on to the Philadelphia 76ers in his final NBA season in 1995–96. Appearing in only 10 games Skiles stats backslid again, with only 6.3 points and 3.8 assists in 23.6 minutes per game over 9 starts. Greek League PAOK Nursing a serious shoulder injury in 1996, Skiles left the U.S. for the Greek League, joining PAOK in Thessaloniki. Expectations were high for the new arrival from the NBA, but midway through the season injuries and contract problems with key players threatened the season for both PAOK and French coach Michel Gomez. Still struggling with injury himself, and increasingly at odds with Gomez, Skiles asked to be released from his contract. Instead, president Lakis Alexopoulos fired Gomez and offered Skiles the job. Despite lacking three of their top players due to injury, Skiles led PAOK to a winning record as coach in the remainder of the '96-'97 season, and an unexpected 3rd-place finish in the Greek League, thus assuring a qualification to the following year's Euroleague. Coaching career As an assistant Skiles returned to the NBA for the 1997–98 season as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns, being elevated to head coach in 1999. Phoenix Suns Under Skiles Phoenix compiled a .595 Won-Loss record and made the playoffs in two of his three years as head coach, including a first-round win over the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in 2000. Chicago Bulls After a two-year absence from the game, Skiles came to the Chicago Bulls as head coach in 2003. He immediately focused on improving the young Bulls' defense and developing greater consistency in a talented but underachieving team. In the first full year under his direction, Chicago limited its opposition to an NBA-best .422 field goal percentage and held their opponents to a franchise record and league high 26 straight games below 100 points. An NBA best 13–3 mark in January 2005 earned Skiles the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honor. The 2006 Bulls went 41–41, earning a 7th seed in the playoffs falling to 2nd seeded Miami Heat in six games. In 2007 the Bulls improved to a 49–33 and again faced the Heat in the first round of the post-season, this time sweeping them in four games. They lost the first three games of the second-round against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons, dropping the last at the United Center after holding a double-digit lead for