In honor of the NBA’s 75th anniversary, we present the best rosters in Bulls history.
As part of celebrating their 75th anniversary, the NBA is releasing a list of the greatest 75 players of all-time, which they’re calling NBA 75.
In honor of NBA 75, we have put together a similar list — the Chicago Bulls all-time roster. The roster is made up of the most important 15 players and three coaches in Bulls history, starting from 1966 to present day.
Now, for players like Dwyane Wade, who are undeniable Hall of Famers, don’t fit the bill of making the all-time roster for the Bulls with playing such small stints with the franchise.
Check out our Chicago Bulls all-time roster below.
With his 6-foot-6 frame, Klay Thompson is the quintessential shooting guard for the current era and would have been the same archetype in the 1990s.
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson is a product of the modern game, with his elite shooting evidence of the NBA’s perimeter-oriented style.
Despite Thompson’s new-school friendly arsenal, former Chicago Bulls guard B.J. Armstrong thinks Thompson would have done well in the 1990s, a decade ruled by Michael Jordan. Armstrong played with Jordan for five seasons, winning titles in 1991, 1992 and 1993. He was an All-Star in 1994, when he averaged a career-high 14.8 points per game.
Armstrong went on ESPN’s First Take on Monday, and he spoke of how Thompson’s size would help him in the ’90s.
“One of the players I think would excel most in that era would be Klay Thompson,” Armstrong said, per Bleacher Report’s Rob Goldberg. “Klay Thompson, I think, is equipped to play in that era because of the way he plays. He’s a big guard, I think he has the physicality of the game, and he played the game in the way that they all played. You ran plays, your two-guard had to provide spacing, and you had to be able to take your matchup. I think he was big enough to take that matchup every single night. I just think he would be a player that would fit into that era beautifully because of how he plays the game now. I think it translates.”
You can watch Armstrong’s full response in the video below, and it starts at 7:00.
Armstrong added that Thompson would have been the “prototypical two-guard” in the Jordan era. Standing at 6-foot-6, Thompson’s frame enables the most important parts of his skill set.
He has the size to take opponents off the dribble if necessary, and he has the length and quickness to stick with players on defense. And to add to that, his shooting ability elevates him as the quintessential shooting guard — in any era, really.
Thompson missed this season due to a left ACL injury he suffered during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals. Thompson has career averages of 19.5 points per game and 3.5 rebounds, along with shooting 45.9% from the field and 41.9% from the 3-point line.
