Top 20 Greatest Chicago Bulls and Player Ratings

Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 17, 1963. He was the fourth of five children born to James and Deloris. James Jordan was a mechanic and Deloris Jordan was a bank teller. Soon after Michael's birth, James and Deloris felt that the streets of Brooklyn were unsafe to raise a family, so they moved the family to Wilmington, North Carolina.

As a youngster, Michael immediately became interested in sports. However, it was baseball not basketball that was his first love. He would play catch in the yard with his father, who loved baseball. He soon started to play basketball to try and follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Larry, whom he idolized growing up.

At Laney High School, as a sophomore, he decided to try out for the varsity team but was cut because he was raw and undersized. The following summer, he grew four inches and practiced tirelessly. The hard work paid off as he averaged 25 points per game in his last two years and was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team as a senior.

Following high school, he earned a basketball scholarship from North Carolina University where he would play under legendary coach Dean Smith. In his first year, he was named ACC Freshman of the Year. He would help lead the Tarheels to the 1982 NCAA Championship, making the game-winning shot.

After winning the Naismith College Player of the Year award in 1984, Jordan decided to leave North Carolina to enter the NBA draft. Although he decided to leave college early, he would later return to the university in 1986 to complete his degree in geography.

In the 1984 NBA draft, he was selected with the third overall pick by the Chicago Bulls. As a rookie for the Bulls, he made an immediate impact, averaging an amazing 28.2 points a game, including six games where he scored 40+ points. He was selected to the NBA All-Star Game and named Rookie of the Year. This would just be the beginning of a career filled with awards and accolades. In the upcoming years, he would go on to win five regular season MVP awards, six NBA championships, six NBA finals MVP awards, three All-Star game MVP awards, and a defensive player of the year award.

In 1993, tragedy struck Jordan's seemingly perfect life. On July 23, 1993, his father, James, was murdered off Interstate 95 in North Carolina. Two locals had robbed him, shot him in the chest and threw his body in a swamp.

Three months later on October 6, 1993, following a run of three consecutive NBA championships, Jordan announced his retirement from basketball citing that "he no longer had the desire to play." Now "retired" at age 33, it was uncertain what Jordan would do next. Would he take a year off out of the public eye to grieve and then come back to the Bulls? Would he go out and look for a white collar job in the field of geography, his college major? Or would he take up a completely different hobby like golf?

In early 1994, Jordan decided to take up a new hobby alright. However, it wasn't golf. It was baseball. Despite not playing baseball since high school some 13 years ago, he signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox in 1994. He played one unspectacular season for the Double-A Birmingham Barons.

On March 18, 1995, Jordan, a man of few words since his retirement, sent two important words to media sources everywhere: "I'm Back". He celebrated his return to the NBA by doing what he always did best: winning. Although the Bulls would lose in the playoffs to the Orlando Magic, it was obvious that Jordan was still the same superstar player. He would go on to lead the Bulls to three more consecutive NBA championships and etch his place in the history as the "NBA's greatest player of all-time".

On January 13, 1999, Jordan re-announced his retirement, saying that "he was 99.9 percent sure that he would never play again". Soon after, Jordan became part owner of the Washington Wizards.

Near the start of the 2001-02 season, there were hints that Jordan may try another comeback to the NBA. On September 25, 2001, Jordan confirmed those rumors, announcing that he would once again return to the NBA as a member of the Wizards. His two seasons in Washington were mediocre at best. His statistics were solid and he showed some flashes of his old self but he could not lead the Wizards to the playoffs and missed several games due to injury. He retired for good following the 2002-03 season and was subsequently dismissed as president of the Washington Wizards.

In June 2006, he became part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. Later that year, he filed for divorce from Juanita, his wife of 17 years. They have three children together.

Scottie Pippen is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Scottie Pippen, along with Michael Jordan, played an important role in transforming the Chicago Bulls into a championship team and in popularizing the NBA around the world during the 1990s.

Considered one of the greatest small forwards of all time, Pippen was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team eight consecutive times and the All-NBA First Team three times. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star and was the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1994. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the 1996-97 season, and is one of four players to have his jersey retired by the Chicago Bulls (the others being Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, and Michael Jordan). He played a main role on both the 1992 Chicago Bulls Championship team and the 1996 Chicago Bulls Championship team which were selected as two of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History. During his 17-year career, he played 12 seasons with the Bulls, one with the Houston Rockets and four with the Portland Trail Blazers, making the postseason sixteen straight times.

Scottie Pippen is the only NBA player to have won an NBA title and Olympic gold medal in the same year twice (1992, 1996). He was a part of the 1992 U.S. Olympic 'Dream Team' which beat its opponents by an average of 44 points. Pippen was a key figure in the 1996 Olympic team. Pippen wore number 8 during both years.

Pippen is a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (for his individual career, and as a member of the 'Dream Team'), having been inducted for both on August 13, 2010. On December 8, 2005, the Chicago Bulls retired his number #33, while his college, University of Central Arkansas, retired his number #33 on January 21, 2010, as well.

Derrick Rose is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the Memphis Tigers before being drafted first overall by his hometown Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA draft. Rose was named the NBA Rookie of the Year and also became the youngest player to win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2011 at age 22.

Rose was born and raised in Chicago, and attended Simeon Career Academy. He was highly recruited by colleges, eventually choosing to join the University of Memphis under coach John Calipari. Rose led the Tigers to the most wins in NCAA history (a 38-2 record), their first number 1 ranking in 25 years, and an appearance in the NCAA championship game.

Derrick Rose has struggled with significant knee injuries since his 2010-11 MVP campaign. In the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers, Rose tore his ACL in his left knee. Rose required surgery and was subsequently sidelined for the entire 2012-13 season. Rose returned to play in 2013-14. During a regular season game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Rose injured his right meniscus which caused him to miss the remainder of the season. Rose returned once again the following season, but knee injuries continued to riddle him, causing him to miss 30 games. In June 2016, he was traded to the New York Knicks. After one season with the Knicks, Rose joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in July 2017, but was traded and subsequently released by the Utah Jazz the following February. In March 2018, he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Dennis Rodman is an American retired professional basketball player who played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was nicknamed "The Worm" and is famous for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities.

Rodman played at the small forward position in his early years before becoming a power forward. He earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors seven times and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice. He also led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years and won five NBA championships. His biography at NBA.com states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history". On April 1, 2011, the Pistons retired Rodman's No. 10 jersey, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later that year.

In addition to being a retired professional basketball player, Rodman is a retired part-time professional wrestler and actor. He was a member of the nWo and fought alongside Hulk Hogan at two Bash at the Beach events. In professional wrestling, Rodman was the first ever winner of the Celebrity Championship Wrestling tournament. He had his own TV show, The Rodman World Tour (1996), and had lead roles in the action films Double Team (1997) and Simon Sez (1999). He also appeared in several reality TV series.

Jimmy Butler is known for Office Christmas Party (2016), Essentia Water: Hold My Hydroboost - H.O.R.S.E on a Horse (2024) and FanDuel Sports Network (2021).

Pau Gasol was born on 6 July 1980 in Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. He is an actor, known for CSI: Miami (2002), Numb3rs (2005) and Cubed (2009). He has been married to Catherine McDonnell since 7 July 2019. They have one child.

Ben Wallace is an American retired professional basketball player.

A native of Alabama, Wallace attended Cuyahoga Community College and Virginia Union University and signed with the Washington Bullets (later Wizards) as an undrafted free agent in 1996. In his NBA career, Wallace played with the Washington Bullets/Wizards, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.

He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times, a record he shares with Dikembe Mutombo. In nine seasons with the Pistons (2000-2006; 2009-2012), Wallace made two NBA Finals appearances (2004 and 2005) and won a championship with the Pistons in 2004.

He is the only player in NBA history to record 1,000 rebounds, 100 blocks, and 100 steals in 4 consecutive seasons (2001-2004).

Horace Grant was born on 4 July 1965 in Augusta, Georgia, USA. He is an actor and art director, known for Baby's Momma Drama (2004), NBA (1954) and NBA on NBC (1990). He was previously married to Donna Weaver.

Joakim Noah was born on 25 February 1985 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer, known for Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014), Lenny Cooke (2013) and Little Ballers (2013). He has been married to Lais Ribeiro since 7 July 2022. They have one child.

Zach Lavine was born on 10 March 1995 in Renton, Washington, USA.

DeMar DeRozan is known for Kendrick Lamar: Not Like Us (2024), Drake and 21 Savage: Rich Flex (2022) and NBA on NBA TV (1999). He is married to Kiara. They have two children.

Elton Brand is an American former professional basketball player and general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball for Duke, he was selected with the first overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls, and later played for the Philadelphia 76ers, the Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks. He was a two-time NBA All Star and an All-NBA Second Team selection in 2006.

Early in his career, Brand established himself as one of the top power forwards of the NBA. He holds career averages of 16.6 points, 8.8 rebounds (3.3 being offensive rebounds) and 1.8 blocks per game in 1,005 career games. Brand used his wide body and surprising athleticism for a man his weight in order to out-muscle his opponents. A large wingspan also allowed him to be a proficient shot-blocker.

B.J. Armstrong was born on 9 September 1967 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Pooh: The Derrick Rose Story (2019), NBA (1954) and NBA on NBC (1990).

Ben Gordon was born on 4 April 1983 in London, England, UK. He is a producer, known for Four Square Miles to Glory and Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith (2005).

Kirk Hinrich is an American former professional basketball player. He has been a member of the USA National Team.

Growing up in Sioux City, Iowa, Hinrich was exposed to basketball at an early age. His father, Jim, coached him from the third grade through high school. As a high school senior, Hinrich was named the 1999 Co-Iowa Mr. Basketball, along with future college teammate and roommate Nick Collison. Hinrich originally committed to play basketball at Iowa State but when the coach at the time, Tim Floyd, took the head coaching position for the NBA's Chicago Bulls, Hinrich changed his mind and decided to attend the University of Kansas. Hinrich helped Kansas to consecutive Final Fours in 2002 and 2003, his junior and seniors seasons.

He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the seventh pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Hinrich is the Bulls' all-time leader in three-point field goals. After seven seasons with the Bulls, he had short stints with the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks before returning to the Bulls in 2012. In 2016, he was traded back to the Atlanta Hawks.

Toni Kukoc was born on 18 September 1968 in Split, Croatia.

Tyson Chandler was born on 2 October 1982 in Hanford, California, USA. He has been married to Kimberly Brown since July 2005. They have three children.

Carlos Boozer was born on 20 November 1981 in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, Germany. He is a writer and producer, known for Keyshawn, JWill and Zubin (2020), Beyond the Athlete (2015) and The Redeem Team (2022). He has been married to Cindy Blackwell since 10 August 2002. They have three children.