# 2020–21 Chicago Bulls season

The 2020–21 Chicago Bulls season was the 55th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On April 13, 2020, Arturas Karnišovas was named executive vice-president of basketball operations by the Bulls. The Bulls replaced Jim Boylen, with former Oklahoma City Thunder coach Billy Donovan on September 22.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College / Club |
| 1 | 4 | Patrick Williams | Small forward | United States | Florida State |
| 2 | 44 | Marko Simonović | Power forward / Center | Montenegro | Mega Soccerbet (Serbia) |
Before the start of the 2020 NBA draft period, the Bulls' selection was originally held stuck at the #7 selection before the NBA suspended their season on March 12, 2020, and cancelled the rest of Chicago's season by June 5. Chicago had the second-best record of teams that had their seasons cancelled during that period. On the night of the 2020 NBA draft lottery, the Bulls moved up three spots from the seventh selection to the fourth pick of the draft. The Bulls also have a second-round selection at #44, but that selection was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies after their own second-round pick was traded to the Washington Wizards.

## Standings
### Division

| Central Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
| y – Milwaukee Bucks | 46 | 26 | .639 | – | 26‍–‍10 | 20‍–‍16 | 11–1 | 72 |
| pi – Indiana Pacers | 34 | 38 | .472 | 12.0 | 13‍–‍23 | 21‍–‍15 | 7–5 | 72 |
| Chicago Bulls | 31 | 41 | .431 | 15.0 | 15‍–‍21 | 16‍–‍20 | 7–5 | 72 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 22 | 50 | .306 | 24.0 | 13‍–‍23 | 9‍–‍27 | 4–8 | 72 |
| Detroit Pistons | 20 | 52 | .278 | 26.0 | 13‍–‍23 | 7‍–‍29 | 1–11 | 72 |

### Conference

Eastern Conference :
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c − Philadelphia 76ers * | 49 | 23 | .681 | – | 72 |
| 2 | x – Brooklyn Nets | 48 | 24 | .667 | 1.0 | 72 |
| 3 | y – Milwaukee Bucks * | 46 | 26 | .639 | 3.0 | 72 |
| 4 | x – New York Knicks | 41 | 31 | .569 | 8.0 | 72 |
| 5 | y – Atlanta Hawks * | 41 | 31 | .569 | 8.0 | 72 |
| 6 | x – Miami Heat | 40 | 32 | .556 | 9.0 | 72 |
| 7 | x – Boston Celtics | 36 | 36 | .500 | 13.0 | 72 |
| 8 | x – Washington Wizards | 34 | 38 | .472 | 15.0 | 72 |
| 9 | pi – Indiana Pacers | 34 | 38 | .472 | 15.0 | 72 |
| 10 | pi – Charlotte Hornets | 33 | 39 | .458 | 16.0 | 72 |
| 11 | Chicago Bulls | 31 | 41 | .431 | 18.0 | 72 |
| 12 | Toronto Raptors | 27 | 45 | .375 | 22.0 | 72 |
| 13 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 22 | 50 | .306 | 27.0 | 72 |
| 14 | Orlando Magic | 21 | 51 | .292 | 28.0 | 72 |
| 15 | Detroit Pistons | 20 | 52 | .278 | 29.0 | 72 |
Notes
* z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
* c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
* y – Clinched division title
* x – Clinched playoff spot
* pb – Clinched play-in spot
* o – Eliminated from playoff contention
* * – Division leader

## Game log
### Preseason

2020 preseason game log Total: 3–1 (Home: 1–1; Road: 2–0) :
Preseason: 3–1 (home: 1–1; road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
December 11
Houston
L 104–125
Coby White (15)
Vonleh, Gafford (8)
Satoranský, White (6)
United Center 0
0–1
2
December 13
Houston
W 104–91
Zach LaVine (23)
Zach LaVine (9)
Arcidiacono, LaVine, White (5)
United Center 0
1–1
3
December 16
@ Oklahoma City
W 124–103
Coby White (27)
Otto Porter Jr. (12)
Zach LaVine (5)
Chesapeake Energy Arena 0
2–1
4
December 18
@ Oklahoma City
W 105–103
Lauri Markkanen (22)
Coby White (9)
Wendell Carter Jr. (6)
Chesapeake Energy Arena 0
3–1 :
2020–21 season schedule :

### Regular season

2020–21 game log Total: 31–41 (Home: 15–21; Road: 16–20) :
December: 2–3 (home: 0–3; road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
December 23
Atlanta
L 104–124
Zach LaVine (22)
Lauri Markkanen (7)
Coby White (7)
United Center 0
0–1
2
December 26
Indiana
L 106–125
Zach LaVine (17)
Lauri Markkanen (9)
Tomáš Satoranský (9)
United Center 0
0–2
3
December 27
Golden State
L 128–129
Zach LaVine (33)
Wendell Carter Jr. (13)
Coby White (5)
United Center 0
0–3
4
December 29
@ Washington
W 115–107
Zach LaVine (23)
Wendell Carter Jr. (12)
LaVine, Satoranský, White (6)
Capital One Arena 0
1–3
5
December 31
@ Washington
W 133–130
Otto Porter Jr. (28)
Otto Porter Jr. (12)
Coby White (10)
Capital One Arena 0
2–3 :
January: 5–8 (home: 2–3; road: 3–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
6
January 1
@ Milwaukee
L 96–126
Zach LaVine (16)
LaVine, Williams (6)
Carter Jr., Felicio, White (3)
Fiserv Forum 0
2–4
7
January 3
Dallas
W 118–108
Zach LaVine (39)
Carter Jr., Porter Jr., White (7)
Zach LaVine (5)
United Center 0
3–4
8
January 5
@ Portland
W 111–108
Coby White (21)
Otto Porter Jr. (13)
Zach LaVine (9)
Moda Center 0
4–4
9
January 6
@ Sacramento
L 124–128
Coby White (36)
Wendell Carter Jr. (17)
Coby White (7)
Golden 1 Center 0
4–5
10
January 8
@ LA Lakers
L 115–117
Zach LaVine (38)
Patrick Williams (8)
Zach LaVine (6)
Staples Center 0
4–6
11
January 10
@ LA Clippers
L 127–130
Zach LaVine (45)
Coby White (8)
Coby White (13)
Staples Center 0
4–7
PPD
January 12
Boston
Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: May 7)
12
January 15
@ Oklahoma City
L 125–127 (OT)
Zach LaVine (35)
Wendell Carter Jr. (11)
Coby White (7)
Chesapeake Energy Arena 0
4–8
13
January 17
@ Dallas
W 117–101
Lauri Markkanen (29)
Lauri Markkanen (10)
Zach LaVine (10)
American Airlines Center 0
5–8
14
January 18
Houston
W 125–120
Zach LaVine (33)
Thaddeus Young (9)
Zach LaVine (7)
United Center 0
6–8
15
January 22
@ Charlotte
W 123–110
Zach LaVine (25)
Otto Porter Jr. (8)
Zach LaVine (9)
Spectrum Center 0
7–8
16
January 23
LA Lakers
L 90–101
Zach LaVine (21)
Zach LaVine (10)
LaVine, White (4)
United Center 0
7–9
17
January 25
Boston
L 103–119
Zach LaVine (30)
Thaddeus Young (9)
Thaddeus Young (9)
United Center 0
7–10
PPD
January 27
@ Memphis
Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: April 12)
18
January 30
Portland
L 122–123
Lauri Markkanen (31)
Thaddeus Young (11)
Thaddeus Young (11)
United Center 0
7–11 :
February: 8–6 (home: 5–4; road: 3–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
19
February 1
New York
W 110–102
Lauri Markkanen (30)
Daniel Gafford (9)
Thaddeus Young (8)
United Center 0
8–11
20
February 3
New York
L 103–107
Zach LaVine (24)
Patrick Williams (7)
Zach LaVine (7)
United Center 0
8–12
21
February 5
@ Orlando
L 119–123
Zach LaVine (26)
Williams, Young (7)
Zach LaVine (8)
Amway Center 3,535
8–13
22
February 6
@ Orlando
W 118–92
Zach LaVine (39)
Patrick Williams (10)
Tomáš Satoranský (6)
Amway Center 3,880
9–13
23
February 8
Washington
L 101–105
Zach LaVine (35)
Garrett Temple (9)
LaVine, Young (6)
United Center 0
9–14
24
February 10
New Orleans
W 129–116
Zach LaVine (46)
LaVine, Young (7)
Tomáš Satoranský (8)
United Center 0
10–14
25
February 12
LA Clippers
L 106–125
Zach LaVine (26)
Zach LaVine (9)
Tomáš Satoranský (7)
United Center 0
10–15
26
February 15
@ Indiana
W 120–112 (OT)
Zach LaVine (30)
Thaddeus Young (11)
Coby White (8)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 0
11–15
PPD
February 17
@ Charlotte
Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: May 6)
27
February 17
Detroit
W 105–102
Zach LaVine (37)
Thaddeus Young (10)
Thaddeus Young (7)
United Center 0
12–15
28
February 19
@ Philadelphia
L 105–112
Zach LaVine (30)
Thaddeus Young (9)
LaVine, White (5)
Wells Fargo Center 0
12–16
29
February 20
Sacramento
W 122–114
Zach LaVine (38)
Patrick Williams (11)
Wendell Carter Jr. (5)
United Center 0
13–16
30
February 22
@ Houston
W 120–100
Coby White (24)
Wendell Carter Jr. (13)
Zach LaVine (6)
Toyota Center 3,025
14–16
31
February 24
Minnesota
W 133–126 (OT)
Zach LaVine (35)
Wendell Carter Jr. (10)
White, Young (6)
United Center 0
15–16
32
February 26
Phoenix
L 97–106
Zach LaVine (24)
Thaddeus Young (10)
Thaddeus Young (5)
United Center 0
15–17
PPD
February 28
@ Toronto
Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: April 8) :
March: 4–10 (home: 2–6; road: 2–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
33
March 1
Denver
L 112–118
Zach LaVine (23)
Coby White (10)
LaVine, Satoranský (5)
United Center 0
15–18
34
March 3
@ New Orleans
W 128–124
Zach LaVine (36)
Wendell Carter Jr. (15)
Zach LaVine (8)
Smoothie King Center 2,700
16–18
35
March 11
Philadelphia
L 105–127
Lauri Markkanen (23)
Wendell Carter Jr. (9)
Zach LaVine (7)
United Center 0
16–19
36
March 12
Miami
L 90–101
Zach LaVine (30)
Thaddeus Young (10)
Zach LaVine (6)
United Center 0
16–20
37
March 14
Toronto
W 118–95
Patrick Williams (23)
Wendell Carter Jr. (11)
Satoranský, Young (7)
United Center 0
17–20
38
March 16
Oklahoma City
W 123–102
Zach LaVine (40)
Carter Jr., Young (9)
Tomáš Satoranský (8)
United Center 0
18–20
39
March 17
San Antonio
L 99–106
Zach LaVine (29)
Patrick Williams (14)
Tomáš Satoranský (7)
United Center 0
18–21
40
March 19
@ Denver
L 127–131 (OT)
Zach LaVine (32)
Thaddeus Young (10)
Thaddeus Young (6)
Ball Arena 0
18–22
41
March 21
@ Detroit
W 100–86
Zach LaVine (18)
Daniel Gafford (11)
Tomáš Satoranský (9)
Little Caesars Arena 750
19–22
42
March 22
Utah
L 95–120
Zach LaVine (27)
Thaddeus Young (9)
LaVine, Satoranský (4)
United Center 0
19–23
43
March 24
Cleveland
L 94–103
Zach LaVine (22)
Wendell Carter Jr. (9)
LaVine, Satoranský (4)
United Center 0
19–24
44
March 27
@ San Antonio
L 104–120
Nikola Vučević (21)
Nikola Vučević (9)
Thaddeus Young (9)
AT&T Center 3,334
19–25
45
March 29
@ Golden State
L 102–116
Nikola Vučević (21)
Nikola Vučević (9)
Tomáš Satoranský (8)
Chase Center 0
19–26
46
March 31
@ Phoenix
L 116–121
Nikola Vučević (24)
Markkanen, Vučević, Young (10)
Tomáš Satoranský (7)
Phoenix Suns Arena 3,459
19–27 :
April: 7–10 (home: 3–3; road: 4–7)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
47
April 2
@ Utah
L 106–113
Thaddeus Young (25)
Nikola Vučević (8)
Satoranský, Valentine, Vučević (4)
Vivint Arena 5,546
19–28
48
April 4
Brooklyn
W 115–107
Zach LaVine (25)
Nikola Vučević (13)
Tomáš Satoranský (11)
United Center 0
20–28
49
April 6
@ Indiana
W 113–97
Nikola Vučević (32)
Nikola Vučević (17)
LaVine, White (6)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 0
21–28
50
April 8
@ Toronto
W 122–113
LaVine, Vučević (22)
Daniel Theis (10)
Zach LaVine (13)
Amalie Arena 0
22–28
51
April 9
@ Atlanta
L 108–120
Zach LaVine (50)
Nikola Vučević (10)
Tomáš Satoranský (10)
State Farm Arena 996
22–29
52
April 11
@ Minnesota
L 117–121
Zach LaVine (30)
Thaddeus Young (8)
LaVine, Satoranský (6)
Target Center 1,436
22–30
53
April 12
@ Memphis
L 90–101
Zach LaVine (21)
Nikola Vučević (10)
Zach LaVine (9)
FedExForum 2,194
22–31
54
April 14
Orlando
L 106–115
Zach LaVine (30)
Nikola Vučević (11)
Zach LaVine (7)
United Center 0
22–32
55
April 16
Memphis
L 115–126
Coby White (27)
Nikola Vučević (14)
Coby White (7)
United Center 0
22–33
56
April 17
Cleveland
W 106–96
Nikola Vučević (25)
Nikola Vučević (7)
Coby White (9)
United Center 0
23–33
57
April 19
@ Boston
W 102–96
Nikola Vučević (29)
Nikola Vučević (9)
Coby White (7)
TD Garden 0
24–33
58
April 21
@ Cleveland
L 105–121
Lauri Markkanen (16)
Thaddeus Young (8)
Coby White (6)
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 0
24–34
59
April 22
Charlotte
W 108–91
Vučević, White, Young (18)
Nikola Vučević (16)
Tomáš Satoranský (7)
United Center 0
25–34
60
April 24
@ Miami
L 101–106
Coby White (31)
Nikola Vučević (14)
Nikola Vučević (6)
AmericanAirlines Arena 0
25–35
61
April 26
@ Miami
W 110–102
Nikola Vučević (24)
Daniel Theis (12)
Thaddeus Young (8)
AmericanAirlines Arena 0
26–35
62
April 28
@ New York
L 94–113
Nikola Vučević (26)
Nikola Vučević (18)
Coby White (9)
Madison Square Garden 1,981
26–36
63
April 30
Milwaukee
L 98–108
Coby White (21)
Nikola Vučević (15)
Coby White (7)
United Center 0
26–37 :
May: 5–4 (home: 3–2; road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
64
May 1
@ Atlanta
L 97–108
Thaddeus Young (20)
Lauri Markkanen (11)
Thaddeus Young (9)
State Farm Arena 3,053
26–38
65
May 3
Philadelphia
L 94–106
Coby White (23)
Daniel Theis (8)
Tomáš Satoranský (6)
United Center 0
26–39
66
May 6
@ Charlotte
W 120–99
Nikola Vučević (29)
Nikola Vučević (14)
Thaddeus Young (8)
Spectrum Center 3,769
27–39
67
May 7
Boston
W 121–99
LaVine, White (25)
Nikola Vučević (14)
Nikola Vučević (10)
United Center 3,399
28–39
68
May 9
@ Detroit
W 108–96
Zach LaVine (30)
Nikola Vučević (16)
Tomáš Satoranský (7)
Little Caesars Arena 750
29–39
69
May 11
Brooklyn
L 107–115
Zach LaVine (41)
Nikola Vučević (12)
Nikola Vučević (6)
United Center 3,434
29–40
70
May 13
Toronto
W 114–102
Zach LaVine (24)
Nikola Vučević (16)
Coby White (10)
United Center 3,395
30–40
71
May 15
@ Brooklyn
L 91–105
Patrick Williams (24)
Thaddeus Young (13)
Coby White (6)
Barclays Center 1,773
30–41
72
May 16
Milwaukee
W 118–112
Thaddeus Young (20)
Christiano Felicio (8)
Coby White (5)
United Center 3,427
31–41 :
2020–21 season schedule :

## Player statistics

| Player | Pos. | GP | GS | MP | Reb. | Ast. | Stl. | Blk. | Pts. |
| Al-Farouq Aminu$^≠$ | SF/PF | 6 | 0 | 67 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Ryan Arcidiacono | PG | 44 | 0 | 450 | 67 | 56 | 9 | 0 | 136 |
| Troy Brown$^≠$ | SF | 13 | 0 | 237 | 44 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 71 |
| Wendell Carter$^†$ | C | 32 | 25 | 792 | 250 | 69 | 18 | 24 | 348 |
| Devon Dotson | PG | 11 | 0 | 50 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 23 |
| Cristiano Felício | C | 18 | 0 | 84 | 26 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 23 |
| Daniel Gafford$^†$ | C | 31 | 11 | 383 | 103 | 17 | 11 | 34 | 147 |
| Javonte Green$^≠$ | SG/PG | 16 | 0 | 128 | 19 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 41 |
| Chandler Hutchison$^†$ | SF | 7 | 0 | 64 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| Luke Kornet$^†$ | PF/C | 13 | 0 | 94 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 26 |
| Zach LaVine | SG | 58 | 58 | 2,034 | 289 | 282 | 46 | 27 | 1,591 |
| Lauri Markkanen | PF | 51 | 26 | 1,317 | 268 | 45 | 26 | 15 | 695 |
| Adam Mokoka | SG/SF | 14 | 0 | 56 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| Otto Porter$^†$ | SF | 25 | 6 | 540 | 138 | 50 | 12 | 4 | 247 |
| Tomáš Satoranský | PG | 58 | 18 | 1,307 | 142 | 271 | 40 | 14 | 447 |
| Garrett Temple | PG | 56 | 25 | 1,528 | 160 | 124 | 43 | 30 | 423 |
| Daniel Theis$^≠$ | C | 23 | 14 | 574 | 136 | 41 | 16 | 14 | 230 |
| Denzel Valentine | SG/SF | 62 | 3 | 1,036 | 197 | 105 | 30 | 7 | 406 |
| Nikola Vučević$^≠$ | C | 26 | 26 | 848 | 300 | 102 | 23 | 20 | 559 |
| Coby White | PG | 69 | 54 | 2,156 | 284 | 328 | 38 | 15 | 1,041 |
| Patrick Williams | PF | 71 | 71 | 1,983 | 327 | 99 | 64 | 46 | 655 |
| Thaddeus Young | PF | 68 | 23 | 1,652 | 423 | 291 | 74 | 40 | 823 |
After all games. $^‡$Waived during the season $^†$Traded during the season $^≠$Acquired during the season

## Transactions
### Trades

| March 15, 2021 | To Chicago BullsNikola Vučević Al-Farouq Aminu | To Orlando MagicWendell Carter Jr. Otto Porter Jr. 2021 first-round pick 2023 first-round pick |
| March 25, 2021 | To Chicago BullsTroy Brown Jr. (from Washington) Javonte Green (from Boston) Daniel Theis (from Boston) Cash considerations (from Boston and Washington) | To Boston CelticsLuke Kornet (from Chicago) Moritz Wagner (from Washington) |
| To Washington WizardsDaniel Gafford (from Chicago) Chandler Hutchison (from Chicago) ||

### Free agency
#### Re-signed

| Player | Signed |
| Denzel Valentine | 1-year contract worth $4.6 million (November 21, 2020) |
| Adam Mokoka | Two-way contract (November 22, 2020) |

#### Additions

| Player | Signed | Former team |
| Devon Dotson | Two-way contract (November 19, 2020) | Kansas Jayhawks |
| Zach Norvell Jr. | 1-year contract worth $1.4 million (November 27, 2020) | Santa Cruz Warriors |
| Noah Vonleh | 1-year contract worth $2 million (November 27, 2020) | Denver Nuggets |
| Garrett Temple | 1-year contract worth $4.7 million (November 27, 2020) | Brooklyn Nets |
| Simisola Shittu | Exhibit 10 contract (December 6, 2020) | Brooklyn Nets |

#### Subtractions

| Player | Reason left | New team |
| Noah Vonleh | Waived (December 14, 2020) | Brooklyn Nets |
| Zach Norvell Jr. | Waived (December 19, 2020) | Santa Cruz Warriors |
| Simisola Shittu | Waived (December 19, 2020) | Westchester Knicks |