8. Luol Deng & Kirk Hinrich (2006-07)
Considering the fact Luol Deng was always more than willing to take a backseat and play the role best suited to help the Bulls win games, it’s easy to forget how supremely dominant he was as a first option. Although Ben Gordon was the primary shot-taker for Chicago in the 2006-07 season, Deng was unquestionably the best player on the roster, while Kirk Hinrich was the team leader and floor general.
Deng racked up 18.8 points and 7.1 rebounds that season, which is quite impressive when you consider the lowered pace in that era of basketball, as well as the fact Gordon and Ben Wallace were the primary stat-getters in those two categories. Hinrich, on the other hand, scored on average 16.6 points while leading the team with 6.3 assists per contest.
Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich played some of the best fundamental basketball we’ve ever seen.
Despite the aforementioned Gordon and Wallace being the flashiest players on the team, it was Deng and Hinrich that did the most to bring in victories. Their ability to play both sides of the ball at an elite level as well as being above-average playmakers was the core reason that this team outperformed all expectations.
- Luol Deng: 11.3 win shares
- Kirk Hinrich: 10.1 win shares
- Ben Gordon: 8.6 win shares
- Ben Wallace: 8.2 win shares
After finishing with a middling 41-41 record just one year prior, this team raced out to a 49-33 record and finished with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls would sweep the fourth-seeded Miami Heat in the first round before falling to the first-seeded Detroit Pistons in six games.
This team may have never won anything to be remembered by the history books, but they played some of the best fundamental basketball we’ve ever seen from the Bulls. Unfortunately, the fact that Gordon and Wallace also contributed heavily to this team’s success holds them back from ranking any higher on this list.