Friday night marked the first return of two former and beloved Chicago Bulls, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson, who played for six and seven seasons with the team, respectively. Both were key parts on the franchise's resurgence in the Eastern Conference earlier in the decade, where they had one conference finals, two conference semifinals, and one league-leading 62-win season.
Following a blockbuster trade and a free agent signing, the two are now members of the Minnesota Timberwolves, where they are reunited with another respected figure in the Bulls organization, head coach Tom Thibodeau – Chicago's coach from 2010 to 2015.
Prior to the start of the T'Wolves' United Center visit, the Bulls played a tribute for Butler and Gibson. The two-minute video was also posted on Twitter:
Thanks for the memories, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson! pic.twitter.com/fIH6NudGdD
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 10, 2018
It had a good touch in it, as it included team promo bloopers, highlight plays, and light-hearted moments from the two veterans.
Taj Gibson, a power forward who embodied Chicago city's hard-nosed persona, recently said that he and Jimmy Butler would usually talk about their return to the arena. Nick Freidell of ESPN shared the sentiments:
“We always talk about Chicago… Because I'm with the same coaching staff I had my whole career over there, we talk about that daily. Chicago, Chicago, Chicago. It was one hell of a time.”
Butler, however, said that he'd treat the match-up just like any other game – also via Freidell:
“To me, another basketball game… I play to win. I'm going to go out there, pass the ball when I'm not open, shoot it when I am. Hopefully play a little bit better defense and get us a dub.”
It should be an intriguing game from start to finish. As of this writing, the Wolves are up, 67-56, at halftime. Butler leads all scorers with 20 points, while also tallying five rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
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