A Chicago Bulls history of the NBA All-Star weekend
By Josh Bootzin
The Chicago Bulls have a rich All-Star history. Since the team’s conception in 1966, 19 players have been selected to represent the Bulls in the All-Star game, totaling 56 appearances. All but four of those 19 players have been selected as a starter at least once, combining for 33 starting nods.
A Chicago Bull has won the All-Star game MVP four times. Bulls have also emerged victorious in four Three-Point Shootouts, two Slam-Dunk Contests, and one Skills Challenge. Since it began in 1994, the Rising Stars Game – a scrimmage involving players who are in their rookie or sophomore seasons – has seen 15 different Bulls players make 21 appearances.
The city of Chicago has hosted the All-Star game three times. Twice it has been at Chicago Stadium (1973 and 1988) and once at the United Center (2020).
The 2022 NBA All-Star weekend is upon us and the Chicago Bulls are sending three representatives: DeMar DeRozan is an All-Star starter, Zach LaVine is a reserve, and Ayo Dosunmu will appear in the Rising Stars game.
DeRozan managed to lead all guards in the Eastern conference with over 5 million All-Star votes. He joins Michael Jordan, B.J. Armstrong, and Derrick Rose as the only Bulls to accomplish this since All-Star voting began in 1975. A Bulls guard has led voting for the position in the East 14 out of a possible 47 times. Unsurprisingly, 11 of these instances came from Michael Jordan.
Bulls guards have led voting amongst all NBA guards 11 times out of the possible 47 years since voting began. B.J. Armstrong led all guards in 1994.
Michael Jordan was clearly a huge part of Chicago Bulls All-Star history.
Jordan led all guards in the years 1987-1993 and 1996-1998. He and Kobe Bryant are the only two guards in All-Star history to lead voting in the position for seven or more consecutive seasons.
Scottie Pippen generated the most votes amongst Eastern conference forwards in 1993 and 1994. He remains the only Bulls forward to do so. Pippen led all forwards in 1993 but failed to outgain Charles Barkley the following year.
The closest a Bulls player has come to lead the forward position since Pippen was Jimmy Butler, who placed third amongst Eastern conference forwards in 2017.
The only Bulls big man to lead All-Star voting at the center position was Artis Gilmore when he led Eastern conference centers in 1981 and 1982. Gilmore never managed to lead all centers due to a man named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Michael Jordan remains to this day the only Chicago Bull to lead the entire Eastern Conference in All-Star voting, a feat he managed an incredible 10 times in a span of 13 years.
Jordan was the leading vote-getter in the entire NBA an astounding nine different times. This mark of greatness and league-wide dominance still stands today, although with over 9 million votes this year, LeBron James has finally caught up and tied Jordan’s record with the help of an ongoing six-year streak.
MJ is the undisputed pinnacle of greatness in Chicago basketball history, accounting for all six Bulls championships and various statistical records. The Chicago Bulls are an old franchise with a wide variety of players, coaches, eras, and amazing stories of success and perseverance.
An invitation to the All-Star game is one way for the Chicago Bulls to showcase their assets to the world. Read on to take a trip through a Chicago Bulls history of the NBA All-Star weekend: