In 1968-69 the Bulls went 33-49, a record that helped explain the home crowd of just 891 fans who watched them beat Seattle, 120-105, on November 7. On November 23 they traded Flynn Robinson to Milwaukee for Bob Love, a smooth 6-8 scoring threat, and Bob Weiss, a scrappy 6-2 guard. Chicago was accumulating the elements of a competitive club.

Jerry Sloan, who was known primarily as a defensive stalwart, hit for a career-high 43 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 5. A 6-5 scrapper, Sloan made the NBA All-Defensive First Team at season's end. Boozer led the team in scoring at 21.7 points per game, and Boerwinkle led in rebounding with 11.1 boards per contest. In fact, the 1968-69 team would stand as the best rebounding squad in Bulls history, pulling down 4,550 boards on the season.

The 1969-70 team finished 39-43 and was the highest-scoring Bulls outfit in history, putting up 114.9 points per game. On January 8 against Phoenix, Boerwinkle grabbed a franchise-high 37 rebounds as the Bulls beat the Suns, 152-123. Newcomer Chet Walker led the team in scoring for the season, averaging 21.5 points. Boerwinkle again paced the club in rebounding, beefing up his average to 12.5 boards per contest. Chicago advanced to the playoffs but lost to Atlanta, four games to one, in the Western Division Semifinals.

The Bulls finally began to fire on all cylinders in 1970-71, putting together a 51-31 record, second to Milwaukee in the newly formed Midwest Division and third best in the league. They started modestly, hovering just above .500 going into December, then ran off a six-game winning streak. Starting in late January, the Bulls went on a 19-5 tear that put them more than 20 games above .500. They had developed into a ruggedly physical club, led by Boerwinkle, who pulled down 33 rebounds in a March 9 win over Milwaukee. That victory snapped the Bucks' 20-game winning streak.

Chet Walker led the league at the foul line with an .859 free throw percentage. Bob Love set a new club record for points with 2,043, finishing sixth in the NBA scoring race with a 25.2 average. (Love would hold most of the Bulls' scoring records until Michael Jordan came along.) Boerwinkle set team rebounding marks by pulling down 1,133 boards and averaging 13.8 per game.

In the 1971 NBA Playoffs, Chicago stretched the Los Angeles Lakers to the limit in the division semifinals before losing in seven games. For catching the NBA by surprise, Dick Motta was named the league's Coach of the Year.

The Bulls continued to improve in 1971-72, muscling their way to a 57-25 record. Even that stellar mark trailed the Lakers, who won 33 straight while fashioning a 69-13 mark, and the Milwaukee Bucks, who claimed the Midwest Division title at 63-19.