Chicago Bulls: 25 Best Players To Play For The Bulls
By Phil Watson
1966-76. Jerry Sloan. 13. player. 24. <strong>How acquired:</strong> Expansion draft, Baltimore Bullets, May 1, 1966.. SG-SF
Of the 18 players the Chicago Bulls selected in their expansion draft in May 1966, none stayed around the franchise longer than Jerry Sloan, chosen from the Baltimore Bullets.
Sloan was an two-time All-Star and a six-time All-Defensive selection for the Bulls, finishing fourth in the NBA in steals in 1973-74, late in his career but the first year the stat was officially kept.
He retired in June 1976 after being slowed by a series of knee injuries.
In 10 seasons in Chicago, Sloan averaged 14.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 steals in 35.6 minutes per game, shooting 42.7 percent from the floor and 72.3 percent at the line.
Sloan was the fourth overall pick out of Evansville by the Bullets in the 1965 NBA Draft.
He later coached the Bulls for parts of three seasons, 1979-82, going 94-121 and 2-4 in the postseason.
That was followed several years later by a nearly 23-year run (1988-2011) with the Utah Jazz, where he was 1,127-682 and 96-100 in the playoffs, taking Utah to the NBA Finals twice, losing to Chicago each time.
Sloan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2009.
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