Disgraced former Bulls player calls fans out on Valentine's Day

Entering last night's game with a 26-28 record while pitted against a Cleveland Cavaliers team that had won 17 of its last 19 contests, the pressure was on for the Chicago Bulls to pull off a much-needed upset. As the last game on the schedule before the All-Star Break, this win would have been the perfect Valentine's Day present for us fans,

Unfortunately, Coby White's 32 points on 11-for-17 shooting from the field wouldn't be enough to secure the win, as the Bulls would fall just short 105-108. Instead, the team will be left to reflect on how they can salvage the season over the team's final 27 games.

With the way the past decade of Chicago basketball has gone, us Bulls fans should be used to disappointment by now. NBC Sports Chicago's Bulls Talk account on X (formerly Twitter) took the opportunity to crack a Valentine's Day joke by referencing an infamously ill-advised shot taken by former Bulls player Denzel Valentine in the final moments of a close game against the Miami Heat.

While this season would be one to forget for the Bulls' record books, Valentine's momentary lapse in judgment would live on forever as a perfect encapsulation of just how dysfunctional that team was.

Denzel Valentine sticks up for himself as Bulls fans crack Valentine's Day jokes online.

In a humorous turn of events, this little joke didn't go unnoticed by the former No. 14 overall pick in 2016. Although Valentine hasn't played an NBA game since 2022, he's maintained a healthy pro career overseas in the meantime. As a result, Denzel didn't take too kindly to being the subject of this joke, sharing some choice words for Bulls fans in response.

"Good one. Still top 15 ALL TIME in Bulls' HISTORY 3 pointers made!! Look it up! It’s a fact! In limited minutes too as well… but appreciate the love though," said Valentine in a post on X.

To his credit, this little factoid is entirely true. Despite only playing 234 games in a Bulls uniform, Valentine hit 342 three-pointers, good for 14th on the list. He currently sits behind Derrick Rose in 13th place, with Nikola Vucevic now just barely behind Valentine in 15th place with 341 threes of his own under his belt. Among other current Bulls players in the top 15, Zach LaVine ranks 2nd with 994 threes and Coby White ranks 4th with 717 successful long-range attempts.

In his four seasons with the Bulls, Denzel averaged a respectable 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc. These numbers may not be anything to write home about, but they're still far from the territory of 'draft bust'.

Still, the insinuation from Denzel that he deserved more minutes in Chicago is a laughable notion. Valentine averaged just shy of 20 minutes played per game in Chicago, including 27 minutes per game during his sophomore campaign prior to a significant ankle injury in year three. Denzel posted a below-average PER and negative BPM in every season he played.

Blaming the Bulls for his shortcomings is something only the most ignorant players would do. Then again, what more did we expect from the player who took that shot against Miami?