Chicago Bulls: 30 greatest players in franchise history

The Bulls wanted Dwyane Wade in the 2003 NBA Draft, but after they failed to move up to get him, they opted for Kirk Hinrich with the No. 7 pick. While missing out on Wade hurt, Hinrich wasn’t a bad consolation prize as he helped bring the Bulls back from the depths of miserable losing.

The Bulls were bad in Hinrich’s rookie season, but he enjoyed a solid campaign and made it on the All-Rookie first team along with Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh. Not bad company.

With the additions of Ben Gordon and Luol Deng in the 2004 draft, Hinrich and the Bulls took a big step forward. They returned to the playoffs and made it to the postseason three consecutive years, with 2006-07 representing the best year of Captain Kirk’s career. He recorded 16.6 points, 6.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game, and he shot a career-best 41.5 percent on 3-pointers.

Hinrich’s leadership, grit and pesky defense were on full display during these years. Ironically enough, his aggressive, annoying defense often gave Wade a hard time, and the Bulls swept Wade’s Miami Heat in the 2007 playoffs a year after the Heat won the title.

The Bulls traded Hinrich in 2010 as part of their ill-fated attempt to chase Wade, LeBron and Bosh, but the guard returned in 2012. He was traded one more time to the Atlanta Hawks in 2016 before retiring.

Hinrich currently sits third in games played in Bulls history, and his 1,049 3-pointers made are first by a wide margin. He’s also third in assists and steals.