- The 2016-17 Chicago Bulls had a Big 3 of Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, and Jimmy Butler but lost in the first round of the playoffs
- Rajon Rondo recently explained what went wrong for the team and why they failed
- Rajon Rondo called out Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade for their part in things not panning out
The Chicago Bulls haven’t won a championship since The Last Dance in 1998, and outside the Derrick Rose era, they haven’t looked close to it either. Their attempt at building a Big 3 in 2016-17 failed, and now Rajon Rondo has explained why.
Rajon Rondo teamed up with Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade on the Bulls in 2017, but they got bounced out in the first round of the playoffs. Rondo revealed Butler and Wade’s part in the whole situation on a recent podcast.
“Chemistry, it wasn’t there. Like I mentioned earlier, Jimmy and D-Wade, they kind of were on their own. As far as I guess even in practice, even off the court,” Rondo told JJ Redick on the Old Man And The Three.
“Like again, every team is different, there’s nothing wrong with that. But there wasn’t really a connect between the old guys and the young. And that was why it was so much friction throughout the year.
“That year, I was benched for a long time. They made a trade, I was benched, they said I wasn’t getting it done. Had about three or four guards start in front of me.”
(starts at 39:45 minutes)
In 2016, Jimmy Butler was a 2-time All-Star, Dwyane Wade was a 3-time champion, and Rajon Rondo was also a former champion. Butler was entering his prime while Wade and Rondo were older, and the rest of the team had a lot of young players.
It’s not hard to see why the team didn’t live up to expectations.
The 2016-17 Chicago Bulls Had A Lot Of Talent On The Roster But Couldn’t Live Up To The Hype
That Chicago Bulls team should have at least won a series or two in the Eastern Conference. Instead, they limped into the playoffs as an 8th seed with a .500 record.
The team finished the season 41-41 and was bounced by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
Rajon Rondo was subpar, averaging just 7.8 points and 6.7 assists per game, his lowest averages since his rookie season in the NBA.
Dwyane Wade averaged 18.3 points per game, but injuries had taken a toll on him, and he shot 43.4% from the field, the third-lowest field goal percentage of his entire career.
Jimmy Butler had his highest-scoring season ever that year, averaging 23.9 points per game, but it wasn’t good enough to overcome the poor performances and lack of chemistry on the team.
Rajon Rondo’s Big Moment For The Bulls Was Outcoaching Brad Stevens During The Playoffs
Rajon Rondo may not have been able to help lead the Chicago Bulls to too much success, but he did have a big moment during the playoffs in 2017.
Despite the dysfunction, they might have made it out of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Rajon Rondo revealed he outcoached Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics, but then misfortune struck.
Rajon Rondo and the Bulls were up 2-0 in the series before he suffered a broken thumb and had to sit on the sidelines and watch his team get reverse-swept.
The Chicago Bulls waived Rajon Rondo after the season ended, and that was the end of that Big 3. If they had managed to connect though, maybe the Chicago Bulls would have a championship after Michael Jordan retired.
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