 39–2 at the United Center. The Bulls capped the season by defeating the Bullets, Hawks and Heat in the first three rounds of the playoffs en route to winning their fifth NBA championship over John Stockton, Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz. Jordan earned his second straight and ninth career scoring title, while Rodman earned his sixth straight rebounding title. Jordan and Pippen, along with Robert Parish, who was a member of the Bulls at the time, were also honored as members of the 50 greatest players of all time with the NBA celebrating its 50th season. Parish, whose single season with the Bulls would be his last year in the league, was nominated for his stellar career with the Boston Celtics.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The 1997–98 season was one of turmoil for the NBA champion Bulls. Many speculated this would be Michael Jordan's final season with the team. Phil Jackson's future with the team was also questionable, as his relationship with team general manager Jerry Krause was one of growing tension. Scottie Pippen was looking for a significant contract extension that he thought he deserved, but was not getting from the organization. In spite of the turmoil that surrounded the Bulls, they still had a remarkable season, with a final regular-season record of 62–20. Jordan would be named the league MVP for the fifth and final time, and the Bulls went into the playoffs as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The first round of the playoffs for the Bulls was against the New Jersey Nets, a team led by Keith Van Horn, Kendall Gill and Sam Cassell. The Bulls swept the Nets three to nothing in a best of five series. The conference semi-finals were more challenging with the Charlotte Hornets stealing game two from the Bulls at the United Center, and tying the series 1–1. But the Bulls easily defeated the Hornets in the next three games of the series. The Conference Finals was a challenge for the Bulls as they went up against the Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers. Experts were of the opinion that the Pacers had the best chance to defeat the Bulls. The Pacers gave the Bulls no road wins, winning games 3, 4, and 6, sending the series to a deciding game seven at the United Center. The Bulls prevailed and beat the Pacers 88–83, winning their 6th Eastern Conference Championship.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In a much-anticipated Finals, The Bulls faced the team they beat the previous year, the Utah Jazz. Led by Karl Malone and John Stockton, the Jazz felt confident that they could defeat the Bulls, winning game one at Utah's Delta Center. Facing a potential two to nothing deficit, the Bulls won Game 2 at the Delta Center and tied the series. The Bulls returned to the United Center and, by winning the next two games, took a 3–1 series lead. The Jazz won Game 5 by two points, 83–81. Game 6 was a tough battle for both teams. Scottie Pippen left early in the 1st quarter due to an ongoing back injury. He came back at the start of the 2nd half, and after a trip or two to the locker room to get physical therapy, came back out to finish the game. Late in the game and down by three points to the Jazz, Michael Jordan led the Bulls to one final win. Jordan hit a shot to bring the Bulls within 1, then stole the ball from Karl Malone and hit the game winning shot with 5.2 seconds remaining on the clock. With a score of 87–86, John Stockton put up a three-pointer, but missed, giving the Bulls their sixth championship in eight years. Jordan would be named the Finals MVP for the sixth time in his career. He retired for the second time on January 13, 1999.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The summer of 1998 brought an abrupt end to the championship era. Krause felt that the Bulls were on the verge of being too old and unable to compete. He decided that the team's only choices were to rebuild or endure a slow decline. His plan was to trade away the aging talent and acquire high draft picks while clearing salary cap space to make a run at several promising free agents in two years' time. After having been vetoed in a previous attempt by owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Krause traded Scottie Pippen for Roy Rogers (who was released in February 1999) and a conditional second-round draft pick from the Houston Rockets. He also decided not to re-sign Dennis Rodman, and traded Luc Longley and Steve Kerr for other draft picks. He hired a new coach, Tim Floyd, who had run a successful program at Iowa State University. Upon Phil Jackson's departure, Michael Jordan made his second retirement official. With a new starting lineup of point guard Randy Brown, shooting guard Ron Harper, newcomer Brent Barry at small forward, power forward Toni Kukoč, and center Bill Wennington, the team began the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season. Kukoč led the team in scoring, rebounding, and assists, but the team won only 13 of 50 games. The lowest point of the season came on April 10 in a game against the Miami Heat. In that game, the Bulls scored 49 points to set an NBA record for the fewest points in a game in the shot-clock era.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The previous year's dismal finish came with one highlight: the team won the draft lottery and the rights to power forward Elton Brand. Since the team lost Harper, Wennington and Barry in the off-season, Brand and fellow rookie Ron Artest led the team throughout the year, especially after Kukoč missed most of the season due to injury and was then dealt for a draft pick at the trading deadline. Brand recorded the first 20–10 average for the Bulls since the days of Artis Gilmore. He led all rookies in scoring, rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and minutes, while Artest led all rookies in steals and finished second on the team in scoring. For his efforts Brand was named 1999–2000 co-Rookie of the Year with Houston's Steve Francis, and to the all-rookie first team, while Artest was named to the all-rookie second team. However, the team established a franchise low at 17–65, second-worst in the league.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: After a summer in which the Bulls witnessed most major and minor free agents Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Eddie Jones and even Tim Thomas choose to stay with their teams (or go elsewhere) rather than sign with them, Krause signed free agent center Brad Miller and shooting guard Ron Mercer, and drafted power forward Marcus Fizer and traded draft pick Chris Mihm to Cleveland for the rights of guard Jamal Crawford. Brand again led the team in scoring and rebounds with another 20–10 season, but the new acquisitions failed to make a major impact, and they finished with the worst record in team history and the league's worst for the season at 15–67.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: Krause shocked Bulls fans on draft day in 2001 when he traded franchise player Brand to the Los Angeles Clippers for the second pick in the draft, Tyson Chandler. He also selected Eddy Curry with the fourth pick. Since both Chandler and Curry came straight out of high school, neither was expected to make much of a contribution for several years, but they were seen as potential franchise players. The team floundered without veteran leadership. At mid-season, the Bulls traded their top three scorers—Mercer, Artest, and Miller along with Kevin Ollie—to the Indiana Pacers for veteran guard Jalen Rose, Travis Best and Norman Richardson. There was also a change in coaching, with Floyd being dismissed in favor of assistant coach and former Bulls co-captain Bill Cartwright, following a series of arguments with players and management. The Bulls improved from 15 to 21 wins, although they were still tied for last in the league.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: For the 2002–03 season, the Bulls came to play with much optimism. They picked up college phenom Jay Williams with the second pick in the draft. Williams teamed with Jalen Rose, Crawford, Fizer, newcomer Donyell Marshall, Curry, Chandler, and guard Trenton Hassell to form a young and exciting nucleus which improved to 30–52 in Bill Cartwright's first full season as head coach. Curry led the league in field goal percentage, becoming the first Bull since Jordan to lead the league in a major statistical category.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: During the summer of 2003, long-time GM Jerry Krause retired, and former player and color commentator John Paxson was tapped as his successor. Jay Williams, coming off a promising rookie campaign, was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. His contract was bought out by the Bulls in February 2004, and he never returned to the league. Paxson selected point guard Kirk Hinrich with the seventh pick in the draft, and signed veteran free agent and former franchise player Scottie Pippen. With Pippen playing, Cartwright at the sidelines, and Paxson in the front office, the Bulls hoped that some of the championship magic from before would return.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: However, the 2003–04 season was a resounding disappointment. Eddy Curry regressed, leading to questions about his conditioning and commitment. Tyson Chandler was plagued by a chronic back injury, missing more than thirty games. Pippen's ability to influence games was impaired by knee problems, and he openly contemplated retirement. Jamal Crawford remained inconsistent. Bill Cartwright was fired as head coach in December and replaced with former Phoenix coach Scott Skiles. A trade with the Toronto Raptors brought Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams in exchange for Rose and Marshall in what was seen as a major shift in team strategy from winning with athleticism to winning with hard work and defense. After struggling throughout the season, the Bulls finished with 23 wins and 59 losses, the second-worst record in the league. Fizer was not re-signed, and Crawford was re-signed and traded to the Knicks for expiring contracts. Hinrich provided the lone bright spot, becoming a fan favorite for his gritty determination and tenacious defense. He won a place on the All-Rookie first team.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: During the 2004 off-season, Paxson traded a 2005 draft pick to the Phoenix Suns in return for an additional pick in the 2004 NBA draft. He used the picks to select Connecticut guard Ben Gordon and Duke small forward Luol Deng in the first round, and Duke point guard Chris Duhon in the second. Paxson also signed free agent small forward Andrés Nocioni, who had recently won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the Argentina national basketball team. After losing the first nine games of the season, the Bulls began to show signs of improvement behind their improved team defense and clutch fourth-quarter play from Gordon. The Bulls, who were 0–9 to start the season, finished the regular season 47–35, with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and advanced to the NBA playoffs for the first time since Jordan's departure. In the first round, the 4th-seeded Bulls played the Washington Wizards. Despite an injury to Deng and a heart issue with Curry, the Bulls opened the series with two wins at home, but lost the next four games and the series. After the season, Ben Gordon became the first rookie to win the NBA Sixth Man Award and the first Bull since Kukoč in 1996 to win the award.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: During the 2005 off-season, the Bulls re-signed free agent Tyson Chandler. However, Curry showed possible symptoms of a heart disease resulting of a heart murmur during checkups, and Paxson would not clear him to play without extensive DNA testing. Ultimately, Curry refused to participate in the tests, and he was traded along with Antonio Davis to the New York Knicks for Michael Sweetney, Tim Thomas, and what became the second pick of the 2006 NBA draft—as well as the right to swap picks with New York in the 2007 NBA draft.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: Without a significant post presence, the Bulls struggled for most of the 2005–06 season. However, a late-season 12–2 surge allowed them to finish 41–41 and qualify for the 2006 playoffs as the seventh seed. There, the Bulls faced the Miami Heat. After two close losses in Miami, the Bulls broke through with a blowout win in Game 3, and another win in Game 4. However, the Heat took the next two games to win the series and went on to win that year's championship. The Bulls' several young players nevertheless earned additional postseason experience, and Nocioni turned in a remarkable series of performances that far exceeded his season averages.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In the 2006 NBA Draft, the Bulls were awarded forward-center LaMarcus Aldridge and immediately traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers for forward Tyrus Thomas and forward Viktor Khryapa. In a second draft-day trade, the Bulls selected Rodney Carney and traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers for guard Thabo Sefolosha. Later that summer, four-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace signed with the Bulls for a reported four-year, $60 million contract. Following the signing of Wallace, the Bulls traded Tyson Chandler, the last remaining player of the Krause era, to the (then) New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for veteran power forward P.J. Brown and J. R. Smith and salary cap space that was used to sign former Chicago co-captain Adrian Griffin.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In 2006–07, the Bulls overcame a 3–9 season start to finish 49–33, the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, the Bulls again faced Miami, the defending NBA champions. The Bulls narrowly won Game 1 at home, then followed it with a blowout victory in Game 2. In Miami, the Bulls rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to win Game 3 and then posted another comeback win in Game 4. The Bulls' four-game sweep of the defending champions stunned many NBA observers. It was Chicago's first playoff series victory since 1998, Jordan's last season with the team.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The Bulls then advanced to face the Detroit Pistons, marking the first time the Central Division rivals had met in the playoffs since 1991. The Pistons won the first three games including a big comeback in Game 3. No NBA team had ever come back from a 0–3 deficit to win the series, but the Bulls avoided a sweep by winning Game 4 by 10 points. The Bulls then easily won Game 5 in Detroit, and had a chance to make NBA history. But they lost at home in game 6 by 10, and the Pistons won the series 4–2 on May 17.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: During the off season, the Bulls signed forward Joe Smith and guard Adrian Griffin, and drafted center Joakim Noah. However, distractions began when Luol Deng and Ben Gordon turned down contract extensions, never citing reasons. Then rumors surfaced that the Bulls were pursuing stars like Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, and most notably, Kobe Bryant. None of these deals happened, and general manager John Paxson denied a deal was ever imminent.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The Bulls started the 2007–08 season by losing 10 of their first 12 games and on December 24, 2007, after a 9–16 start, the Bulls fired head coach Scott Skiles. Jim Boylan was named the interim head coach on December 27, 2007.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On February 21, 2008, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Adrian Griffin and the Bulls' 2009 2nd-round draft pick were exchanged for Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons, Larry Hughes and Shannon Brown in a three-team trade deal involving the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Seattle SuperSonics. Boylan was not retained on April 17 at the conclusion of the 2007–08 season after compiling a 24–32 record with the Bulls. The Bulls ended the 2007–08 campaign with a 33–49 record, a complete reversal of last year's record.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: After Jim Boylan's interim tenure expired, the Bulls began the process of selecting a new head coach. They were in talks with former Phoenix head coach Mike D'Antoni, but on May 10, 2008, he signed with the New York Knicks. Other possible options included former Dallas head coach Avery Johnson and former Bulls head coach Doug Collins. Collins resigned from the coaching list on June 4, 2008, reporting that he did not want to ruin his friendship with Jerry Reinsdorf.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On June 10, 2008, the Bulls general manager John Paxson hired Vinny Del Negro, with no coaching experience, to coach the young Bulls. On July 3, 2008, the "Chicago Tribune" reported that Del Harris agreed to become an assistant coach for the Bulls along with former Charlotte Bobcats head coach Bernie Bickerstaff and longtime NBA assistant coach Bob Ociepka. Along with Bickerstaff and Ociepka, Harris helped establish a veteran presence on the coaching staff and helped rookie head coach Del Negro.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: With a slim 1.7% chance of winning the rights to draft number 1, the Bulls won the 2008 NBA draft lottery and selected first overall. With this, the Bulls became the team with the lowest chance of winning to ever win the lottery since it was modified for the 1994 NBA draft, and second-lowest ever. On June 26, 2008, the Bulls drafted Chicago native Derrick Rose from the University of Memphis as the number 1 draft pick. At pick number 39 they selected Sonny Weems. The Bulls later traded Weems to the Denver Nuggets for Denver's 2009 regular second-round draft pick. The Bulls then acquired Ömer Aşık from the Portland Trail Blazers (selected with the 36th pick) for Denver's 2009 second-round draft pick, New York's 2009 second-round draft pick, and the Bulls' 2010 regular second-round draft pick. The Bulls re-signed Luol Deng to a six-year $71 million contract on July 30, 2008. He was later plagued with an injury keeping him from action for most of the 2008–09 season. Ben Gordon signed a one-year contract on October 2, 2008.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On February 18, 2009, the Bulls made their first of several trades, sending Andrés Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons, and Michael Ruffin to the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons. Then on February 19, 2009, the NBA trade deadline, the Bulls traded Larry Hughes to the New York Knicks for Tim Thomas, Jerome James, and Anthony Roberson. Later that day the Bulls made the third trade in a span of less than 24 hours by sending swingman Thabo Sefolosha to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2009 first-round pick. The trades brought a late-season push for the Bulls, which finally clinched a playoff berth on April 10, 2009, their fourth in the last five years. They finished the season with a 41–41 record. Their record was good enough to secure a No. 7 seed in the 2009 NBA playoffs, playing a tough series against the Boston Celtics. In Game 1, Derrick Rose scored 36 points, along with 11 assists, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for most points scored by a rookie in a playoff debut. After breaking the record for most overtimes played in an NBA Playoffs Series, the Boston Celtics managed to overcome the Bulls after 7 games and 7 overtime periods played.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The Bulls had two first-round picks in the 2009 NBA draft and decided to take Wake Forest stand out forward James Johnson and athletic USC forward Taj Gibson. In the 2009 NBA off-season the Bulls lost their leading scorer, Ben Gordon, when he signed with their divisional rival, the Detroit Pistons.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On February 18, 2010, John Salmons was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Joe Alexander and Hakim Warrick. Meanwhile, Tyrus Thomas was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Acie Law, Flip Murray and a future protected first-round pick. On April 14, 2010, the Bulls clinched the playoffs with the number 8 seed. Unlike the previous year, however, the Bulls' playoff run was shorter and less dramatic as they were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. On May 4, 2010, the Bulls officially fired head coach Vinny Del Negro.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In early June 2010, Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau accepted a three-year contract to fill the Bulls' head coaching vacancy. He was officially introduced on June 23. On July 7, it was revealed that Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz had verbally agreed to an $80 million, five-year contract. Afterwards, the Bulls traded veteran point guard Kirk Hinrich to the Washington Wizards to create more cap space. The Bulls also signed former 76er and Jazz sharpshooter Kyle Korver to a three-year, $15 million contract. The same day that the Bulls signed Kyle Korver, they signed Turkish All-Star Ömer Aşık. After being matched by the Orlando Magic for J. J. Redick, they signed their third free agent from the Jazz in the off-season in shooting guard Ronnie Brewer, traded for former Warrior point guard C.J. Watson, and signed former Bucks power forward Kurt Thomas as well as former Spurs player Keith Bogans and former Celtic Brian Scalabrine.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: Rose earned the 2011 NBA MVP Award, thereby becoming the youngest player in NBA history to win it. He became the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan to win the award. As a team, Chicago finished the regular season with a league-best 62–20 record and clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1998. The Bulls defeated the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks in five and six games, respectively, thereby reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1998, and faced the Miami Heat. After winning the first game of the series, they lost the next four games, ending their season.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: During the off-season, the Bulls drafted Jimmy Butler 30th overall in the 2011 NBA draft. After the NBA lockout ended, the Bulls lost Kurt Thomas to free agency, and released Keith Bogans. The Bulls signed veteran shooting guard Richard "Rip" Hamilton to a three-year deal, after he was waived by the Detroit Pistons. The Bulls also gave MVP Derrick Rose a 5-year contract extension worth $94.8 million.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: Derrick Rose was voted as an NBA All-Star starter for the second consecutive year, and was the third leading voted player overall behind Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant. Luol Deng was also selected as a reserve for the Eastern Conference. This was the first time that the Bulls had two all-stars since 1997, when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the duo. Derrick Rose was injured for most of the 2011–12 season; however, the team was still able to finish with a 50–16 record and clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference for the second straight year and the best overall record in the NBA (tied with the San Antonio Spurs). Rose suffered a new injury when he tore his ACL during the 4th quarter of the first playoff game on April 28, 2012, against the Philadelphia 76ers and missed the rest of the series. Head coach Tom Thibodeau was criticized for keeping Rose in the game even though the Bulls were essentially minutes away from their victory over the 76ers. The Bulls lost the next three games, and also lost Noah to a foot injury after he severely rolled his ankle stepping on Andre Iguodala's foot in Game 3; he briefly returned for part of the fourth quarter of that game, but missed the following games in the series. After winning Game 5 at home, the Bulls were eliminated by the 76ers in Game 6 in Philadelphia, becoming the fifth team in NBA history to be eliminated as a first seed by an eighth seed. In Game 6, Andre Iguodala sank two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to put the 76ers up 79–78 after getting fouled by Ömer Aşık, who had missed two free throws five seconds earlier. At the end of the season, Boozer and Aşık were the only members on the Bulls' roster to have played in every game, with Korver and Brewer missing one game apiece. In the off-season, the Bulls gave up Lucas to the Toronto Raptors, Brewer to the New York Knicks, Korver to the Atlanta Hawks, Watson to the Brooklyn Nets and Aşık to the Houston Rockets, but brought back Kirk Hinrich. In addition, they added Marco Belinelli, Vladimir Radmanovic, Nazr Mohammed and Nate Robinson to the roster via free agency.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: Rose missed the entire 2012–13 season, but despite his absence, the Bulls finished 45–37, second in the Central Division (behind the Indiana Pacers) and 5th in their conference. They defeated the Brooklyn Nets 4–3 (after leading 3–1) in the first round of the playoffs and lost to the Miami Heat 4–1 in the next round.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: During the season, the Bulls snapped both Miami's 27-game winning streak and the New York Knicks' 13-game winning streak, becoming the second team in NBA history to snap two winning streaks of 13 games or more in a season.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: Just 10 games into the 2013–14 season, Derrick Rose would tear his medial meniscus on a non-contact play. He declared he would miss the remainder of the season. On January 7, 2014, veteran forward Luol Deng was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for center Andrew Bynum and a set of picks. Bynum was immediately waived after the trade went through. The Bulls would finish second in the Central Division with 48 wins, and earned home-court advantage in the first round. Joakim Noah finished the season 4th in MVP voting, made All-NBA 1st team, and was awarded Defensive player of the year. However, due to lack of a strong offensive weapon,


title: Chicago Bulls

text: In the 2014 NBA draft, the Bulls traded their 16th and 19th picks for Doug McDermott, the former Creighton star and 5th leading scorer in NCAA history, who was selected with the 11th pick, and in the second round, took Cameron Bairstow with the 49th pick. That off-season, they signed Pau Gasol, re-signed Kirk Hinrich and brought over Eurostar Nikola Mirotić, who was acquired via a draft-day trade in 2011, but could not come over sooner, due to salary cap constraints.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The second return of Derrick Rose gave the Bulls and their fans optimism for the 2014–15 season. With 2-time NBA Champion Pau Gasol and a deep bench consisting of Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotić, Tony Snell, Aaron Brooks, Doug McDermott, Kirk Hinrich, among others, the Bulls were one of the two favorite teams to come out of the Eastern Conference along with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bulls started off the season in style with a blowout win of the New York Knicks, and then winning 7 of their first 9 games (losses coming to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics). The emergence of Jimmy Butler as a primary scorer for the Bulls was a major surprise and he surged into the forefront of the "Most Improved Player of the Year" award race. Butler's statistical jump was noted by many as one of the greatest in NBA History, going from scoring just 13 points per game in 2013–14 to scoring 20 points per game in 2014–15. Pau Gasol was considered a huge asset for the Bulls and averaged a double-double throughout the season. Both Butler and Gasol ended up making the Eastern Conference All-Star team. The Bulls' second half of the season was marred by inconsistency and frustration set in with Derrick Rose blasting the team for not being on the same page. Tension between management and Tom Thibodeau continued to be a dark cloud hanging over the organization. The Bulls finished with a 50–32 record and the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference. They faced the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, and took advantage of the young and inexperienced Bucks by going up a quick 3–0 in the series. However, inconsistency and not being on the same page yet again plagued the Bulls as the Bucks won the next two games, sending a scare to Chicago. The Bulls bounced back with fury in Game 6 however, beating the Bucks by a playoff record 54 points winning the series 4–2. The next round saw the Bulls facing their arch-rival Cleveland Cavaliers, and their biggest nemesis, LeBron James, who had beaten the Bulls in all three of their previous playoff meetings. The Bulls shocked the Cavs in Game 1 dominating them and never trailing. The Cavs answered back in Game 2 in the same fashion, never trailing the entire game. In a pivotal Game 3 in Chicago, the Bulls and Cavs battled closely all the way through, but the Bulls prevailed on a last-second buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Derrick Rose. In Game 4, the Cavaliers would answer once again, with LeBron James hitting the buzzer-beating shot to win the game. The Bulls lack of consistency and poor offensive showing doomed them once again as the Cavaliers won the next two games handily and closed out the series 4–2. After the series, speculation erupted about Tom Thibodeau's job security due to escalating feud between Thibodeau and Bulls front office managers Gar Forman and John Paxson.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On May 28, 2015, the Bulls fired Tom Thibodeau to seek a "change in approach". The Bulls named Fred Hoiberg as their head coach on June 2, 2015. The Bulls had only 1 draft pick in the 2015 NBA draft, and selected center Bobby Portis from the University of Arkansas. Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. was ruled out for at least the first four months of the season after completing back surgery. With Dunleavy out indefinitely, the Bulls promoted Doug McDermott to the starting lineup in his place at small forward. Before the season started, coach Fred Hoiberg made an incredibly controversial move by putting Nikola Mirotić as his starting power forward to pair with center Pau Gasol, meaning Joakim Noah, a long-time Bulls veteran and a fan-favorite was to come off the bench. Hoiberg told the media that the move was suggested by Noah himself but Noah denied having made any suggestions to Hoiberg, which sparked a distrust between the two before the season even began.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: The Bulls started the 2015–16 season off well with an impressive season-opening 97–95 victory against archrivals and defending Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers and jumped to an 8–3 record in the first month. The Bulls went 10–9 and through late November and December. The Bulls came back and won six straight games. However, soon afterwards, they lost 12 of their next 17 games and Butler missed four weeks after injuring his knee. The Bulls were eliminated from playoff contention after a loss to the Miami Heat on April 7, 2016, although finishing the season with a winning record of 42–40. It was the first time in 8 years that the Bulls had missed the playoffs.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On June 22, 2016, Derrick Rose and Justin Holiday, along with a 2017 second-round draft pick, were traded to the New York Knicks for center Robin Lopez, and point guards Jerian Grant and José Calderón, who was soon traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. On July 7, the Bulls announced the signing of Rose's replacement, guard Rajon Rondo. On July 15, the Bulls signed Chicago native Dwyane Wade. On October 17, 2016, the Bulls acquired 2014 Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams in exchange for Tony Snell.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On February 23, 2017, Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott, along with a 2018 second-round draft pick, were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for point guard Cameron Payne, shooting guard Anthony Morrow, and power forward/center Joffrey Lauvergne. Jimmy Butler finished the season with several career highs, was named an All-Star, and made All-NBA 3rd team. The Bulls clinched the eighth seed in 2017 NBA playoffs after winning seven of their final ten games and finishing the season with a 41–41 record. The team struck an early 2–0 lead against the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, but ultimately lost the series after losing the next four games.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On June 22, 2017, Jimmy Butler, along with Chicago's 2017 first-round pick, was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and Minnesota's 2017 first-round pick, which the Bulls used to select Lauri Markkanen. Additionally, on June 27, the Bulls did not give a qualifying offer to Michael Carter-Williams, allowing him to enter unrestricted free agency. On June 30, Rajon Rondo and Isaiah Canaan were waived by the Bulls. On July 10, 2017, Justin Holiday returned to the Bulls signing a 2-year, $9 million contract. On September 24, 2017, Dwyane Wade and the Bulls reportedly agreed to a buyout of the remaining year on his contract. Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Wade gave back $8 million of his $23.2 million contract as part of the agreement.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On October 17, 2017, a fight broke out in practice between Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotić, who suffered a concussion and two broken bones in his face. Portis was suspended eight games for his role in the altercation, and Mirotić missed 23 games to start the regular season. On February 1, 2018, the Bulls traded Mirotić and a second-round draft pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for a first-round draft pick and Ömer Aşık, Tony Allen, and Jameer Nelson. Bulls ended up finishing the season with 27–55 record.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On June 21, 2018, the Bulls selected Wendell Carter Jr. with the seventh overall pick, and with 22nd overall pick via trade with New Orleans Pelicans selected Chandler Hutchison. On July 8, the Bulls matched an offer Zach LaVine received from the Sacramento Kings for a four-year, $78 million deal. On July 14, the team signed Jabari Parker to a two-year, $40 million contract after the Milwaukee Bucks' general manager Jon Horst removed the qualifying offer on the restricted free agent and allowed him to become unrestricted. Part of Parker's agreement gave the Bulls a team option for the second year. On December 3, the Bulls fired head coach Hoiberg after the team started the 2018–19 season 5–19 and promoted his assistant Jim Boylen as head coach. On January 3, 2019, the Bulls traded Justin Holiday to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for MarShon Brooks, Wayne Selden Jr. and 2019 and 2020 second-round draft picks. MarShon Brooks and Cameron Payne were waived. On February 6, the team traded Bobby Portis, Jabari Parker and a 2023 second-round draft pick to the Washington Wizards an exchange for Otto Porter. After a season filled with injuries, coaching change, and trades, the Bulls finished with 22–60 record missing the playoffs for the second straight year.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On June 20, 2019, the Bulls selected Coby White with the seventh overall pick and Daniel Gafford with 38th pick in the second round. During the off-season, the team signed veterans Tomáš Satoranský and Thaddeus Young. In March 2020, the league suspended the season after Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. In April 2020, the Bulls fired longtime general manager Gar Forman, reassigned John Paxson to senior advisor role and hired Artūras Karnišovas as executive vice president of basketball operations. In May 2020, the Bulls hired Marc Eversley as general manager. On June 4, 2020, the Bulls season officially came to an end when the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to bring 22 teams back to finish the season in the NBA Bubble. The Bulls finished with a 22–43 record. Head Coach Jim Boylen was fired on August 14, 2020.


title: Chicago Bulls

text: On September 22, 2020, the Bulls hired Billy Donovan as head coach. Donovan had previously coached the Oklahoma City Thunder.