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The Chicago Bulls have had some of the best small forwards in NBA history play for their franchise at some point. And while Scottie Pippen is the only legendary Chicago wing to win a championship, there have still been some elite small forwards who have donned the Bulls uniform and put up stellar NBA numbers.
For this piece, we'll take a look at the five best small forwards in Bulls franchise history. We'll start off with a guy who helped the franchise become relevant again after the “Baby Bulls” failed in the initial post-Michael Jordan era.
5. Luol Deng
The Phoenix Suns drafted Deng with the seventh overall pick in the 2004 draft out of Duke. The Suns then traded Deng to the Bulls on draft night.
Luol put up 11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds as a rookie with the Bulls, making the All-Rookie team along the way. Chicago made the playoffs, but fell to the Washington Wizards in the first round. However, it was the first time the Bulls made the playoffs since Jordan and Pippen won their last title, so it was a good start to the Deng era.
Deng wound up becoming one of the more popular players to play for the Bulls in the post-Jordan era. He finished his Chicago career with averages of 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Deng has played the sixth-most games in Bulls history. He's also fifth in field goals, fifth in steals and fourth in points.
4. Toni Kukoc
The Bulls drafted Kukoc with the 29th overall pick in the 1990 draft. However, he didn't make his NBA debut until the 1993 season.
Once he got to the Bulls, Kukoc became a legend in Chicago. He was part of three championship teams and won the 1996 Sixth Man of the Year Award by averaging 13.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Kukoc finished his Bulls career with averages of 14.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He's hit the 10th-most 3-pointers in franchise history (351).
3. Bob Love
The Bulls acquired Love from the Milwaukee Bucks in November of 1968. He averaged 5.1 points in 35 games for Chicago after the trade, but Love then took off after that.
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In his first full season with the Bulls, Love put up 21.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He finished his Chicago career with averages of 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He scored 49 points for the Bulls twice back in 1973.
Love has scored the third-most points in Bulls franchise history. He racked up 12,623 while playing for The Windy City team.
2. Chet Walker
Walker's first season with the Bulls was in 1969 and by then he was already a superstar. The Mississippi native began his career with the Syracuse Nationals, who are now the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bulls acquired him from the Sixers and Walker was a scoring machine in Chicago.
Chet averaged 21.5 points in his first season with the Bulls. It came with his first All-Star appearance as well. Walker finished his Chicago career with averages of 20.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He's scored the sixth-most points in Chicago franchise history.
1. Scottie Pippen
The second-best player in Bulls franchise history, Pippen was one of the most versatile players we have ever seen in the NBA during his prime.
From 1991-1998, Pippen averaged 20.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists. During that span, Scottie won six championships and made six All-Star teams. He also won the 1994 All-Star Game MVP.
Pippen was named a Hall of Famer in 2010. He finished his Bulls career with averages of 17.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
Pippen is second to only Jordan in Chicago franchise history in games played, minutes played, field goals and points.
