Windy City Bulls
The Windy City Bulls are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League and an affiliate of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association. Based in northwest-suburban Hoffman Estates, Illinois, the team plays their home games at Now Arena, 25 miles (40 km) from Chicago. It became the thirteenth D-League team to be owned by an NBA team.[3]
Windy City Bulls | |
---|---|
League | NBA G League |
Founded | 2016 |
History | Windy City Bulls 2016–present |
Arena | Now Arena |
Location | Hoffman Estates, Illinois |
Team colors | Red, black, silver[1][2] |
President | Brad Seymour |
Team manager | Josh Kreibich |
Ownership | Chicago Bulls |
Affiliation(s) | Chicago Bulls |
Championships | 0 |
Division/Conference titles | 0 |
Website | Official website |
History
In October 2015, the Chicago Bulls began pursuing an expansion franchise in nearby Hoffman Estates to play in the Now Arena,[4] in time for the 2016–17 season.[5] On November 9, 2015, the Hoffman Estates board unanimously approved the Bulls' proposed NBA Development League (D-League) team.
The team received its name through a contest on the Chicago Bulls' website. Fans submitted about 3,600 suggestions, which were narrowed down to three finalists: Great Lakes Bulls, Heartland Bulls and Windy City Bulls.[6] Windy City was announced as the winner in a pep rally/press conference on February 24, 2016.[1][7]
The team has helped the likes of Spencer Dinwiddie, Ryan Arcidiacono, Alfonzo McKinnie and JaKarr Sampson among many others get an opportunity to play in the NBA. The team has also had a number of players with Chicago roots to play for the organization including Will Bynum, Alfonzo McKinnie, Walter Lemon Jr., Milton Doyle and current two-way player Max Strus. The team has also had a number of international players like Simi Shittu (Canada), Mychal Mulder (Canada) and current two-way player Adam Mokoka (France). Former Two-Way players include Antonio Blakeney, Ryan Arcidiacono, Tyler Ulis, Rawle Alkins, Brandon Sampson. Many former players have also gone on to successful international careers including Thomas Walkup, Alec Brown, Aaron Thomas and Wesley Saunders.
Season-by-season
Season | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Finish | Wins | Losses | Pct. | ||||||
Windy City Bulls | |||||||||
2016–17 | Central | 5th | 23 | 27 | .460 | ||||
2017–18 | Central | 3rd | 24 | 26 | .480 | ||||
2018–19 | Central | 2nd | 27 | 23 | .540 | Lost First Round (Westchester) 82–95 | |||
2019–20 | Central | 5th | 17 | 26 | .395 | Season cancelled by COVID-19 pandemic | |||
Regular season record | 91 | 102 | .472 | ||||||
Playoff record | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Current roster
Windy City Bulls roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Head coaches
# | Head coach | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Achievements | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | L | Win% | G | W | L | Win% | ||||
1 | Nate Loenser | 2016–2017 | 50 | 23 | 27 | .460 | — | — | — | — | |
2 | Charlie Henry | 2017–2019 | 100 | 51 | 49 | .510 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
3 | Damian Cotter | 2019–2020 | 43 | 17 | 26 | .395 | — | — | — | — |
NBA affiliates
- Chicago Bulls (2016–present)
- Denver Nuggets (2019–present)
Bol Bol is currently on a two way contract with Denver but is with Windy City since Denver does not have a G-League team.
References
- Moreno, Matt (February 24, 2016). "Windy City Bulls revealed as name of new Chicago Bulls NBA D-League team". WindyCity.GLeague.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- "Windy City Bulls Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
- "Chicago Bulls Purchase NBA Development League Team". GLeague.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. November 11, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
- Peterson, Eric (November 4, 2015). "Chicago Bulls say they'd promote Sears Centre big time with D-team". Daily Herald. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- Peterson, Eric (October 31, 2015). "Chicago Bulls development team may play at Sears Centre next year". Daily Herald. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- Peterson, Eric (December 17, 2015). "'Heartland Bulls' among finalists for D-League team name". Daily Herald. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- Johnson, K.C. (February 24, 2016). "Windy City Bulls revealed as Development League team name". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 24, 2016.