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Chicago Bulls: All-Time Starting Five

By James D. Tillman III

CHICAGO, UNITED STATES: (L to R) Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Ron Harper and head coach Phil Jackson all of the Chicago Bulls hold the five Larry O'Brien NBA Championship trohpy's they have won over the past seven years at a victory celebration in Grant Park in Chicago, IL. The Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz in six games to claim their fifth trophy. AFP PHOTO/JEFF HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, UNITED STATES: (L to R) Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Ron Harper and head coach Phil Jackson all of the Chicago Bulls hold the five Larry O'Brien NBA Championship trohpy's they have won over the past seven years at a victory celebration in Grant Park in Chicago, IL. The Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz in six games to claim their fifth trophy. AFP PHOTO/JEFF HAYNES (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK – CIRCA 1978: Artis Gilmore #53 of the Chicago Bulls grabs a rebound against the New York Knicks during an NBA basketball game circa 1978 at Madison Square Garden in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Gilmore played for the Bulls from 1976-82. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
NEW YORK – CIRCA 1978: Artis Gilmore #53 of the Chicago Bulls grabs a rebound against the New York Knicks during an NBA basketball game circa 1978 at Madison Square Garden in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Gilmore played for the Bulls from 1976-82. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Center: Artis Gilmore

Artis Gilmore spent six full seasons (1976-82) and part of the 1987-88 campaign with the Bulls. Although he was mostly known for having a low-key demeanor, the numbers he produced spoke volumes to say the least.

During his tenure in the Windy City, the A-train never averaged less than 17.8 points per game and he posted double-digit rebounding averages in five of his six full seasons.

Season Age Tm Lg Pos G GS MP FG FGA FG% FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK PTS
1976-77 27 CHI NBA C 82 35.1 7.0 13.3 .522 .660 3.8 9.2 13.0 2.4 0.5 2.5 18.6
1977-78 ★ 28 CHI NBA C 82 37.4 8.6 15.4 .559 .704 3.9 9.2 13.1 3.2 0.5 2.2 22.9
1978-79 ★ 29 CHI NBA C 82 39.8 9.2 16.0 .575 .739 3.6 9.1 12.7 3.3 0.6 1.9 23.7
1979-80 30 CHI NBA C 48 32.7 6.4 10.7 .595 .712 2.3 6.8 9.0 2.8 0.6 1.2 17.8
1980-81 ★ 31 CHI NBA C 82 34.5 6.7 10.0 .670 .705 2.7 7.4 10.1 2.1 0.6 2.4 17.9
1981-82 ★ 32 CHI NBA C 82 82 34.1 6.7 10.2 .652 .768 2.7 7.5 10.2 1.7 0.6 2.7 18.5
1987-88 38 CHI NBA C 24 23 15.5 1.7 3.3 .513 .514 0.6 2.0 2.6 0.4 0.2 0.5 4.2
7 seasons CHI NBA 482 105 34.8 7.2 12.3 .587 .712 3.1 8.0 11.1 2.5 0.6 2.1 19.3

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/4/2016.

Not only was Gilmore a scoring and rebounding machine, he was very efficient as well. As illustrated in the above table, the gentle giant converted at least 50 percent of his attempts during his tenure with the Bulls and he led the league in field goal percentage from 1981-84.

Along with that, his 59.9 percent conversion rate is second all-time behind DeAndre Jordan, who has a career shooting percentage of 67 percent, per Basketball-Reference.com.

Some of you may be inclined to think that Joakim Noah should have been selected at this spot. The truth is, while Noah certainly left his mark during his nine years with the franchise, his stats (9.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest) don’t compare favorably to Gilmore’s 19.3 points and 11.1 rebounds.

That said, Gilmore gets the nod as Chicago’s top center.

Next: Small Forward

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