Chicago Bulls: 5 players that solidified a roster spot next season

2. Shaquille Harrison, Combo Guard

A hidden gem that the Bulls found last season is the 26-year-old former Tulsa Golden Hurricane 6-foot-4 combo guard Shaquille Harrison. The defensive ability is what originally made Harrison known as an NBA-caliber player down the stretch last season, but he really started to expand his game this year.

Defense was still one of the resounding parts of Harrison’s game this season, as he posted a career-best defensive rating of 105 and defensive box plus/minus rating of 2.4. His overall box plus/minus rating sat above zero for the first time in Harrison’s career too, at 2.8. Harrison topped off his impressive advanced all-encompassing stats with a career-best value over replacement player rating of 0.6 and .153 win shares per 48 minutes.

However, Harrison showed pretty incredible durability once again. He wasn’t called upon a lot early in the regular season by Boylen, similar to last year, but saw his role grow down the stretch. In 43 games played, Harrison averaged 4.9 points per game, 2.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.8 steals, while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Near the end of the run this season prior to the NBA hiatus, Harrison was able to notch a career-high 25 points in a game. He also had an insane game back in November in a Bulls win over the Detroit Pistons where he registered 15 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and one block.

Harrison did more than enough once again to prove he deserves an elevated role in this Bulls rotation.