NBA: Ranking every team’s best player in 2018-19
27. Chicago Bulls: Lauri Markkanen, PF
If a team such as Charlotte or Indiana has a clear best player, a team like the Chicago Bulls is at the far opposite end of the spectrum. In the midst of a rebuild, the Bulls have a handful of veterans, a few offense-first lottery picks and a pair of teenage bigs with plenty of upside.
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Although certainly debatable, the best player on the Bulls is the second-year big Lauri Markkanen. He stepped in as a rookie and put up one of the best-shooting seasons by a big man ever, and almost certainly by a rookie big.
At 7’0″, Markkanen’s height immediately puts him in a group with a handful of the all-time greats. Only Dirk Nowitzki has ever hit more 3-pointers in a season from among seven-footers than Markkanen’s 145. No rookie taller than 6’9″ has ever hit that many either.
Yet if Markkanen’s drawbacks are on defense, there is hardly another candidate to step forward. Jabari Parker and Zach LaVine are inefficient, ball-dominant wings with defensive deficiencies. Wendell Carter Jr. is a darling of NBA Twitter and looked excellent in NBA Summer League, but has to get some games under his belt first. With the way Markkanen played last season, he is the frontrunner to hold this spot down next year, and could start moving up the overall rankings as well.