A Chicago Bulls history of the NBA All-Star weekend
By Josh Bootzin
The Chicago Bulls had some interesting players make the All-Star game early on.
A Chicago Bulls player was invited to the All-Star game in 15 of the team’s first 17 years, including the team’s all-time third-leading scorer Bob Love (above). In the Bulls’ first season as an NBA franchise, they finished 33-48 and qualified for the Western Conference playoffs.
Although the record seems subpar, the Bulls were able to send two players – guards Guy Rodgers and Jerry Sloan – to the 1967 All-Star game. The two combined for nine points, 12 assists, and six rebounds in 50 minutes to boost the West to a 135-120 victory.
Four years later, in Bob Love’s All-Star debut, he trailed only Lenny Wilkens and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the game’s third-leading scorer with 16 points on 50 percent shooting, helping to vault the West to a narrow 109-108 victory. Fellow Bull Chet Walker contributed another 10 points.
Chicago Stadium hosted its first All-Star game in 1973, though Bulls All-Stars Love and Walker only managed to combine for 10 points and four rebounds in 28 minutes.
No Bulls were selected to the All-Star game for the first time in 1975, the same year that owner and founder Dick Klein sold the team to the Blackhawks-owning Wirtz family.
In 1976, the three-time ABA All-Star center Artis Gilmore found his way to the Bulls during the ABA dispersal draft. Gilmore made his NBA All-Star game debut as a Bull in 1978, finishing with a respectable 10 points, two rebounds, two blocks, and a steal in 13 minutes off the bench.
The Bulls played their first season as a member of the Eastern Conference in 1980-81. They introduced themselves to the East with a bang, accounting for two All-Star starters for the first time in franchise history.
Gilmore and guard Reggie Theus both finished as top eight vote-getters in the league. They combined for 19 points, seven rebounds, and five assists on 9-for-14 shooting to vault the East to a 123-120 victory.
The following year, Gilmore finished 6th in voting, starting his second consecutive All-Star game but his seven points were outshined by Boston center Robert Parish’s 21. Gilmore was traded to San Antonio in the offseason. Theus joined the 1983 All-Star game as a reserve but he would go on to be traded as well.
With no All-Stars in 1984, the first era of the Chicago Bulls drew to a close. With the team leaders traded away and the third pick in the upcoming 1984 NBA draft being practically the only valuable asset left to the team, the future wasn’t looking too bright for Chicago basketball.