Chicago Bulls: 10 criminally underrated Michael Jordan teammates

Criminally underrated teammates of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan: Sam Vincent

A player that was really productive playing alongside Jordan during his early days with the Bulls was the former Michigan State Spartans guard and the 6-foot-2 and 185-pound Michigan native Sam Vincent. Vincent was the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 1985 NBA Draft of the Boston Celtics. But he would only spend bits and pieces of two seasons with the Celtics before landing with the SuperSonics.

Vincent would spend most of his career with the Magic, Celtics, and Bulls. He played in three seasons at the end of his career with the Magic, and then two each with the Celtics and Bulls.

The most points per game that Vincent ever averaged in one regular season with one team came with the Bulls during the 1987-88 campaign. In that season, Vincent averaged 13.0 points per game, 3.6 rebounds, a whopping 8.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.4 blocks. And he shot 44.7 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 92.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Those are the types of numbers that a top-tier quality point guard could produce. It’s just a shame that Vincent couldn’t replicate that production throughout most of his playing days in the NBA. Vincent would go on to average 9.4 points per game, 2.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.1 blocks, in his final season with the Bulls in 1988-89.

Unfortunately for Vincent, he just missed the opportunity to win what would’ve been his second ring of his career with the Bulls in the early 1990s. His last season with the Bulls came two years before Jordan would win his first title.

The good news for Vincent is that he won a title with the Celtics in 1986.