Chicago Bulls: 3 most efficient teammates Michael Jordan ever had

3. Toni Kukoc, Forward

In the latter stages of Jordan’s run with the Bulls, one of the best pieces of his supporting cast was the “Croatian Sensation” and 6-foot-10 forward Kukoc. Former Bulls general manager Jerry Krause used their 29th overall pick in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft to pick Kukoc. He would debut for the Bulls during the 1993-94 season, at the age of 25.

Kukoc was already a big part of the Bulls team during the 1993-94 season, even though Jordan was off trying his hand playing baseball, when he stood out as a rookie. He averaged 10.9 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks. After his rookie season, he only improved during his run with the Bulls.

According to NBA’s advanced stats, the best player impact estimate rating that Kukoc posted during his time with the Bulls was during the 1996-97 season (13.6). Granted the numbers on that particular metric only go back to the 1996-97 season. And the best box plus/minus rating that Kukoc ever posted was during the 1995-96 season, at 5.4.

Kukoc finished out his Bulls run (seven seasons) with a 3.6 box plus/minus rating, .154 win shares per 48 minutes, 18.3 value over replacement player rating, 18.6 player efficiency rating, and 53.3 true shooting percentage. In that span, Kukoc also was above the league average in the following shooting categories: field goal, two-point, effective field goal, true shooting, and three-point attempt rate.