It seems like all of the focus that went to the Chicago Bulls legendary dynasty teams of the 1990s went to the likes of all-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan, Hall-of-Fame forward Scottie Pippen, fellow Hall-of-Famer and big man Dennis Rodman, and head coach Phil Jackson, among a few others. But the other players behind the scenes often do not get enough credit for what they did during the regular season and playoffs to help Jordan accomplish all that he did during his legendary NBA career.
The third overall pick in the first round of the 1984 NBA Draft of the Bulls out of the North Carolina Tar Heels basketball program was an immediate star for this team. Jordan went on to play with the Bulls for 13 seasons, and then the Washington Wizards for two more. He had three retirements during his playing days in the NBA.
Underrated parts of supporting casts that Chicago Bulls all-time great Michael Jordan had in his career
The first of the three retirements for Jordan during his playing days came with the Bulls following the 1992-93 season, when he tried his hand playing baseball. Then, he returned for the Bulls in the latter stages of the 1994-95 season.
Jordan stuck with the Bulls for a few more seasons before the eventual second retirement of his career following the 1997-98 season. He stayed out of retirement for three more years before returning to play with the Wizards from 2001-2003.
During his accomplished career, Jordan racked up 14 All-Star selections, six NBA Championships, 11 All-NBA Team selections, five NBA MVPs, and six Finals MVPs.
But who was it that helped Jordan get some of this done behind the scenes that were dramatically underrated players throughout their careers in the NBA? Here’s a look into 10 of the most criminally underrated Jordan teammates from his NBA career.
Criminally underrated teammates of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan: Trent Tucker
One former Jordan teammate that was well ahead of his years in the NBA was the 6-foot-5 and 195-pound shooting guard and Tarboro, NC, native Trent Tucker. The sixth overall pick from the first round of the 1982 NBA Draft of the New York Knicks had mixed results during his career as a whole considering the expectations for him coming out of Minnesota.
Tucker spent most of his NBA career playing for the Knicks, which he did for nine seasons. He also played in 69 regular season games in one campaign with the Bulls. And he spent a part of one regular season with the San Antonio Spurs, playing in 24 games during the 1991-92 season.
There were parts of Tucker’s game that would’ve made him a very highly sought-after two-guard in the modern NBA. He came close to fitting that mold of a three-and-D wing/two-guard. Tucker was one of the most underrated perimeter/wing defensive guards of his days with the Knicks.
In just over 750 career regular season games played in his journey in the NBA, Tucker averaged 8.2 points per game, 2.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 0.1 blocks. And he shot 46.1 percent from the field, 40.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Tucker’s presence did help the Bulls get to their third NBA Championship of the 1990s. And that would be the final year of his NBA career, as Tucker retired following the conclusion of the 1992-93 season.
In that one season playing with the Bulls during the 1992-93 campaign, Tucker averaged 5.2 points per game, 1.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.1 blocks. He shot 48.5 percent from the field, 39.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line.
Tucker was also a very good shooter for the Bulls during their playoff run in 1993 when he shot the ball at a clip of 46.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Criminally underrated teammates of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan: Sedale Threatt
Another former Jordan teammate that tended to be undervalued and underappreciated at most of his stops during his NBA career was the 6-foot-2 and 175-pound combo guard Sedale Threatt. The 139th overall pick in the sixth round of the 1983 NBA Draft of the Philadelphia 76ers was a product of West Virginia Tech.
But Threatt still had one of the lengthier NBA careers of all of the former Jordan teammates on this list. He played in the NBA for north of a dozen seasons. He spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers (five seasons). Threatt also spent at least two seasons with the likes of the Bulls, Sixers, and Seattle SuperSonics.
Threatt specifically spent bits and pieces of two seasons with the Bulls, playing in 85 total regular season games during that span. In those two regular seasons with the Bulls, Threat averaged 7.2 points per game, 1.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.1 steals, and 0.1 blocks. And he shot 49.1 percent from the field, just 5.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 79.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Becoming a key part of the backcourt rotation for his two years with the Bulls, Threatt was one of the more efficient pieces alongside Jordan in the late 1980s. Threatt was a solid second or third unit guard that could facilitate the offense, defend reasonably well, and get to the rim without trouble.
Threatt was one of the most unheard players during these two decades of the Jordan years in the NBA to nearly reach 50 career win shares during the regular season.
Criminally underrated teammates of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan: Dave Corzine
Definitely one of the more productive big men that Jordan played with in his early days with the Bulls in the 1990s was the 6-foot-11 and 250-pound center, Dave Corzine. The former DePaul Blue Demons big man and the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 1978 NBA Draft of the Washington Bullets was also one of the most durable big men in the East in the 1980s.
Corzine played two seasons with the Bullets out of the gates in his career through the late 1970s and early 1980s. Then, he would go on to spend time with the Bulls and Spurs, which made up the bulk of the seasons he played in his NBA career. Corzine spent nine seasons with the Bulls, granted he never won a title in the Windy City.
He also played in two seasons with the Spurs, and one each with the SuperSonics and Orlando Magic.
In terms of counting stats, the most productive season of Corzine’s career came with the Bulls during the 1982-83 season, two before Jordan arrived in Chicago. During the 1982-83 regular season, Corzine averaged a career-best 14.0 points per game, 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.3 blocks.
Corzine was a pretty well-rounded big man that was a real force to be reckoned with in the paint on both ends of the floor. He averaged at least 1.2 blocks per game in half of the regular seasons in his career.
And the peak of Corzine’s run with the Bulls in terms of playoff production came in 1986, when he averaged 12.0 points per game, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks.
Criminally underrated teammates of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan: Ennis Whatley
Much like with Threatt, the career of the former Alabama Crimson Tide star guard Ennis Whatley became one of the most underappreciated of anyone in his position group throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. The Alabama product was the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 1983 NBA Draft of the Kansas City Kings.
But Whatley would never play a single game with the Kings. The first two seasons of Whatley’s NBA career actually came with the Bulls in the mid-1980s. Whatley’s last of two seasons with the Bulls was Jordan’s rookie campaign, in 1984-85. And Whatley was one of the best distributors of the basketball that Jordan would play with early in his NBA career.
During his two seasons with the Bulls, Whatley averaged 6.8 points per game, 7.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 0.2 blocks. And he shot 46.1 percent from the field, 9.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 74.8 percent from the free-throw line.
The assist-to-turnover ratio that Whatley posted during his two years with the Bulls was nothing short of spectacular (7.0-2.4 per game). What was underrated about Whatley’s game, though, was how pesky of a perimeter defender he could be. He averaged 1.5 steals per game during his rookie campaign with the Bulls and posted a steal rate around three percent in his two years with the Bulls.
Whatley doesn’t get much credit and/or recognition at all for what he did during his days with the Bulls. He should get more recognition, he just didn’t play with the Bulls and Jordan during the dynasty years.
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.
Criminally underrated teammates of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan: Orlando Woolridge
It is truly amazing that the former standout Bulls forward and the 6-foot-9 and 215-pound Louisiana native Orlando Woolridge never got a single All-Star nod in his NBA career. The sixth overall pick from the first round of the 1981 NBA Draft of the Bulls was a rock next to Jordan in his early days with the Bulls in the 1980s.
Woolridge would go on to spend five seasons with the Bulls, the longest amount of time he spent with any one team in his career. He would largely become an NBA journeyman following the end of his run with the Bulls. Woolridge played for more than five teams once his time with the Bulls was done.
Some of those teams included the Lakes, Pistons, New Jersey Nets, Sixers, and Denver Nuggets.
But the most productive years of Woolridge’s career would mostly come with the Bulls and Lakers. During his five seasons with the Bulls, Woolridge averaged a solid 17.4 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.6 blocks. And he shot 53.2 percent from the field, 13.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 73.6 percent from the free-throw line.
It was hard to believe that Woolridge didn’t get an All-Star nod during Jordan’s rookie season. In 1984-85, Woolridge averaged roughly 23 points per game, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.
Criminally underrated teammates of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan: Jud Buechler
Among the later teammates that Jordan had during the dynasty years with the Bulls was the former Arizona Wildcat and second-round pick of the SuperSonics in the 1990 NBA Draft Jud Buechler. This 6-foot-6 and 220 pound shooting guard/small forward was a big piece of the Bulls bench for the three title runs after Jordan’s first retirement during his playing days.
Buechler was only a member of the Bulls for four seasons, and he won a title with Jordan in three of them. In fact, all four of the seasons that Buechler played in with the Bulls had Jordan as a teammate for some part of them. His first season with the Bulls came during the 1994-95 campaign, once Jordan returned to the team from the Chicago White Sox organization.
Never playing in big minutes for the Bulls, Buechler was mostly a support piece that was productive and efficient when called upon. In four playoff appearances with the Bulls, Buechler averaged just 1.8 points per game, 1.0 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.1 blocks. And he shot 43.6 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 53.8 percent from the free-throw line.
Buechler is another case on this list of a Jordan teammate being well ahead of his years in the NBA. He was a solid defender, rebounder, and shooter from the outside. Buechler was a model of consistency, albeit never really being able to prove himself in high-volume minutes.
Criminally underrated teammates of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan: Scott Burrell
Although both were severely underrated Jordan teammates with the Bulls at one time or another, Buechler and the Connecticut native 6-foot-7 and 220-pound shooting guard/small forward Scott Burrell had much different paths during their respective NBA careers. Buechler was an ultra-consistent, but never starting caliber, wing in his NBA career which spanned a double-digit number of years.
Another difference between Buechler and Burrell was the amount of time that each spent with the Bulls. Buechler spent four seasons with the Bulls in the mid-to-late 1990s, while Burrell only spent one in Jordan’s final year with the team.
Burrell had a quick peek and a quick fall during his playing days in the NBA. But when Burrell was producing at a high level, he was one of the best parts of the supporting cast for Jordan during the dynasty years with the Bulls in the 1990s. That is highlighted by the career-best 2.5 box plus/minus and 1.3 value over replacement player rating that Burrell posted during the 1997-98 regular season.
Becoming a model of consistency in limited appearances in the playoffs too was a notable storyline for Burrell. He registered a 1.8 box plus/minus and .142 win shares per 48 minutes in 23 playoff appearances between his days with the Bulls and Charlotte Hornets.
Criminally underrated teammates of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan: Ron Harper
Throughout the entirety of his NBA career, the five-time champion and selection of the 1986-87 All-Rookie Team Ron Harper was a true force to be reckoned with. Just like Woolridge, it is pretty hard to believe that Harper wasn’t able to at least get one All-Star nod in his career before a devastating knee injury knocked down his effectiveness around halfway through his journey in the league.
Prior to landing with the Bulls, Harper was a standout for teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles clippers. He regularly averaged 20-23 points per game, five rebounds, six assists, two steals, and one block. The fact that none of those stellar seasons he had early in his playing days in the NBA never resulted in an All-Star nod is a testament to how undervalued he truly was.
The real reason why Harper makes this list isn’t necessarily due to how underrated he was during his time as a Jordan teammate with the Bulls. But he makes this list because of how undervalued he was throughout his NBA career as a whole.
Harper is widely recognized today as one of the most notable names from the Jordan supporting cast from all of those title years in the 1990s in Chicago.
Harper was still an effective player for the Bulls starting unit in his five seasons with the team, despite his drop-off in production after knee injuries started to take hold of his career. In his five seasons with the Bulls, Harper averaged 7.8 points per game, 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks. And he shot 44 percent from the field, 30 percent from beyond the arc, and 70 percent from the free-throw line.
Criminally underrated teammates of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan: Larry Hughes
Among the more underappreciated, but inconsistent, guards of the 2000s was the former Saint Louis Billiken and 6-foot-5 and 185-pound Missouri native Larry Hughes. The eighth overall pick of the first round of the 1998 NBA Draft of the Sixers was an immediate impact player for the likes of the Sixers, Golden State Warriors, and Wizards early in his career.
Hughes was a true volume scoring shooting guard that could help shoulder the load on both ends of the floor playing alongside a player like Jordan. He was a Jordan teammate during the two years where the legendary shooting guard played with the Wizards before his third and final retirement.
Playing with Jordan during what would be the final year of his NBA career with the Wizards, Hughes did help to shoulder the load for a team that looked to be rising at the time.
During the 2002-03 season, Hughes averaged roughly 13 points per game, five rebounds, three assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks. And he shot 47 percent from the field, 37 percent from beyond the arc, and 73 percent from the free-throw line.
Ironically enough, Hughes actually did play for the Bulls well after the days for Jordan in Chicago were in the rearview mirror. Hughes played for the Bulls in bits and pieces of the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. But he never found that borderline All-Star-level form that Hughes had in his latter days with the Wizards in his bits and pieces of two seasons with the Bulls.