Chicago Bulls · Franchise era 7 of 7
Searching for the next era: the Chicago Bulls story
Franchise era
2016–17—present
Searching for the next era
Chicago Bulls
The story in one sentence
Chicago moved from Butler's final season through the LaVine–DeRozan teams and into another attempt to build a sustainable young core.
Short-term bets and another young foundation
Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Coby White gave the era its recognizable core.
Its final meaning is still being written.
Timeline
How it unfolded
Before 2016–17
What came before
Rose became the youngest MVP, Chicago won 62 games and reached the 2011 conference finals. His ACL injury changed the ceiling, but Noah, Butler and the defense kept the era competitive.
2017
Eastern Conference First Round: Chicago Bulls vs Boston Celtics
2022
Eastern Conference First Round: Chicago Bulls vs Milwaukee Bucks
Still unfolding
Where the story stands
This chapter remains active, so its final place in franchise history is still being written.
The core