The 2004–05 NBA season was the Bulls' 39th season in the National Basketball Association. After the retirement of Scottie Pippen, the Bulls stumbled out of the gate as they lost their first nine games on their way to an awful 3–14 start. However, they would win 13 of their 16 games in January including a 7-game winning streak, then win nine straight games between March and April. The Bulls finished second in the Central Division with a record of 47–35, and qualified for the playoffsfor the first time since 1998, when they last made the NBA Finals, as well as when they won their last NBA championship. Second-year star Kirk Hinrich averaged 15.7 points, 6.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Top draft pick Ben Gordon became the first rookie to win the Sixth Man of The Year Award, as he and Luol Deng were both selected to the All-Rookie First Team. However, injuries were an issue as Deng was out for April and the postseason with a wrist injury, and Eddy Curry was sidelined due to a heart ailment. In the first round of the playoffs, the Bulls took a 2–0 lead over the Washington Wizards, but would lose the final four games of the series. Following the season, Curry and Antonio Davis were both traded to the New York Knicks. This was the Bulls' first winning season and first playoff run since 1998, during the Michael Jordan era, when they won their sixth and most recent NBA championship.
Offseason
The Bulls drafted Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon, and getting Luol Deng from a trade with the Phoenix Suns, with Gordon coming from Connecticut and Deng and Duhon coming from Duke. They also signed Argentinian forward Andrés Nocioni, who had played on several successful international teams. These acquisitions reflected John Paxson's strategy of building around players who had already been on successful teams, a departure from what Jerry Krause had done as General Manager, drafting Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler in the same season, players who both showed tremendous potential, but were both coming to the NBA directly from high school. Jamal Crawford and Jerome Williams were traded to the New York Knicks for Dikembe Mutombo and Cezary Trybanski. However, Mutombo was traded again to the Houston Rockets for Eric Piatkowski and Adrian Griffin without ever playing in a game for the Bulls and Trybanksi was waived by the team in October.
The Bulls' record of 47-35 was good enough for the #4 seed in the Eastern conference. In the first round of the playoffs the Bulls met another young team on the upswing, the Washington Wizards. The Bulls would lose the series 4-2, staying competitive throughout most of the series, but ultimately unable to find an answer for Wizards star Gilbert Arenas. The Bulls also entered the series nursing injuries. Most notably, Eddy Curry was injured in late March, and the Bulls signed veteran Lawrence Funderburke just days before the beginning of the postseason in an attempt to add more depth to their front-court.
East First Round
Chicago Bulls vs. Washington Wizards ;Regular season series: Washington won 2–1 in the regular-season series: Last Playoffs meeting: 1997 Eastern Conference First Round
