The Windy City Bulls are a professional basketball team that is a part of the NBA G League and an affiliate of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association. They play their home games at the NOW Area in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, located 25 miles away from Chicago. The Windy City Bulls became the 13th D-League team to be owned by an NBA Team in 2015. Once the 2017-18 season started, the D-League became known as the G-league by their new multi-year partnership with Gatorade.
History
In October 2015, the Chicago Bulls focused on a plan to have an expansion team play in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. One month later, on November 9, 2015, the Hoffman Estates board unanimously approved a Bulls D-League team. The fans selected the Windy City Bulls’ team name on the Chicago Bulls website. The fans submitted about 3,600 possible names. The three finalist names for the team were Great Lakes Bulls, Heartland Bulls, and the winner Windy City Bulls. At the first-ever pep rally in February of 2016, the Bulls announced the team name Windy City Bulls.
On November 11, 2016, the Windy City Bulls won their first game in franchise history, 123-94, against the Long Island Nets at the Series Centre. J.J. Avila led the Bulls with 21 points and nine rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie got a double-double of 17 points and ten assists.
Season by Season Record
| Season | Divison | Finish | Wins | Losses | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | Central | 5th | 23 | 27 | .460 |
| 2017-18 | Central | 3rd | 24 | 26 | .480 |
| 2018-19 | Central | 2nd | 27 | 23 | .540 |
| 2019-20 | Central | 5th | 17 | 26 | .395 |
| *2020-21 | |||||
| 2021-22 | Central | 11th | 15 | 19 | .341 |
Postseason Experience
The Windy City Bulls have appeared in one G League Postseason game (2018-19 Season) in their six-year existence. In the first round of the 2019 G league playoffs, the Bulls (6 Seed) took on the Westchester Knicks (3 Seed) in a best-of-one game. Westchester beat the Windy City Bulls 93-85 and advanced to the second round. Billy Garrett led the Knicks, who had a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Walt Lemon Jr led the Bulls with 29 points and seven assists. Westchester would lose in the second round to the Lakeland Magic.
In the G League Playoff format, teams play a best of one in the first three rounds and a best of 3 series to determine the G League Championship Winner.
2021-22 Windy City Bulls Roster
| Player | Position | Height | Date of Birth | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryce Alford | Guard | 6 Ft 3 In | January 18 , 1995 | UCLA |
| Vrenz Bleijenbergh | Forward | 6 Ft 10 In | October 14, 2000 | Belgium |
| Perrion Callandret | Guard | 6 Ft 4 In | April 8, 1995 | Idaho |
| *Tyler Cook | Forward | 6 Ft 8 In | September 23, 1997 | Iowa |
| Devon Dotson | Guard | 6 Ft 2 In | August 2, 1999 | Kansas |
| Henri Drell | Guard/Forward | 6 Ft 8 In | April 25, 2000 | Estonia |
| *Malcolm Hill | Forward | 6 Ft 6 In | October 26, 1995 | Illinois |
| Daniel Oturu | Forward/Center | 6 Ft 8 In | September 20, 1999 | Minnesota |
| Jeremy Pargo | Guard | 6 Ft 2 In | March 17, 1986 | Gonzaga |
| Kerwin Roach | Guard | 6 Ft 4 In | October 24, 1996 | Texas |
| Marko Simonovic | Forward/Center | 6 Ft 11 In | October 15, 1999 | KK Mega Bemax, Serbia |
| Ethan Thompson | Guard | 6 Ft 5 In | May 4, 1999 | Oregon State |
Head Coaches
| Head Coach | Term | Games Coached | Wins | Losses | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nate Loenser | 2016-17 | 50 | 23 | 27 | .460 |
| Charlie Henry | 2017-19 | 100 | 51 | 49 | .510 |
| Damian Cotter | 2019-20 | 43 | 17 | 26 | .395 |
| Henry Domercant | 2021-Present | 34 | 15 | 19 | .441 |
Why should you go see the Windy City Bulls?
First, let’s start with how many future stars have played in the G League, including Rudy Gobert, CJ McCollum, Hassan Whiteside, Danny Green, and Bulls fan favorite Alex Caruso. One player who made himself a name with the Windy City was Spencer Dinwiddie. You can tell your friends or family that you saw someone from the beginning. Some players rehabbing from an injury play with their G-League team to get minutes before hopping back to the NBA level.
The G-League is used as a “Research Lab” for the NBA when they want to try out new rules. You can see how these G-League teams adjust, which is fantastic to see in person. One example is the rule of teams from constantly fouling the opposing team’s worst free-throw shooter away from the ball in the 2015 season.
Tickets are cheap and affordable, so if you are bored after work or school, you can decide to spend some money to see a Windy City game. The average price for a Windy City Bulls game last season was $43, and the lowest price was $13, according to SeatGeek.
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