Bulls–Cavaliers rivalry
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
| |
| First meeting | December 20, 1970 Bulls 116, Cavaliers 103 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | December 19, 2025 Bulls 136, Cavaliers 125 |
| Next meeting | March 19, 2026 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 275 |
| All-time series | 155–120 (CHI) |
| Regular season series | 134–106 (CHI) |
| Postseason results | 20–14 (CHI) |
| Longest win streak | CHI W13 |
| Current win streak | CHI W2 |
| Postseason history | |
| |
Locations of the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Bulls–Cavaliers rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The teams have played each other since the Cavaliers joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970, but the rivalry did not begin in earnest until the Bulls drafted Michael Jordan with the third overall pick in 1984. After Jordan would go on to the Washington Wizards and eventually retire, the rivalry died down, but when Cleveland picked LeBron James with the first selection in 2003, the rivalry heated up again.
In 2011, Bleacher Report named the Bulls as the Cavaliers' "Greatest Rivalry." The NBA called it "one of the great NBA rivalries."