Chicago Bulls 5 best individual performances of the 2019-20 season

3. Lauri Markkanen

Oct. 23: 126-125 loss vs. Charlotte Hornets

The only other non-LaVine performance on this list in any game for the Chicago Bulls this season came from seven-footer and power forward Lauri Markkanen. As the best game score of any non-LaVine performance from a Bulls player this season, Markkanen truly had a great start to the season.

This outing for Markkanen that nearly got the Bulls a season-opening win on the road over the Charlotte Hornets inspired a lot of confidence that he would be able to have a breakthrough on his path to stardom in his third year in the NBA. Markkanen racked up 35 points, 17 rebounds, two assists, and one steal in this devastating one point loss to the Hornets.

Oct. 23 was a memorable game for the Bulls mostly in a bad sense, but Markkanen did at least get his best performance of the season to date to open things up. And despite raking in a solid double-double against the Hornets, Markkanen was still a -8 when he was on the floor. He also shot a dismal 1-of-7 from three-point land, which watered down his 13-of-25 shooting performance from the field.

Since there is so much hope out for Markkanen’s development early in his NBA career, this performance lives in a special place in the minds of Bulls fans. He posted one of his best offensive ratings of the season (136) and a box plus/minus rating of 6.0. It’s just a shame that the Bulls couldn’t overcome the Hornets on opening night.