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Chicago Bulls: 5 Best NBA Draft classes of the GarPax Era

By Garrett Brooks

Ben Gordon, and Loul Deng. #9 of the Chicago Bulls combined for 61 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 14, 2008 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bulls defeated the Bucks 151-135. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agreees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Ben Gordon, and Loul Deng. #9 of the Chicago Bulls combined for 61 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 14, 2008 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bulls defeated the Bucks 151-135. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agreees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. Chicago Bulls. User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Chicago Bulls Best Draft Classes of the GarPax Era: 2008 NBA Draft

  • Derrick Rose, 1st Overall.
  • Ömer Aşık, 36th Overall.

How could the best draft class of the GarPax era be anything else? Number one goes to the 2008 draft class that features the only MVP Award-winning player selected by GarPax in any of these drafts. Not much to think about on this one.

The Bulls did get an incredible amount of luck to have the first overall pick in the draft. Still, once the ping pong balls fell in their favor they avoided making any extreme mistakes. It doesn’t sound impressive when said like that, but sometimes the most important thing an organization must do is not blow their golden opportunity.

This was the Bulls golden egg. With Chicago native Derrick Rose available the year they happen to luckily shoot up the draft order all they had to do was wait until they could submit the pick. It led to a lot of enjoyable moments for fans and some of the players on this list already.

We all know the injuries made things a lot different than they could have been, and there’s no need to discuss the bad luck Rose had at this point. What he did at such a young age was incredible and led to him being the league’s youngest MVP Award winner of all time.

The Bulls front office must have had some extra time to scout players that year due to the obvious selection they’d be making early. With the 36th overall pick, they brought in Asik to join their frontcourt. He only played on the Bulls for a few seasons but he was a great defensive big to come off the bench.

Plus, the main reason he left the team so early in his career was that he was coveted by other teams around the league that could pay him more and give him more minutes. All in all, he was a nice little cherry on top of what was already a lock to take the top spot on this list.

The GarPax era was frustrating for a lot of Bulls fans and many are just glad both sides have moved on. Still, despite mistakes made by the group they also caught some tough breaks and made some awesome decisions over the years.

Brighter days are ahead for all parties but it’s never bad to look back and appreciate the work that was put in.

Next. 2021 NBA Draft: International Prospects Bulls fans should know. dark

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