How Bulls bonded for the regular season by riding roller coasters
Team excursions are common in the NBA, but usually it's something like a golf outing or dinner at an expensive restaurant.
The Bulls tried a different tactic before the regular season began, taking a group outing to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. DeMar DeRozan was credited for coming up with the idea.
"Yeah, just something fun to do," DeRozan said. "I'm a big roller coaster guy, I just thought it would be cool to get everybody out of their element, do something fun."
A southern California native, DeRozan leans more toward Six Flags Magic Mountain than Knott's Berry Farm.
"Wherever you've got the biggest rides, that's where I'm going to go," he said.
Zach LaVine arranged for a bus so everyone could ride together on the night of Oct. 15. Word spread quickly on social media of the team's presence.
"Yeah, they were shocked. A lot of people just said. 'Y'all are tall in person,'" Coby White said. "It didn't help that the people running the rides announced that, 'Hey, you're about to get on the ride with the Chicago Bulls.'"
One video making the rounds on Twitter showed the players getting ready to ride the Raging Bull, with DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Alex Caruso and Javonte Green seated across the front row. White, Dalen Terry and Derrick Jones Jr. appear to be in row 2.
The players agreed the highlight of the night was Patrick Williams overcoming his fear of roller coasters to join the ride. The third-year forward shared an appreciation of his teammates.
"If I wasn't on this team, I wouldn't have did it," Williams said. "If it wasn't the group of guys I was with, I wouldn't have did it. It was fun after. But actually doing it, wasn't that fun.
"First of all, I'm terrified of heights. I'm more terrified of roller coasters. Going up, that part took me out. I really thought I was going to pass out or throw up. I had my hoodie on, zipped up full, hands on the bar, eyes closed until after the drop and then I opened them."
It wasn't easy, since those rides don't come with much leg room and Williams stands 6-feet-7.
"The first one I tried to get on, I was too tall for and I was super happy," he said. "I was hoping I'd be too tall for all of them."
Williams said he did complete four coasters, but could have done without the newer Maxx Force, which accelerates at the start rather than being pulled up a hill.
"I'm proud of him," White said of Williams. "He faced his fears like a champ."
Not everyone on the team made it. Nikola Vucevic said he had a conflict and Ayo Dosunmu couldn't make it. Since it's October, it was also Fright Fest, with dozens of costumed monsters roaming the park.
"It was a good time," Caruso said. "We've got a good team, everyone enjoys hanging out. And something fun like that before the season starts where you can just kind of disconnect from basketball, it was a fun time. The Raging Bull was good. I liked all of them, I'm a big roller coaster guy."
One thing White discovered while roaming the park was Caruso has an enthusiastic following.
"AC, his fan base is huge," White said. "Zach's so low-key. He wears the baggy jump suit with his hood on. You don't know it's him unless you're close. You know if it's AC, though, his head be shining. He's a recognizable guy."
Maybe some of that team togetherness paid off Monday when the Bulls rallied from an early 19-point deficit to beat the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics at the United Center. For the second straight game, coach Billy Donovan took the unusual step of using an 11-man rotation.
"(The trip) was different, for sure," White said. "That was the first time we did anything like that. Most of the time it's dinners or catch a movie all together. I think everyone there had a really good time. It was good for us."
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