Current and Former Chicago Bulls Will Compete in the Olympics

Former Bulls in the Olympics

Former Chicago Bull Cameron Bairstow will represent Australia at the Summer Olympics. The Bulls traded Bairstow to the Detroit Pistons last month in exchange for point guard Spencer Dinwiddie. Since then, the Pistons elected to cut the 25-year-old big man. He recently signed with the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian National Basketball League.

In two seasons with the Chicago Bulls, Bairstow played sparingly, accumulating averages of 1.2 points and 1.0 rebounds in 4.6 minutes of playing time per game.

While Bairstow’s NBA career is likely over, getting a chance to call himself an Olympian is a nice consolation prize for the former New Mexico Lobos star.

Former Chicago Bull Andres Nocioni will represent Argentina at the Rio Olympics. This summer will mark the fourth occasion that the 36-year-old has represented his country in the Olympic Games.

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In 2004, Nocioni helped Argentina win Olympic gold in Athens. Four years later in Beijing, he was part of an Argentinean team that won the bronze medal.

The Bulls signed Nocioni in 2004 as an undrafted rookie free agent forward. Previous to that, Nocioni had played in professional leagues in both Argentina and Spain. In five seasons with the Chicago Bulls, Nocioni averaged 11.7 points per game on 43.7 percent from the field.

On Feb. 18, 2009, the Chicago Bulls traded Nocioni to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Brad Miller and John Salmons.

Noce, as Bulls fans affectionately called him during his time in Chicago, represented the ideal of Chicago basketball. He gave his all on every possession, was a relentless defender, and compensated for his athletic and talent deficiencies with the effort he brought to each game.

Now entering the twilight stages of his career at 36 years of age, it will be fun to see Nocioni play basketball one more time on the Olympic stage.