2001–02 Chicago Bulls season

The 2001–02 NBA season was the Bulls' 36th season in the National Basketball Association. After finishing with the worst record the previous season, the Bulls selected high school basketball star Eddy Curry with the fourth overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and acquired top draft pick and high school basketball star Tyson Chandler from the Los Angeles Clippers, who selected him with the second overall pick. During the off-season, the team re-acquired former Bulls forward Charles Oakley from the Toronto Raptors, acquired Greg Anthony from the Portland Trail Blazers, and signed free agents Eddie Robinson, and Kevin Ollie. Oakley had played three seasons for the Bulls from 1985 to 1988. However, the Bulls still struggled losing 23 of their first 27 games, posting a ten-game losing streak in November. Head coach Tim Floyd resigned on Christmas Eve after a 4–21 start to the season, then after two games under assistant Bill Berry, the team hired former Bulls center Bill Cartwright as their new coach. Midway through the season, the Bulls traded Ollie along with Ron Mercer, Ron Artest and Brad Miller to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Jalen Rose and Travis Best, while Anthony was released to free agency and later on signed with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bulls struggled all season long finishing last place in the Central Division with a 21–61 record. Rose averaged 23.8 points per game with the team, while second-year forward Marcus Fizer provided them with 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Following the season, Oakley signed as a free agent with the Washington Wizards, and Best signed with the Miami Heat. (See 2001–02 Chicago Bulls season#Regular season)