Chicago Bulls: Michael Jordan and the 50 Greatest Bulls of All Time
I know, the suspense is killing you. Who is the greatest Bull of all time? Unlike some franchises like the Lakers or Celtics, there's no debate who the greatest ever is. The greatest basketball player has to be the greatest the team has ever had. Even the second best is not a tough call, but what about after that?
The Chicago Bulls are now in their 43rd season, and they have plenty of history. It's not all as illustrious as the 90s were, or as the next decade promises to be, but there have been a lot Bulls, in all 308 have suited up for the Bulls. Following, you will find the 50 greatest of those 308.
50: Scott Williams
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The problem with getting the top 50 Bulls of all time, is that you do have to find 50 players. Williams averaged about 5 points and 4 rebounds as a Bull, not exactly numbers that blow you away. However he was a key role player during the Bulls first three championships, so he gets the distinction of being the last player on the top 50 list.
49: Craig Hodges
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Craig Hodges was another role player on the first championship team. He was there for the first two rings, and was a three point specialist. Hodges, along with Larry Bird, is one of only two players to have won the Three Point Contest at the All-Star Game on three occasions.
48: Clifford Ray
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Clifford Ray spent three years with the Bulls, averaging 11 rebounds and 8 points over those three seasons. Ray helped the Bulls to make it to the Western Conference (that's right Western) finals for the first time. The next year after he was traded to Golden State, he and his Warriors bounced the Bulls out of the playoffs in the same round.
47: Ben Wallace
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Ben Wallace averaged 10 boards, six points and two blocks per game during his two year tenure with the Bulls. Since there are no great achievements on the court, the most interesting thing about him is that the team voted to let him wear a headband, causing head coach Scott Skiles to allow him as an exception to the rule after a much publicized feud.
46: Jim Washington
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Jim Washington was the first Bull to average 10 rebounds per game for a seaso. He played well for the Bulls but was eventually traded to Philadelphia for Chet Welker, who is also on the list. Washington averaged 11 points and nine rebounds as a Bull.
45: Fred Hoiberg
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Fred Hoiberg was a three point specialist who spent three years with the Bulls from 2000-2003. He averaged about six points and 2 assists per game. He has the distinction of being the first player who led the league in three point shooting but did not get an invite to the 3 point shooting contest. Hoiberg is now the coach for Iowa State.
44: Wilbur Holland
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Wilbur Holland played with the Bulls from '77-'79 and averaged about 15 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. . He was basically the third option on the '77 team that went to the Western Conference finals. Holland is now a member of the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
43: Scott May
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Scott May is probably more famous for his accomplishments as an Indiana Hoosier than a Chicago Bull. As a Hoosier, he led Indiana to an undefeated National Championship, the last team to do so. He was drafted with the second overall pick by the Bulls where over five years he averaged 13 points and 4 rebounds per game.
An interesting tidbit about May is that both his sons, Scott Jr and Sean also played in the national championship game. Scott lost, but Sean won with the 2005 North Carolina Tarheels. Sean now plays with the Sacramento Kings.
42: Bill Wennington
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Wennington served as a capable backup center during the Bulls second three-peat. He averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds as a Bull. McDonalds made a sandwich named after him, the "Beef Wennington" which was sold only in the Chicago are
41: Will Perdue
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Perdue was to the first three-peat as Wennington was to the second. He was a capable backup center who averaged four points and four rebounds. Perdue also won a ring with the '98-'99 Spurs.
40: Andrés Nocioni
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Andrés Nocioni or "Noc'" as he was known in Chicago was a fan favorite because he played so hard on both ends of the court, though his hard-nosed defense left him less popular elsewhere around the league. Noc' averaged 12 points and five boards as a Bull. He's now playing with the 76ers.
39: Tyson Chandler
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Tyson Chandler was a Bull from from the 2002 season until the 2006 season. He was one player in a long line of big men who were taken with high draft choices and didn't pan out. Chandler's career with the Bulls was up and down. Overall he averaged 7 points and 7 boards while in Chicago. Then the Bulls traded him to New Orleans where his next two seasons were the best of his career.
38: Ron Artest
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It's hard to believe that it was almost a decade ago that Ron Artest was a Chicago Bull. He only was here for two years, but he averaged 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and nearly 2 steals. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if Scottie Pippen were still a Bull when Artest was here. I think that the similarities between their play are there, and Scottie might have been a great mentor for Artest. Things might have turned out better for Artest if he'd had the right shepherd.
37: Brad Miller
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Between his two stints with the Bulls Brad Miller averaged six rebound and nine points. He's best remembered in Chicago for his role in the 2008 playoff series with Boston where he played the last two games with a sewn up lip which was busted by Rajon Rondo in game five. In game six Miller scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
36: Jalen Rose
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On the upside, Jalen Rose was the third per game scorer in Bulls history, behind only Jordan and Bob Love. On the downside, he only played 82 games with the Bulls so you have to take his 22 points and five assists with a grain of salt. The Bulls were unremarkable the year that Rose was with them, winning only 30 games.
35: Taj Gibson
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I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "What!!!!?!?!!?!?"
Well, believe it or not Taj is already 57th all time in total rebounds for the Bulls and 72nd in total points even though he's only one quarter of the way through his second season. Certainly by the end of his contract, he'll be moving up considerably. Taj has proven to be a valuable component to this year's Bulls filling in for both Boozer and Noah when needed.
34: Quintin Dailey
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Statistically you might make a case that Quintin Dailey should be higher up. However, Dailey wasn't a very good teammate, and not much of a person either. He was guilty of everything from sexual assault, to taking payments as a college player, to substance abuse, to just getting fat. He gained 30 lbs during the course of a single season.
If he were playing today he would have been right there with Terrelle Owens and the like in terms of stupid moves that incited blog entries. He passed away in November.
33: Luc Longley
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Luc Longley was the starting center for the Bulls during their second three-peat. He averaged 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds during his tenure here.
One day after being traded to Phoenix, Luc Longley was sitting at home sorting through his CDs when he was stung twice by a scorpion. Am I the only one who wonders if there were any Scorpions CDs in that collection? If only "Sting in the Tail" had been cut earlier.
32: Clem Haskins
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Haskins played with the Bulls for three seasons, averaging over four rebounds, four assists, and almost 16 points over the course of those years. He's better known as the former head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers though.
During his tenure there he coached the team to the final four, but it later came out that he'd been paying someone to do the coursework for his players. As a result he was effectively blackballed from coaching for the next seven years. He no longer coaches.
31: Bob Boozer
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Believe it or not, there was a time when Bob Boozer could have been argued as the single greatest player in Chicago Bulls history. That's because he was the best player on the original team. During his three years with the Bulls he averaged 20 points and nine boards. There is no relation between Bob and the current power forward, Carlos.
30: Charles Oakley
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Drafted by Cleveland, the rights to Oakley were traded to Chicago. In his rookie season he averaged 10 points and nine boards. The next two season he led the NBA in total rebounds, averaging more than 13 per game in each season. However, when Horace Grant came along he became unnecessary so the Bulls traded him to the Knicks for Bill Cartwright. He came back for another year in 2002. Overall he averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds as a Bull.
29: Jamal Crawford
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Jamal Crawford averaged 11 points and four assists while he was a Bull. While in Chicago, Crawford showed an amazing propensity for taking bad shots, but he did make some of them. He started to come around in his fourth year, but his FG percentage was horrible, falling well below .400. Last year he won the 6th Man of the Year award playing for the Atlanta Hawks.
28: Steve Kerr
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Steve Kerr was the three-point specialist for the Bulls second three-peat. As a Bull he shot a very impressive .474 from behind the arc. He also sank the game, series, and championship clincher in the '97 Finals.
Kerr went form Chicago to San Antonio in '99 where he won his fourth straight ring. He is the only non-Celtic to achieve that.
27: David Corzine
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David Corzine was not a spectacular player, but he offered steady production in the middle for seven years. His teams went to the playoffs his last three years with the Bulls and he was one of MJ's original teammates. As a Bull he averaged 10 points and six rebounds. Only six players appeared in more games as a Chicago Bull.
26: Eddie Curry
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Eddie Curry was another of those big men picks that didn't pan out the way they intended. He played with the Bulls for four seasons, averaging 12 points and five boards over that time. His best season as a pro, as always seems to happen with these lottery picks turned trades, was after he left the Bulls when he averaged 19 points and seven boards with the Knicks.
Curry was traded from the Bulls do to his not wanting to submit DNA for a test to see if he had a congenital heart condition. There were concerns about his irregular heart beat. Curry eventually fell out of favor for several reasons, and has not played yet this year.
25: Orlando Woolridge
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In his five seasons as a Bull Orlando Woolridge averaged about 17 points and five rebounds. He was primarily an offensive player whose skill set became redundant after the Bulls drafted Jordan. Another ex-Bull who was suspended for violations of the substance abuse problems after a couple of years with the Nets Woolridge signed on with the Lakers. With the Lakers he became a sixth man and helped the Lakers to the NBA finals in 1989, where they lost to the Pistons.
24: Mickey Johnson
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Wallace Edgar "Miickey" Johnson averaged 8.4 rebounds and 15.2 points as a Bull. During his rookie year the Bulls made it to the Western Conference finals, but it doesn't seem to have much to do with Johnson. He improved over the next few years though. He is 11th all time with the Bulls in rebounding and 17th all time in scoring. He currently is the men's basketball coach at Malcolm X College in Chicago.
23: Bill Cartwright
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Bill Cartwright was the starting center for the first three-peat team. He averaged nearly six pints and nine boards as a Bull, and provided a defensive presence in the middle. At some point while with the Bulls he took an elbow in the throat, permanently damaging his larynx, which is why if you hear him talk now, he has a hoarse voice.
22: Ron Harper
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Ron Harper was the third piece of the triangle offense with the second three-peat. During his five years with the Bulls Harper averaged about eight points, three rebounds and three assists.
Harper went to Los Angeles with Jackson, where he won two more championships.
21: Carlos Boozer
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It was a hard thing to try and determine where Boozer fits in this list. On the one hand he's hardly done anything yet; on the other in terms of actual basketball skills he's arguably one of the ten best to ever don the uniform. So I ended up deciding to stick him in the middle. Boozer is here more because of what he will do than what he has done. I have a feeling that qualifier isn't going to be enough for some...in either direction.
20: Elton Brand
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Elton Brand was another lottery pick spent on a big man, but this one actually flourished. That didn't keep the management from trading him away though. He averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds in his rookie season and won the Rookie of the Year along with Steve Francis (remember him). Then, inextricably, the Bulls traded him away for the rights to Tyson Chandler and Brian Sinner who never played with the Bulls.
In my opinion it was one of the dumbest moves in Bulls history. I still have no idea what they were trying too achieve.
19: Joakim Noah
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That whole lottery pick big man thing finally is resolved with Joakim Noah. Now in his fourth season Noah is already 22nd all time among Chicago Bulls in total rebounds. He is 13th in rebounds per game, a number brought down by his rookie season. He has been averaging over 11 per game over the last two seasons, and that, along with his defense and improving scoring he could end up being the best center in Bullls history if he finishes out his contract.
18: Ben Gordon
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Ben Gordon has a very strange sort of history. The Bulls tried to repeat magic with him, drafting the shooting guard with the third overall pick, hoping to find the next Michael Jordan. While it didn't quite work out that way Gordon did have a nice stint with the Bulls.
He had several clutch performances, highlighted by his "anything you can do I can do better" tête à tête with Paul Pierce in the incredible 2009 first round series with the Boston Celtics. He was also the only rookie to win the Sixth Man Award.
Perhaps his strangest "achievement" though was when he scored the 10 millionth point in NBA history with the Pistons on Jan 9, 2010.
17: B.J. Armstrong
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BJ was the backup point guard for the first Bulls championship team and then the next year took over the starting job from John Paxson. BJ is 10th all time in assists with the Bulls, 16th in scoring and wears three championship rings. He was voted to the all Star game in 1994.
He was the first player taken by Toronto in the expansion draft, though he never played a game with the Raptors.He played for Golden State, Charlotte and Orlando before coming back to Chicago and finishing his career in the 1999-2000 season.
16: Luol Deng
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Luol Deng at one time was considered to be the player that might lead them back to the promised land. However partly because he's had some injuries, and partly because it might just be beyond his abilities, he's settled into a comfortable spot as an elite defensive player and the third scoring option. He is currently 11th all time among Bulls in points, 16th in rebounds and 26th in assists.
Lost amid the bemoaning of his contract is that Deng is one of the better people involved in the NBA right now. He's been voted the Best Sportsman by the NBA players, the Golden Icon Award for best sports role model, and the 2008 UN Refugee Agency's Humanitarian of the Year Award.
When you're talking about team chemistry and the like, having a strong moral center on the team is an element that can't be overlooked. Luol is a Deng nice guy!
15: Dennis Rodman
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Lost amidst all the craziness that perpetually surrounded Rodman is the fact that he was one amazing athlete. Consider this: in spite of having coached Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Pau Gasol, Phil Jackson says the greatest athlete he ever coached was Dennis Rodman.
Rodman brought energy and intensity to the court, and in spite of all his other antics, he brought crazy effort. There is no stat in basketball that says "work" like the rebound and Rodman averaged nearly four more per game than any Bull that ever played the game.
14: John Paxson
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John Paxson was drafted by the Spurs, but signed with the Bulls as a free agent in 1985. He was the starting point guard for the Bulls for their first two NBA championships. He is fifth all time in games played as a Bull, fifth in assists, seventh in steals and 19th in total points. He also sank the game, series and championship winning shot in Game 6 of the Finals in 1993. He is currently the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Bulls. (Do you hear that Dwyane Wade?)
13: Tom Boerwinkle
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Tom Boerwinkle played more games with the Bulls than anyone who has spent their entire career as a Bull. Over the course of his career, he grabbed more rebounds than anyone except Jordan. He was fifth in total games played. He had five triple doubles and holds the Bulls single game record with 37 rebounds.
12: Reggie Theus
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"Rush Street" Reggie was another player that excelled until the organization made some befuddling moves. In spite of having averaged 20 points and nearly six assists during his five year stint with the Bulls, he was suddenly benched for the first half of the 1983-1984 season before trading him. All time with the Bulls he is 7th in scoring and 6th in assists.
11: Norm Van Lier
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"Stormin' Norman" was a premier point guard and tenacious defender in the 70s. He made three All-Star games, three All-Defense teams and five All-Defense second teams. He is third all time in assists for the Bulls and fifth in steals. Van Lier averaged 12 points, 6 assists and 2 steals as a Bull. He also held the record for the longest field goal of 84 feet for 24 years until Baron Davis broke it with an 89 foot shot.
The Bulls made it to the playoffs five times when Van Lier was starting. In '74 and '75 he led the Bulls to the Western Conference finals. The Van Lier teams were probably the best Bulls teams other than the Jordan years.
Norm Van Lier and former head coach and fellow broadcaster Johnny "Red" Kerr both passed away on Feb 26, 2009.
10: Derrick Rose
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Derrick Rose has the city of Chicago hoping like they haven't hoped since Jordan retired. He has all the potential to be the next great guard for the Bulls. He's recently been showing the same flare for clutch performances that Jordan had as well.
While some may feel that his placement here is too high, bear in mind that he's already 15th all time with the Bulls in assists and 28th in total points. Adding in consideration of where his future is going it's hard to not justify putting him this high. It's all just a matter of how much you regard his potential. All said, this is a very conservative estimate.
9: Toni Kukoc
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At six feet 11 inches, Toni Kukoc and highly athletic was an extremely versatile player, able to fill any position on the court from the shooting guard to center. Kukoc was the third option behind Jordan and Pippen during their second three-peat. HIs highlight as a Bull was when he made the game winning shot against the Knicks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
As a Bull Kukoc averaged 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.
8: Kirk Hinrich
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Kirk Hinrich was arguably the leader of the "Baby Bulls." During his tenure as a Bull Kirk started the fourth most games of any Bull, dished the fourth most assists, had the fourth most steals and scored the ninth most points. Kirk also is the Bulls career leader in three-points shots made with 812. He played with extreme intensity on both sides of the ball, and was rewarded with a 2nd Team All-Defensive nod in 2007.
7: Horace Grant
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Horace Grant was the inside scoring threat and defender, as well as the principle rebounder during the Bulls first three-peat. He is sixth all time in rebounding for the Bulls and 10th all time in scoring. He is also 13th in assists. Only Pippen and Jordan have more postseason Win Shares. He was also selected to the All-Defense team on four occasions.
Apart form that he made glasses cool.
6: Chet Walker
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Chet Walker was with the Bulls from 1969-70 until the 74-75 season. Over that time he averaged 20.6 points and 6.1 rebounds. The Bulls never failed to make the playoffs while Chet was with them, but they never made it past the Western Conference finals either. He is fifth in club history in points scored and 13th in total rebounds. He is also third in Win Shares.
5: Artis Gilmore
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Artis Gilmore is the greatest center to ever play for the Bulls. He is sixth among all Bulls in total rebounds, and fifth in points. He's also the all time leader in field goal percentage, not just among Bulls, but the entire NBA. He was an All-Star with the Bulls on three occasions.
He was in the ABA before the merger, and was probably the second biggest star in the league behind Julius Erving. He is also arguably the most accomplished eligible player not in the Hall of Fame.
4: Bob Love
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Love a Bull. I had to do it. Bob Love spent seven years with the Bulls from the -1969-70 season until 1976. Over the course of that time he scored 12,272 points and grabbed 3,839 rebounds. He could score with either hand and was the best low post scorer the Bulls have ever had. Prior to the arrival of Jordan he was the career leader in most stats.
3: Jerry Sloan
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Trying to decide between Love and Jerry Sloan for third and fourth is a bit of a to-MAE-toe, to-MAH-to discussion. It's really fine either way (though I'm sure that there will be those who have equally strong opinions both ways). I ended up putting Sloan first because he was the first to have his jersey retired by the organization.
Jerry Sloan was the "Original Bull" because he was the first player selected by the team in the expansion draft. He was the first player the team ever had. Sloan is fourth in points and rebounds for the Bulls, as well as ninth inn assists.
He, along with Van Lier, is in the conversation for the best defensive player in club history after Jordan and Pippen.He was selected to four All-NBA Defense teams and twice to the second team.
2: Scottie Pippen
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Recently the Cavaliers fans tried to "insult" LeBron James by calling him Scottie Pippen. I was aghast at the notion that somehow being Scottie Pippen was an insult. Scottie's greatness was simultaneously enhanced and overshadowed by playing alongside Jordan. It can be safely said though that the six rings would not have happened without not just his talent, but his willingness to put the team first. That, as much as his play, was his greatness.
1: Michael Jordan
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What can be said about him that hasn't already been said a million times? Rather than just recount a bunch of stats and accomplishments readily available everywhere online, I'll just relay this story. Michael Jordan's trainer, Al Vermeil, had a love for the medicine ball.
One day some of the Bulls picked up a 12 pound medicine ball and started trying to dunk it. Even the strongest among them, including Horace Grant couldn't get it up and over the rim, with two hands. This went on for about half an hour. As they were all goofing around and trying to do it Jordan came into the gym.
He saw what they were trying to do and said let me have a go. The first time, he windmill dunked it with one hand as though it were nothing more than a regular basketball.
