1985–86 Chicago Bulls season


The 1985–86 NBA season was the 20th season for the Chicago Bulls. During the offseason, they signed free agent John Paxson. The season was a near disaster as Michael Jordan was lost for much of the regular season due to a broken foot. Despite the injury to Jordan, the team managed to qualify for the NBA Playoffs.

Offseason

NBA Draft

The 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA Draft of the "Lottery" era. The lottery was put into place so teams did not have to intentionally lose games to receive the number one pick.
RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalitySchool/Club Team
111Keith LeeCenterMemphis State
228Ken JohnsonForwardMichigan State
234Aubrey SherrodGuardWichita State
246Adrian BranchForwardMaryland

Roster

Regular season

Record vs. opponents

Player stats

Regular season

Playoffs

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
323.0.556.000.5003.31.7.33.007.3
334.3.552.0001.0009.02.0.33.6712.0
25.5.000.000.000.5.5.00.00.0
317.7.300.000.5004.0.0.33.336.0
345.0.5051.000.8726.35.72.331.3343.7
329.0.357.2501.0001.33.3.67.004.0
329.3.524.000.61510.01.02.00.6710.0
14.0.000.000.0002.0.0.00.00.0
326.7.467.000.765.01.71.00.009.0
31.7.000.000.000.0.0.00.33.0
345.0.403.000.8674.71.31.00.3321.0

Playoffs

At the time, the Bulls had the fifth worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history. Michael Jordan recovered in time to participate in the playoffs and performed well upon his return. Against a Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history, Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in game 2. The Celtics, however, managed to sweep the series.

East First Round

Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls: Celtics win series 3–0
Last Playoff Meeting: 1981 Eastern Conference Semifinals

Awards and honors