In sports, injuries are as much a part of the game as the rules they’re played by.

Too often, stellar seasons and careers are cut short by the most unfortunate of universal truths– sooner or later, bodies break.

Some enjoy longer periods of success than others, but no matter if a career is 10 years or two— if a player isn’t fortunate enough to leave the game on his own terms, there will always be questions without answers.

Somewhere in the annals of every team’s history is a chapter that might be longer than any other, a chapter titled What If.

Here are five Bulls whose careers ended too soon.

5. Jerry Sloan

Jerry “the Original Bull” Sloan played 10 years for the Bulls before chronic knee problems forced him to retire in 1976 at age 33.

Health Issues

In an article for the Bulls’ website, Sloan had this to say in reference to his final season and playoff run–

I’d been through a lot in my career. I wasn’t the kind of player who would take plays off or sit out with minor injuries. I was 33, and, because of my style of play, it was an old 33—although I might not have looked at it that way then. I knew that this might well be not only my best chance at an NBA Finals, but my last.

Interesting Comparisons

If you take the time to read the full article, some uncanny similarities are revealed between these current Bulls under Tom Thibodeau and the Dick Motta Bulls of the 70’s.

On defense–

As a team, we were going to give you a hard time. We led the league in defense. We weren’t flashy—none of us made the All-Star team in 1974-75—but Love, Van Lier, and I all were on the NBA’s All-Defensive Team. Everybody knew that if there was one thing our Bulls team would do, it was get after you on defense.

And, in coaching style–

many pundits second-guessed that our coach, Dick Motta, rode the starters too hard, and, because of that, we didn’t have the energy to withstand the rigors of the postseason. I’m not sure I believe that; as a coach, you always want your best players on the floor.

Jerry Sloan’s number was the first retired by the Bulls organization.

4. Bob Love

Bob Love played almost his entire career as a member of the Bulls alongside Jerry Sloan.

Despite playing only seven full seasons and nine years total in Chicago, he is currently the Bulls’ third all-time leading scorer.

Health Issues

After being traded 14 games into the 1976-77 season, Love played 13 games for the New York Nets and 34 games in Seattle before calling it quits due to lingering back issues.

After undergoing multiple post retirement back surgeries, doctors were unsure if he would ever walk again.

In addition to this, Love suffered from a debilitating speech impediment, as a result he was unable to find even simple blue-collar work away from basketball, forcing him into poverty.

Incredible Story

After years of struggle, hardship, and perseverance, Love finally overcame all odds and is now the Bulls’ Director of Community Relations, giving hundreds of public speeches per year.

His number 10 was the second retired by the Bulls in 1994.

3. Eddy Curry

Former Illinois Mr. Basketball, McDonald’s All-American Game MVP, and 2001 fourth overall pick Eddy Curry was billed as the next Shaq.

Instead, he is one of the biggest busts in Chicago draft history.

After seeing limited minutes his rookie season, Curry led the NBA in field goal percentage (58.5%) in his second year.

In what would be his fourth and final year in Chicago, Curry led the Bulls in scoring. Which led to a 28 win improvement from the previous year, and the Bulls’ first playoff berth since Jordan’s final season.

Health Issues

However, with 13 games remaining in that 2004-05 season, Curry was hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat, which forced him to miss the rest of the regular season and playoffs.

After refusing to submit to a DNA test which would reveal whether or not he had a congenital heart condition, the Bulls traded Curry to the New York Knicks.

Get this–

Curry declined the test despite an offer from the Bulls to pay him $400, 000 annually for 50 years should he fail.

Way to bet on yourself Eddy.

Result

He enjoyed a year or two of decent success during his five years in New York (depending how you look at it) but continued to decline and never delivered on his mountainous potential; as he continued to suffer from weight and knee problems.

After being traded to Minnesota in the deal that landed Carmelo in New York, Curry played for three teams in two years and is now out of basketball entirely.

2. Scott May

In 1976, Scott May was the best college basketball player in the world.

Under head coach Bob Knight, May led the Indiana Hoosiers to an NCAA title, and was named the Naismith College Player of the Year.

As a result the Chicago Bulls selected May with the second overall pick of the 1976 draft. In his rookie season he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, averaging 14 points and six rebounds per game.

However, plagued by various injuries and illnesses, May would never live up the expectations his college career and rookie season promised.

Health Issues

At the time, it appeared May was a godsend as greats like Jerry Sloan had just retired, and Bob Love was on his way out also because of health issues.

Unfortunately, May was nothing but an empty promise as the majority of his five year tenure with the Bulls was spent nursing injuries.

In an Associated Press story from 1978, May called himself “jinxed” saying–

“It’s frustrating. But it’s something I’ve learned to deal with.”

1. Jay Williams

June 26, 2002, was the day everything was supposed to turn around for the Bulls.

After Houston made Yao Ming the first overall selection of the 2002 draft, a former NCAA champion and College Player of the Year was still on the board.

So, as expected with the second overall pick, Chicago selected college legend Jay Williams– the man who would bring the Windy City back to the NBA spotlight using the same locker as Michal Jordan.

On June 19, 2003, it all became a distant dream.

Health Issues

On that night, Williams, without a helmet or proper license, crashed his Yamaha R6 into a utility pole.

He severed a main nerve in his leg, fractured his pelvis, and dislocated three knee ligaments.

Williams almost lost his life, luckily he did not.

After extensive physical therapy and rehab, in 2006 Williams attempted a short lived comeback to basketball. However, honorable as the effort was, it didn’t take long for all parties involved to realize his injuries were just too much to overcome.

Tragic as it was, Williams has gone on to make a full recovery and now works for ESPN as a college basketball analyst.