All-Time Chicago Bulls Team

Michael Jordan is the defining player in franchise history, but the star power on the Bulls goes back to the team’s inception.

All-Time Chicago Bulls Team

No franchise in North American sports is linked to one player more than the Chicago Bulls are linked to Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

The Bulls experienced their greatest success, and really only success, while Jordan wore No. 23 in red, white and black. In fact, the Bulls have a losing record, all-time, in games played without Jordan and have never even sniffed the NBA Finals without the services of "His Airness."

With that being said, the franchise has been around since 1966 so fans in the Windy City have seen more than just Jordan. The pre-Jordan era was highlighted by the likes of Doug Collins and Artis Gilmore, and the post-Jordan era centered around Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

But who makes the cut on an all-time team? Here are the 12 best players to lace up the sneakers for the six-time NBA champion Bulls.

Point Guard: Derrick Rose

Experience: 10 years (2008-present)

Years with Bulls: 7 years (2008-16)

Career stats: 18.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.7 APG

Bulls stats: 19.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6.2 APG

NBA championships: 0

All-time Bulls team role: Starter

Bottom line: A Chicago native, Derrick Rose grew up just 10 miles south of the United Center. Not even Michael Jordan had the local love that Rose had when he became the first overall pick by the Bulls in 2008.

His Bulls career started off like a dream as he became the youngest MVP in league history in his third season at age 22. But seemingly overnight, it then became a nightmare with a string of injuries as Rose missed 58 percent of games played over a five-year stretch from 2011 to 2016. He also was involved in a civil lawsuit in which he was accused of rape and ultimately cleared.

Rose has bounced around the league since leaving Chicago in 2016, but he still is loved in his hometown, and seeing him in a Bulls uniform again at some point would not be a surprise.

Shooting Guard: Michael Jordan

Experience: 15 years (1984-93, 1995-98, 2001-03)

Years with Bulls: 13 years (1984-93, 1995-98)

Career stats: 30.1 PPG. 6.2 RPG, 5.3 APG

Bulls stats: 31.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.4 APG

NBA championships: 6 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)

All-time Bulls team role: Starter

Bottom line: What more can be said about Michael Jordan that hasn’t already been said? Widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan led the Bulls to all six of their NBA championships while also winning five MVPs along the way. The Bulls had a .687 winning percentage in games Jordan played for them and have a .466 winning percentage in all games without Jordan.

A little-known fact about Jordan is that he was the only NBA player to have a unique clause in his contract called "love of the game." It allowed Jordan to play basketball whenever he wanted to, including random pickup games or alumni exhibition games at the University of North Carolina. Nowadays, players have more things in their contracts that they are prohibited from doing than things they are allowed to do, but Jordan scored that clause in his first NBA contract.

Another little-known fact about Jordan is that he made more money in the year he played minor league baseball than he made in the year the Bulls won 72 games. Jerry Reinsdorf owns both the Bulls and the White Sox, so he gave Jordan his full Bulls salary when he went to play for the White Sox minor league team. Jordan made $4 million during his baseball season and then made $3.8 million during the 1995-96 season in which the Bulls went 72-10.

Small Forward: Scottie Pippen

Experience: 17 years (1987-04)

Years with Bulls: 12 years (1987-98)

Career stats: 16.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.2 APG

Bulls stats: 17.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 5.3 APG

NBA championships: 6 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)

All-time Bulls team role: Starter

Bottom line: In the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Wingman Hall of Fame, Scottie Pippen ranks second all-time in franchise history in many categories to you know who. But Pippen never even was supposed to be a Chicago Bull — he was drafted by the Supersonics and traded on a draft-day deal.

He became a starter in his second season and reeled off 10 All-Defensive team selections, the most by any small forward in NBA history. Pippen made seven All-Star games in Bulls red, and although he never was Michael Jordan’s equal, Pippen did surpass his former teammate in one area. He retired as the NBA’s all-time leader in postseason steals until LeBron James passed him in 2018.

Power Forward: Bob Love

Experience: 11 years (1966-77)

Years with Bulls: 9 years (1968-76)

Career stats: 17.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.4 APG

Bulls stats: 21.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.7 APG

NBA championships: 0

All-time Bulls team role: Starter

Bottom line: After getting cut as a rookie with the Cincinnati Royals, Bob Love played for three pro teams, including one in the now-defunct Eastern Basketball League, before he landed on solid ground with the Bulls.

Love worked his way up from being a bench player to a starter to an All-Star in just two seasons. He was the Bulls' best player during the 1970s and is the only player in team history to average more than 25.0 points per game other than Michael Jordan. Love excelled on both ends of the court and was a two-time All-Defensive selection.

Even though he finished his career in another uniform, Love never strayed far from Chicago and returned to the organization after retiring. At 76 years old, Love currently works as a Bulls ambassador and their directory of community affairs.

Center: Artis Gilmore

Experience: 12 years (1976-88)

Years with Bulls: 7 years (1976-82, 1987)

Career stats: 17.1 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 2.0 APG

Bulls stats: 19.3 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.5 APG

NBA championships: 0

All-time Bulls team role: Starter

Bottom line: Artis Gilmore joined the NBA as a 27-year-old after spending the first five years of his pro career in the ABA. By the time he joined the Bulls, the 7-foot, 2-inch Gilmore was sporting a six-inch afro and was an intimidating presence on the court.

He averaged 20 points per game during his initial six-year stint in Chicago, but the Bulls won just one playoff series during that time. Gilmore then played for the Spurs for five years before returning to Chicago as a 37-year-old in 1987. He lasted just 24 games in that stint before requesting his release, and he finished his career with the Celtics.

Due to his best years coming in the ABA, Gilmore had to wait 17 years before the Hall of Fame called his name, and he was inducted in 2011.

Small Forward: Chet Walker

Experience: 13 years (1962-75)

Years with Bulls: 6 years (1969-75)

Career stats: 18.2 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.1 APG

Bulls stats: 20.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.3 APG

NBA championships: 1 (1967)

All-time Bulls team role: Reserve

Bottom line: Chet "The Jet" Walker flew into Chicago as a player deemed to be on the downside of his career, but his best years came in a Bulls uniform.

After averaging 16.2 points per game and making three-time All-Star teams with the 76ers, Walker joined the Bulls at 29 and became an even better player in his 30s, making four more All-Star games and averaging 20.6 points per game as a Bull.

To illustrate the importance of Walker to the Bulls, the team was one win away from making the NBA Finals in his last season in 1974-75. Then Walker retired, and despite most of the rest of the team returning, the Bulls dropped to the worst record in the NBA, and they didn't win a playoff series for another five years.

Power Forward: Horace Grant

Experience: 17 years (1987-04)

Years with Bulls: 7 years (1987-94)

Career stats: 11.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.2 APG

Bulls stats: 12.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.4 APG

NBA championships: 4 (1991, 1992, 1993, 2001)

All-time Bulls team role: Reserve

Bottom line: The perfect third wheel for the early 1990s Bulls, Horace Grant was the perfect power forward for Phil Jackson’s triangle offense due to his ability to knock down outside shots. Grant also was the Bulls’ best post defender and made the only All-Star appearance of his career in his last year with the Bulls. Grant won three rings under Jackson in Chicago and then another under Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Grant was known for his trademark rec-specs goggles that were often in Bulls colors. After he retired, Grant revealed that he had Lasik surgery during his career but continued to wear the goggles without a prescription. He said he kept on wearing them after parents would thank him for wearing the goggles as it helped their children who were getting made fun of for wearing eyewear.

"So I kept wearing them to help make it cool to wear goggles for the kids," said Grant.

Small Forward: Luol Deng

Experience: 15 years (2004-present)

Years with Bulls: 10 years (2004-14)

Career stats: 14.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.3 APG

Bulls stats: 16.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.5 APG

NBA championships: 0

All-time Bulls team role: Reserve

Bottom line: The prototypical Tom Thibodeau player, Luol Deng was the backbone of the Bulls for a decade. Others like Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah generated the headlines, but Deng was the two-way, team player that Thibodeau could employ in any role.

Deng could go out and score 30 points one night and then lock up the opposing team’s best player the next night. He led the NBA in minutes played per game in back-to-back seasons in 2012 and 2013, his two All-Star appearances.

Deng went through hell and back while in a Bulls uniform, including a dangerous situation during the 2013 playoffs. Bulls doctors feared Deng had meningitis so they gave him a spinal tap, which forced spinal fluid to leak from his body. He lost 15 pounds over a couple of days, yet somehow, Deng still tried to practice so he could suit up in the playoffs.

He ultimately did not play again that season, but he managed to look past the fact that the Bulls nearly killed him and returned to the team the following season.

Shooting Guard: Jerry Sloan

Experience: 10 years (1965-76)

Years with Bulls: 9 years (1966-76)

Career stats: 14.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 2.5 APG

Bulls stats: 14.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.6 APG

NBA championships: 0

All-time Bulls team role: Reserve

Bottom line: Yes, that Jerry Sloan was in uniform for the Chicago Bulls' first ever game in 1966, and thus, he is nicknamed "The Original Bull." Sloan the player was known for his tenacious defense and made six All-Defensive teams while leading the Bulls to eight playoff appearances. He also was extremely confident about his skills and even said he could check Michael Jordan. Kind of.

"In my prime, I could have handled Michael Jordan. Of course, he would be only 12 years old," said Sloan.

His jersey was the first the Bulls franchise retired. Sloan then was a scout, an assistant coach and the Bulls' head coach before embarking on a long coaching career with the Utah Jazz.

Center: Joakim Noah

Experience: 12 years (2007-present)

Years with Bulls: 9 years (2007-16)

Career stats: 8.7 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 2.8 APG

Bulls stats: 9.3 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 3.0 APG

NBA championships: 0

All-time Bulls team role: Reserve

Bottom line: Despite having a career scoring average under 10 points per game with the Bulls, Joakim Noah had as many top-four MVP finishes as Scottie Pippen had.

Noah’s value came almost entirely on the defensive end, and in 2014, he joined Michael Jordan as the only players in Bulls history to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Noah was just as good at locking up opponents as he was at getting under their skin. Pippen once said that Noah was the current-day version of Dennis Rodman, which is a nice way of saying that teammates loved playing with him, but opponents hated playing against him.

Point Guard: Kirk Hinrich

Experience: 13 years (2003-16)

Years with Bulls: 11 years (2003-10, 2012-16)

Career stats: 10.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 4.8 APG

Bulls stats: 11.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 5.1 APG

NBA championships: 0

All-time Bulls team role: Reserve

Bottom line: Many may be surprised at how high up the Bulls' statistical rankings Kirk Hinrich’s name is. He ranks third all-time in franchise history in games, assists and steals, trailing only Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

Hinrich filled every role for the Bulls from starting point guard to starting shooting guard to sixth man to Derrick Rose injury replacement.

Hinrich was the closest thing to a modern-day version of Jerry Sloan due to what many opponents would call his "annoyance" on the defensive end of the court.

Shooting Guard: Jimmy Butler

Position: Shooting guard

Experience: 8 years (2011-present)

Years with Bulls: 6 years (2011-17)

Career stats: 16.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.1 APG

Bulls stats: 15.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.1 APG

Championships (titles with Bulls in bold):

All-time Bulls team role: Reserve

Bottom Line: There is no better testament to hard work and perseverance than Jimmy Butler. He was the final pick of the first round in the 2011 draft and in three years went from a benchwarmer who averaged 2.6 points per game to someone who averaged 20 PPG and led the league in minutes. But anyone who knows about Butler’s life before the NBA wouldn’t be surprised to see him exceed expectations.

Butler is one of those rare players who would have fit in perfectly in any era of basketball as he plays both ends of the court. He was named to three All-Star teams and three All-Defensive teams in a Bulls uniform, and even though he played just six years in Chicago, he made enough of an impact to earn a spot on the bench for the Bulls’ all-time team.

Head Coach: Phil Jackson

Experience: 20 years (1989-98, 1999-2004, 2005-11)

Years with Bulls: 9 years (1989-98)

Career stats: 1640 wins, 1155 losses, .704 winning percentage

Bulls stats: 738 wins, 545 losses, .738 winning percentage

NBA championships: 11 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010)

All-time Bulls team role: Head coach

Bottom line: It’s amazing that just three years before the season in which Phil Jackson won his first NBA title as a head coach, he was coaching in a Puerto Rican Summer League and not even on the NBA’s radar. Jackson brought a different coaching style to the NBA and the Bulls, one that was influenced by Asian philosophy such as Zen Buddhist meditation.

Jackson also got Michael Jordan to become the best version of himself as MJ never won an MVP award or NBA championship until Jackson joined the bench. Even though Jackson had a rocky relationship with Bulls management, winning cures all, and he did lots of winning to the tune of six titles in eight years.

His winning percentage with the Bulls of .738 is the second-highest in NBA history for one coach with one team, trailing only Steve Kerr’s mark with the Warriors.