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Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

6. Joakim Noah

One of the more enduring scenes of the 2007 Draft was the image of Joakim Noah, in a suit that only he could wear, a Bulls cap on his head with a mountain of hair spilling out of it.  The son of the former tennis star, Yannick Noah, might have looked a little silly to some "traditional" viewers. What they should have been seeing was an excellent basketball player.

Noah was part of a trio with Corey Brewer and Al Jefferson that won two National Championships at Florida.  The Center was the Ninth Overall Pick in 2007 by the Chicago Bulls. They slowly worked Noah into their system, with him becoming a permanent starter in his third year, where he averaged a double-double (10.7 Points and 11.0 Rebounds). He did it again the following year (11.7 Points and 10.4 Rebounds) with a Second Team All-Defensive Selection as a reward.

Noah’s boarding average slipped below 10 in 2011-12 (9.8), but he followed that with his two best years as a basketball player.  Noah went to the All-Star Game in both 2013 and 2014, again with double-double averages. Noah’s defense was stellar in his timeframe as First Team All-Defensive in both years, and he won the coveted Defensive Player of the Year in 2013-14.  

Noah's play slipped over the next two years, and his stay in Chicago ended when he signed with the New York Knicks in 2016.  With the Bulls, Noah had averaged 9.3 Points, 9.4 Rebounds, and 1.4 Blocks per Game. 

5. Horace Grant

Horace Grant was the 1987 ACC Player of the Year when he played at Clemson, which helped him become a First Round Pick (10th Overall) by the Bulls.

4. Chet Walker

Walker’s NBA career began in 1962 as a Syracuse National, and when the team moved to Philadelphia and turned into the 76ers, his career grew alongside his team's audience.  Walker was a three-time All-Star in Philly and a champion when the team won the title in 1967.  But this isn't a list about the greatest Sixers.

Walker was traded to the Chicago Bulls in 1969, and he would do more with the rock as a Bull on a team that was far less talented overall than the Philadelphia 76ers.  The Small Forward scoring efficiency was higher in Chicago, with his Field Goal Percentage going over .475 five times with Chicago, in comparison to his one time in Philadelphia.  Walker never had a Free Throw Percentage lower than .832 as a Bull, and he led the NBA in that stat in 1970-71 (.859).

The former Bradley Brave played in four All-Star Games with Chicago and averaged 20.5 Points per game in the Windy City.

Walker entered the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.

3. Artis Gilmore

After the selections of Jordan and Pippen, it does not become as easy to rank the greatest Bulls of all-time.  But that makes it all the more fun, doesn't it?

The Chicago Bulls took Gilmore with their Seventh Round Pick in 1971, but this was not a slight on Gilmore's skill, but rather that they knew he would sign with the ABA instead.  The Center joined the Kentucky Colonels, where he played for five seasons before the ABA was absorbed into the NBA, sans the Colonels, who folded and had their players dispersed.  Who got Gilmore?  The Bulls took him first overall in that specific draft.

Gilmore would not be an MVP like he was in the ABA, but this was still an elite Center.  Playing for the Bulls for six years, Gilmore was an All-Star four times.  With the Bulls, Gilmore consistently kept his rebounding in double digits, and he was still a good scorer, with his worst season in Chicago at 17.8 PPG and a peak of 23.7.  Gilmore led the NBA in Field Goal Percentage in 1980-81 & 1981-82, but that would be his last two years as a Bull…well, not really.

Chicago traded Gilmore to San Antonio, but he was traded back in 1987. Gilmore only played 24 Games before being waived.  Gilmore joined Boston for the rest of the year and was in Europe after.

With the Bulls, Gilmore posted averages of 19.3 Points, 11.1 Rebounds, and 2.1 Blocks per Game.  The Basketball Hall of Fame called his name in 2011.