Ranking the Top 10 Most Underrated Chicago Bulls Players of the Last Decade

In the roll-up to the Chicago Bulls’ biggest season of the Tom Thibodeau era and Derrick Rose’s overanalyzed return, it’s important to remember the roles that more easily forgotten men play in successful NBA campaigns.

As much as the star work of Rose, Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol will dictate the Bulls’ ups and downs in 2014-15, it could be the peripheral players who tilt the Bulls into victory, or grab the team’s biggest moments.

Some of these Bulls went unnoticed because their impact on the game was too hard to measure for the casual fan. Others were too frustrating for Chicago to fully enjoy their obvious talents. And timing is a factor, too—attention levels for the team haven't always been high.

Let’s take a look at some of the unsung Bulls of the past decade in the hopes of learning something about the present.

10. John Salmons (2009-10)

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Now likely to languish with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2014-15, Salmons was once an unlikely go-to veteran for the Bulls. His most memorable stint in Chicago came at the end of the 2008-09 season, when the Bulls met the Boston Celtics for one of the wildest postseason series ever.

Over seven games—including an unheard-of seven overtimes, still an NBA record—Salmons averaged 18.1 points against the then-defending champion Celtics. The Bulls lost the series, but Salmons led them to a shockingly competitive result, taking charge of a young roster with a 20-year-old rookie named Derrick Rose and a just-emerging Joakim Noah.

Salmons will be remembered for his James Harden-like beard, but his calm demeanor and creativity with the ball are what kept the Bulls in the fight.

9. Brad Miller (2000-02, 2009-10)

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Brad Miller was the other levelheaded veteran presence in the Bulls’ 2009 series against the Celtics—then the most thrilling Bulls episode since the 1990s.

Miller was a classic, reliable big man who had two separate contracts in Chicago. A strong rebounder and screen-setter, he also had a silky jump shot that could stretch the defense.

Like Andres Nocioni (spoiler: he's coming later on this list), Miller’s strong work ethic came to define the personality of his Scott Skiles-led teams. And Bulls fans will never forget the shocking three-pointer he nailed in the clutch against Boston.

8. Omer Asik (2010-12)

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Parting with Omer Asik was a hard pill for Chicago to swallow. Asik was at the center (pun fully intended) of the Bulls’ all-important Bench Mob during the 2010-11 season—their most successful campaign of the past decade.

Those who watched the Turk that year weren’t at all surprised when he went on to thrive in a starting role with the Houston Rockets. The Bulls let him sign a larger contract there in the summer of 2012. Asik was a restricted free agent.

Asik’s relentless rebounding and defensive energy in the paint, behind starter Joakim Noah, meant the Bulls’ opposition had no time to breathe near the basket for two years.

It was especially delightful to watch Asik guard future Rockets teammate Dwight Howard, then one of the three most dominant players in basketball. Asik held his ground and took Howard’s massive shoulders on the chin as Howard tried to back him down. The backcourt depth Asik gave the Bulls is extremely rare, and fans should be pleased that the Bulls have regained it by snatching up Gasol.

Asik left the Rockets and was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans this past June, where he’ll do the dirty work next to Anthony Davis and allow the young sensation to freelance and develop his once-in-a-generation game. Davis could hardly ask for a better man to do that job.

7. Kurt Thomas (2010-11)

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Bulls television announcer Stacey King liked to call Kurt Thomas “Big Sexy.” Another terrific piece of the Bench Mob, Thomas’ game, equally rough and smooth, was epitomized by his effectiveness in the pick-and-pop.

The wide power forward clobbered defenders with his well-placed screens, then drained soft jumpers off the roll. It was a lulling, hypnotizing action to watch.

Thomas also provided an invaluable veteran touch in the margins at the beginning of the Tom Thibodeau era. He was a shrewd passer and had an intuitive knack for the landing spot of loose balls. A consummate professional, Thomas did all of the little things that affect wins and losses under the radar.

6. P.J. Brown (2006-07)

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P.J. Brown won’t be remembered as a Bull. The former Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets bruiser only played one season in Chicago, but he was part of the team’s first playoff series victory in nearly a decade, helping the Bulls sweep the defending champion Miami Heat during the 2007 postseason.

Brown’s experience was integral to the effort. The rest of the team was quite young, often referred to as the “Baby Bulls.” Aside from Brown and the 32-year-old Ben Wallace, the most seasoned rotation player was a spry 26-year-old Kirk Hinrich.

It’s hard to overstate the value a smart, selfless older player like Brown (37 years old during that season) has on a younger team. There’s only so much communicating a head coach can do with one head and one mouth, so having a savvy roster member around often accelerates the steep learning process that is acclimating to the NBA.

The Bulls will seek more from Pau Gasol on the court than Brown could have ever offered, but they’ll also look to him for similar pedagogy as Nikola Mirotic, Doug McDermott and the team’s other youngsters get their bearings through the 2014-15 season.

5. Eddy Curry (2001-05)

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Everybody loves to dismiss Eddy Curry. Now out of the NBA, Curry went into a lifestyle tailspin after the Bulls traded him to the New York Knicks. He accumulated debt and extra weight like they were baskets, and he quickly became a punchline.

But once upon a time, he was the best young post-up scorer in basketball. The Chicago-area native was drafted No. 4 overall for good reason, and there was a stretch early in his career that showed his promise on the floor.

Curry shot 58.5 percent from the field in 2002-03, a mark that led the league that season. Curry was a bulky player, but also a clever one with a lot of subtle touch, and arguably the best offensive post presence the Bulls have had aside from acquiring Pau Gasol this summer.

4. Marco Belinelli (2012-13)

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“Italian Stallion” Marco Belinelli gave the 2012-13 Bulls a punch they desperately needed. Never had the current San Antonio Spurs guard been put in such a prominent role as professional. He was ready for the responsibility.

Belinelli averaged just 9.6 points for the year, but that number is deceiving. He regularly came through for the Bulls in tough, close games, showing an invaluable calmness in the clutch. When the contest got tight, you expected Belinelli to get the ball.

He was an indispensable part of a surprising Bulls team that won 45 games despite a whole season without Derrick Rose, going on to gain a delightful seven-game series victory over the Brooklyn Nets in the first round.

3. Nate Robinson (2012-13)

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Nate Robinson put on arguably the most memorable one-man Bulls performance since Michael Jordan left the team.

In the first round, against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4 of the 2013 playoffs, Robinson scored 23 points in the fourth quarter of an outrageous triple-overtime contest. He led the Bulls back to victory after falling behind by 14 points late.

Bulls fans had come to expect this sort of electricity from Robinson. Alternately frustrating and brilliant, he became a captivating performer during the season-long absence of Rose—dynamite that could go off at any moment. And the Sears Tower-sized chip on his shoulder become a definitive mark of the team's relentless ethic in a year started with lowered expectations.

2. Andres Nocioni (2004-09)

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The above image was a familiar one when Andres Nocioni was a Bull. He loved to hit the floor. A hard-nosed hustler and defender, Nocioni was the workhorse mascot of the Scott Skiles era.

But many forget that Nocioni was also a reliable threat from behind the three-point arc. In the 2006 NBA playoffs, Nocioni ran up an impressive 21.1 player efficiency rating in a losing effort against the Miami Heat, who would go on to win the championship that year. That figure is a testament to how dangerous he was as a scorer.

Nocioni may be remembered most of all, though, for being part of the 2004 Argentina national team, which dethroned Team USA to win the gold medal at the Olympics in Athens, Greece. That experience seems to have bolstered the proud underdog streak in Nocioni, which Bulls fans grew to love.

1. Ben Gordon (2004-09)

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Like Curry, Ben Gordon is a player whose past dynamism has been written off because of ensuing folly.

Before the Detroit Pistons overpaid Gordon to the tune of $55 million over five years and watched his game decay—which was then followed by an even worse period with the Charlotte Bobcats—the undersized shooting guard was the most exciting Bulls scorer in the gap between Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose.

In the 2004-05 season, his first, Gordon became the first rookie to ever win the Sixth Man of The Year award. He got the honor by consistently taking over games in the fourth quarter. When Gordon got hot, there was arguably no one as good at scoring. His breathtaking—if ill-advised—pull-up jumper streaks and “giant-killer” floaters in the lane were the stuff of classic folk heroism.

Gordon signed a two-year, $9 million deal with the Orlando Magic this offseason. At this point in his career, he’ll probably be used primarily as a floor-spacing shooter from behind the arc. But there was a time when Gordon looked the part of a leading man.