Former Chicago Bulls superstar point guard Derrick Rose was recently snubbed from a BR list of the top NBA players ever from the Windy City.
It is a franchise-favorite move, and sometimes (and I really mean just occasionally) a fan favorite, of the Chicago Bulls organization to bring hometown players into the mix. That did work out for them with former member of the Bulls like superstar point guard Derrick Rose, combo guard Craig Hodges, and power forward Mickey Johnson. But the same could not be said for the likes of future Hall-of-Fame shooting guard Dwyane Wade, point guard AJ Guyton, and center Jawann Oldham.
Chicago is one of the best basketball cities in the country, and they have produced a ton of talent for the NBA among the players that never played for the Bulls. Not every star in the NBA from the Windy City is always going to wind up playing for the Bulls.
However, Bleacher Report did give an interesting list ranking out the eight best NBA players ever from Chicago. David Kenyon of BR released this list of Chicago’s best NBA players of all-time on July 26, and some controversy followed.
A lot of the names in the top eight of this ranking make sense, and are challenging to argue with. The top three is rounded out by the Los Angeles Lakers and former New Orleans Pelicans superstar big man Anthony Davis, former Detroit Pistons Hall-of-Fame point guard Isiah Thomas, and the Miami Heat legendary guard D-Wade.
Bleacher Report ranked the top 8 best NBA basketball players from Chicago:
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) July 26, 2020
8. Mark Aguirre
7. Terry Cummings
6. Tim Hardaway
5. Maurice Cheeks
4. George Mikan
3. Anthony Davis
2. Isiah Thomas
1. Dwyane Wade
Derrick Rose was named as an honorable mention.
Other notable names that made the top eight includes impactful Hall-of-Fame center George Mikan, former Heat and Golden State Warriors guard Tim Hardaway, and ex-Pistons and Dallas Mavericks small forward Mark Aguirre. But there is one important name that is missing from the top eight.
That former Bulls MVP winning point guard and current Pistons sixth man D-Rose was listed among the honorable mentions. He didn’t make the top eight. D-Rose was included in a list of honorable mentions that also named former Memphis Grizzlies defensive stopper Tony Allen, journeyman shooting guard Eddie Johnson, and the Mavs All-Star guard Michael Finley.
It is nothing short of highway robbery that D-Rose didn’t make the top eight on this list. Even though his career isn’t done yet, and his prime was largely hampered by knee injuries, his accolades and production way outmatches some of the names further down the ranking. A good portion of the names on this list don’t possess a single MVP trophy. And Rose has three All-Star selections, which is at least just as many as most of the names at the bottom of the ranking.
Rose has now played in nearly 600 career regular season games. He’s averaged 18.8 points per game, 3.4 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, while shooting 45.6 percent from the field for his career to date in the regular season.
Entering the 2020 offseason, Rose is sitting firmly in the midst of a solid bounce back part of his NBA career. He’s averaged at least 18 points per game, and remained efficient at that (better than 1.5 box plus/minus rating in last two years combined), over the course of each of the last two seasons with the Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves.