Following the Michael Jordan era, the Chicago Bulls struggled to find success. Over the years, dysfunction and mediocrity would define the franchise and the Bulls became more of an afterthought than anything else.
This season, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan have brought the team back to life. Amid dominant play on both ends of the floor, Chicago is first in the East with a 27-14 record.
It’s an inspiring run for the Bulls and a return to relevancy for one of basketball’s most notorious franchises.
But it all started with LaVine. Before there was DeMar or Nikola Vucevic or Lonzo Ball, LaVine was the lone star on a squad of misfits. In an interview with ESPN, Bulls President Michael Reinsdorf opened up on the team’s relationship with LaVine, and how they knew he’d lead them to better days.
(via ESPN)
“Arturas and Billy really took the time to get to know Zach LaVine, and knew that he wanted to win,” Reinsdorf told ESPN. “Zach had been on some bad teams, and just like it wasn’t Devin Booker’s fault in Phoenix for those years, it wasn’t Zach’s fault here. We needed to get him help. Billy, Arturas and [general manager] Marc Eversley spend a lot of time with our players. These aren’t assets, these are people. But especially with Zach, they took time to understand what he is all about. It was easy for people on the outside to say, “Oh, he’s just a scorer and he doesn’t care.’ But these guys knew better about Zach, because they spend time and get beyond the basketball with him.”
LaVine, 26, is in the middle of another All-Star campaign for Chicago. Through 38 games so far, he’s averaging 24.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game on 49% shooting.
More importantly, it’s his play over the years that has attracted so much talent to the team. As a young and inspiring young star, it’s no wonder why people were so eager to play with him.
And now that he’s got his much-needed help, he has made the most of it. We’ll see before too long what more he and his team will be able to accomplish by the end of the season.
