The Bulls nabbed Jerry “The Original Bull” Sloan from the Baltimore Bullets in the 1966 NBA Expansion Draft. Sloan spent the remainder of his 11-year NBA career in Chicago and became the first Bull to have his jersey (No. 4) retired.
Sloan made his first of two All-Star Games in the Bulls’ inaugural season. He recorded 17.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game as the Bulls made the playoffs, though they got swept away in the first round by the St. Louis Hawks.
Sloan’s other All-Star appearance came in 1969, but his most productive season came in 1970-71 when he put up 18.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the 51-win Bulls. The guard was a prominent performer on eight Bulls playoff teams and averaged 14.1 points and 7.9 rebounds in 50 postseason games for Chicago.
In addition to his stellar scoring and rebounding numbers, Sloan was known for his hounding defense on the perimeter. When the NBA finally began recording steals in 1973-74, he racked up 2.4 steals per contest. He followed that up with another 2.2 per game in 1974-75.
Sloan’s NBA career came to an end in 1976 due to knee problems. He soon returned to the organization as a scout. He then became an assistant coach before being promoted to head coach in 1979. He spent two-plus seasons as the Bulls’ head coach, with one playoff appearance to his name, and he would go on to become a highly successful coach with the Utah Jazz.
Sloan is fourth in Bulls history in games played, and he’s fifth in both points and rebounds. He went into the Hall of Fame in 2009.