Chicago Bulls: 5 Best/Worst Draft Picks In Team History
The Chicago Bulls assembled one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history in the 1990s, but like every other team in the league, they’ve made their fair share of mistakes in the draft, too. Here’s a look at their best draft picks, worst draft picks, and a special bonus category of all of Chicago’s draft-day trades that had to be mentioned.
Best Honorable Mentions:
B.J. Armstrong: Armstrong was a three-time NBA champion as a key contributor on the ’90s Bulls. As with pretty much any player on Jordan’s Bulls, Armstrong’s game was most likely elevated by playing with the greatest basketball player in the world, but nevertheless, he averaged nearly double-digit scoring off the bench for Chicago’s first two rings before earning the starting point guard spot for the third. Pretty solid for a guy who was taken with the 18th pick in the 1989 NBA Draft.
Orlando Woolridge: Woolridge only played five seasons with the Bulls, but he was a gifted scorer who made an impact during his short time there. Woolridge averaged 17.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game during his time in Chicago and although he was traded because his game didn’t mesh with Jordan’s skills, he was a consistently high scoring player and talented athlete throughout his career.
Reggie Theus: Theus was a fan favorite for his energy and averaged 17.7 points per game in five and a half seasons in Chicago after being taken by the Bulls with the ninth pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. Theus’ main contribution however, was what the Bulls got out of trading him to the Kansas City Kings: a horrible subsequent season and the No. 3 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. Which, ultimately, turned into the greatest player basketball has ever known and six NBA titles.
Joakim Noah: Noah has the full potential to climb this list and potentially even make the top five one day. He’s one of those players you either hate or you love, but basketball fans with knowledge and an appreciation for the subtleties of the game respect Noah for his heart, tenacity, defense and all the intangibles he brings to this current gritty Chicago team. Noah was the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and will be a key contributor in any potential championship run for Derrick Rose‘s Bulls.
Ben Gordon: Gordon hasn’t exactly lived up to being the third pick in the 2004 NBA Draft during his time in the league, but while he was with the Bulls, he was a prolific scorer who averaged 18.5 points per game in his five years in Chicago. Gordon became the first rookie in NBA history to win the Sixth Man of the Year award, he passed Scottie Pippen as the Chicago Bulls’ career leader in made 3-pointers halfway through his fifth season. Gordon’s fallen off the map a bit these days, but he was a solid pick for his limited time in Chicago.
Tom Boerwinkle: Aside from having an awesome name, Boerwinkle was a rebounding machine for the Bulls. As the fourth pick in the 1968 NBA Draft, Boerwinkle was largely under appreciated despite being a great rebounder, setting solid picks and displaying great passing skills for a big man. He spent his entire career with the Bulls and recorded five triple-doubles during that time.
Best 5 Picks:
5) Toni Kukoc: Although Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen didn’t take too kindly to general manager Jerry Krause’s love for Toni Kukoc, the versatile Croatian became a vital piece in one of the greatest teams in NBA history. He was the Sixth Man of the Year once coach Phil Jackson started bringing him off the bench after Jordan’s return to basketball. Jordan and Pippen made a definite statement in torching him and Croatia in the 1992 Summer Olympics because Krause had chosen to go for Kukoc rather than extend Pippen’s contract. But once Kukoc finally came over to the NBA, he was a huge part of Chicago’s status as alpha dog in the league. Not bad for the 29th pick in the 1990 NBA Draft.
4) Horace Grant: Grant’s status as a terrific post player and rebounder is often overlooked when remembering Jordan’s first three-peat, but with the 10th pick in the 1987 NBA Draft, Chicago finally snagged a decent player in the frontcourt. Grant was a four-time selection to the NBA All-Defensive team and but also averaged 13.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game during Chicago’s first three championships. Grant’s last-second block on Kevin Johnson also won Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals and secured Chicago’s third championship.
3) Derrick Rose: For now, Rose holds the third spot on this list, but if he’s able to come back strong this season and ever manages the lead the Bulls to their seventh championship, there’s no reason he won’t pass everyone but Michael Jordan as the Bulls’ greatest draft pick. Rose was taken with the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and was the Rookie of the Year. He helped the Bulls to the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference in his first season and was biga part of that legendary first round series against the Boston Celtics when he recorded 36 points in his playoff debut (tied for the most since Kareem Abdul-Jabaar). Rose has won an MVP award and Bulls fans are expecting big things in his return from an ACL injury that kept him sidelined for all of last season.
2) Artis Gilmore: Although he was often referred to as “Rigor Artis” for his incredibly slow and clunky play, Gilmore produced for the Bulls and racked up a pretty impressive resume on his way to the Hall of Fame: ABA Rookie of the Year, ABA MVP, five-time ABA All-Star, No.1 pick in the 1976 ABA dispersal draft, six-time NBA All-Star and career averages of 18.8 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in 17 total seasons of basketball. He led the league in field goal percentage for four consecutive seasons and he is the all-time leader in field goal percentage (minimum of 2,000 shots) in NBA history at 59.9 percent. The only reason Derrick Rose could potentially pass up Rigor Artis one day? He never led the Bulls to a title.
1) Michael Jordan: Six titles. Six NBA Finals MVP awards. Five MVP awards. Rookie of the Year. Defensive Player of the Year. 14-time NBA All-Star. 10-time NBA scoring champion. Three-time leader of the league in steals. Ten All-NBA First Team selections. Nine NBA All-Defensive Team selections. Two-time Slam Dunk champion. NCAA champion. Career averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game, all while shooting 49.7 percent from the floor. All-time NBA leader in points per game. All-time NBA leader in points per game in the playoffs at 33.4. Star of “Space Jam.” Is there anything that Michael Jordan didn’t do in his time in the league?
People are quick to try and bring Jordan back down to earth for his insane competitive streak, his reputation as a gambler or his incompetence as an owner, but Michael Jordan is without a doubt the greatest player basketball has ever seen. People are even quicker to compare LeBron James to His Airness, but I find this little tidbit nothing less than a direct and fitting message from the basketball gods: Jordan’s jersey has been retired by exactly two teams — the Chicago Bulls … and the Miami Heat. And to think the Portland Trail Blazers took Sam Bowie over him back in the 1984 NBA Draft.
Worst Honorable Mentions:
Brad Sellers: Taken ninth overall by the Bulls in the 1986 NBA Draft, Sellers played just three seasons with the Bulls. He averaged a mediocre 8.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, which wasn’t exactly what Chicago had in mind when they picked the 7-footer. Sellers was taken in front of Arvydas Sabonis, Mark Price and Dennis Rodman.
Sidney Green: Green, the No. 5 pick of the 1983 NBA Draft, also played just three seasons in Chicago before being traded away. Green averaged 13.5 points per game in his final season with the Bulls, but was a role player for his entire career with six different teams. And because he was picked ahead of Clyde Drexler and Doc Rivers, it’s easy to see why this one was a flop.
Kelvin Ransey: With the fourth pick in 1980 NBA Draft, the Bulls took Kelvin Ransey from Ohio State. However, they immediately traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers for Ronnie Lester, who only played six seasons in the NBA. Ransey only played five seasons himself, but either way this pick was a big miss for Chicago. Ransey was taken ahead of Andrew Toney.
Scott May: Sure it was a long, long time ago. But maybe Chicago could have built a contender and won a championship long before MJ’s days had they not taken Scott May with the second overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft. May was picked ahead of Adrian Dantley, Robert Parish, Alex English and Dennis Johnson and played only seven seasons in the NBA. He was largely limited by injuries, so even though he made the NBA All-Rookie team, the Bulls would probably like to have this one back.
Ralph Simpson: Not to be confused with Ralph Sampson, Ralph Simpson chose to play in the ABA for the Denver Rockets over the NBA and the Chicago Bulls, who took him 11th in the 1972 NBA Draft. The Bulls ultimately wasted that pick on a talented guy who didn’t join the NBA until 1976 with the Detroit Pistons, which hurts even more since he was picked ahead of Julius Erving and Jim Price (although Dr. J also opted for the ABA over the NBA).
Worst 5 Picks:
5) Marcus Fizer: With the fourth overall pick of the 2000 NBA Draft, Chicago chose Marcus Fizer out of Iowa State. Fizer averaged 10.3 points and five rebounds per game in four seasons with the Bulls, but considering he was taken over more impressive role players like Mike Miller, Hedo Turkoglu and Jamaal Magloire, those numbers look a bit less impressive. He was expected to be a star power forward for years to come, but instead he fizzled and never really took the game seriously. And just for reference, Fizer hasn’t played in the NBA since 2006 when he signed a 10-day contract with the New Orleans Hornets.
4) Quintin Dailey: There really wasn’t a single part of this pick that wasn’t a total disaster for the Chicago Bulls. With the seventh pick of the 1982 NBA Draft, the Bulls took Dailey, a shooting guard from the University of San Francisco. Dailey had been accused of sexually assaulting female resident assistant at USF in February that year and pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault … just four days before Chicago selected him in the draft. His selection was met with protests by women’s groups and Chicago’s press, while even building owners wouldn’t take him as a tenant.
Dailey made the All-Rookie team, but also stirred up more controversy when he wouldn’t express remorse in his first Bulls press conference, talked bad about how much attention Michael Jordan was getting in 1985 and finally topped it all off when he had a ballboy bring him food during the game against San Antonio. Dailey was seen eating pizza, nachos, popcorn and a soft drink on the bench at the end of the third quarter. Oh, and he missed games consistently and violated NBA’s drug policy twice.
3) Jimmy Collins: In the 1970 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls selected Jimmy Collins from New Mexico State with the 11th pick. University of New Mexico Lobos fans more than likely thought he’d be a flop, but nobody saw his lackluster career coming. Collins played only two seasons in the NBA and averaged a grand total of 3.8 points per game in his 74-game career. And since the Bulls took Collins well ahead of future Hall of Famers Calvin Murphy and Nate Archibald, this pick becomes about 20 times worse.
2) Eddy Curry: Curry was bursting with potential at the center position and was taken fourth overall by the Bulls in the 2001 NBA Draft. He had a few decent seasons in Chicago, leading the Bulls to the playoffs in the 2004-05 season with averages of 16.1 points and 5.4 rebounds. He also led the entire league in field goal percentage in his second season. But an irregular heartbeat sidelined him for the last 13 games of the season and the whole playoffs as well. When Curry refused to a DNA test requested by the Bulls’ management, he was traded to the New York Knicks for Tim Thomas, Michael Sweetney and Jermaine Jackson. Not exactly a blockbuster deal, especially since the Bulls could have taken Jason Richardson, Shane Battier, Joe Johnson, Richard Jefferson, Zach Randolph, Gerald Wallace or Tony Parker back in 2001.
1) Jay Williams: This is really a tragic pick more than anything. After being selected second overall in the 2002 NBA Draft, Williams competed with Jamal Crawford for playing time, but showed plenty of promise in his first season. Unfortunately, he crashed his motorcycle that summer and was not wearing a helmet, resulting in the severing of a main nerve in his leg, a fractured pelvis and three torn ligaments (including his ACL). As a part of his contract with Chicago, he was not supposed to be riding a motorcycle, made even worse by the fact that he was not licensed to drive one in the state of Illinois. When it became clear Williams would not be returning to the Bulls anytime soon, he was waived by Chicago. Williams was picked ahead of Nene, Amar’e Stoudemire, Caron Butler, Tayshaun Prince and Carlos Boozer.
Draft-Day Trades:
LaMarcus Aldridge: Technically, the Bulls did make a good pick selecting LaMarcus Aldridge second overall in the 2006 NBA Draft … but then they traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa. On my list of the five best and worst trades in Chicago Bulls history, this move took the No. 1 spot in the worst column.
Elton Brand: Like LaMarcus Aldridge, Brand was a solid pick by Chicago who went on to have a great career. As the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, he was clearly a terrific prospect and the Bulls nailed the pick. It’s just unfortunate Chicago traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers after only two promising seasons. Chicago got Brian Skinner and the rights to Tyson Chandler, but gave up a potential franchise player who put up 20-10 in his first two seasons.
Olden Polynice: In his 15 years in the NBA, Polynice never averaged better than 12.5 points or 11.9 rebounds per game. So it’s not like Chicago was getting a guy with All-Star potential when they took him with the eighth pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. However, the Bulls were able to hypnotize the Seattle SuperSonics into immediately trading future Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen for Polynice, so although the pick itself wasn’t great, it turned into a fantastic prospect.
Keith Lee: Lee played a grand total of three seasons in the NBA before retiring. Luckily for Chicago, they were able to trade him to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Charles Oakley. Oakley averaged 12.2 points and 11.6 rebounds in his three years in Chicago, played an incredible 19 seasons in the NBA and ended up with career averages of 9.7 points and 9.5 rebounds. So yes, I’d say Chicago made a good decision with this draft-day trade.
Chris Mihm: Again, based solely on his NBA career, this was a terrible pick by the Bulls. Luckily for Chicago, they traded him on draft day. The Bulls sent the No. 7 pick in the 2000 NBA Draft to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Jamal Crawford, who lit it up for Chicago. Another narrow miss, but the moral of the story is: the Chicago Bulls enjoy trading on draft day.