Ranking the five best Chicago Bulls players of the decade
By Luke Askew
The Chicago Bulls have gone through a number of ups and downs this decade. Who are the five best players that have come through Chi-Town since 2010?
The Chicago Bulls started this decade as one of the NBA’s most promising franchises. They had a tremendous trio in Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng. Throw in a young Taj Gibson and that’s a nasty group of players running the Eastern Conference.
That era didn’t last as long (or end up as successful) as Bulls fans wanted. By the time the 2015-16 season began, Deng was in Miami, Noah was a shell of his former self and Rose was embarking on his final journey in a Bulls uniform.
A few short playoff runs, a ton of injuries, multiple All-Star selections and one MVP trophy later, the franchise was in Jimmy Butler’s hands. Bulls Nation was never unanimously supportive of Butler. Some believed he had the chops to lead the franchise to the pinnacle of basketball. Others believed he was merely an A-list role player.
Butler’s time in Chicago was highlighted by a few All-Star appearances and an interesting run with future Hall of Famers Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo (I feel like “interesting” might be too kind of a word).
Now, after a jaw-dropping Jimmy Butler trade in the summer of 2017, it’s time to see what this new era of Bulls basketball brings.
After the last decade of players rising and falling, who have been the best to put on a Bulls uniform? Here are the top five in order.