Many are old enough to remember the run of the Bulls during the 90s. The Chicago-based franchise ran the league during this decade. That included making the NBA Finals six times, winning all six appearances, and conducting two separate three-peats. Since 1998, the team has failed to regain its former success. The team has seen spurts of contention over the last two decades, but most of their fame came with the players on the roster during this time.
Specifically, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are two players that will own greatness for years to come. Because of Jordan and Pippen, the Chicago Bulls were able to reveal six championship banners. These two players also remain at the top of the statistical leaderboards for the franchise. While some players are sprinkled around in the major categories, it’s the Jordan and Pippen’s show in Chicago.
These are the Chicago Bulls’ all-time leaders in major categories.
Points – Michael Jordan
1. Michael Jordan – 29,277 Points
2. Scottie Pippen – 15,123 Points
3. Bob Love – 12,623 Points
One of the greatest scorers of all time is the best scorer in team history. For this record to fall, the Bulls will have to have a player be the equivalent of Jordan’s dominance when it comes to scoring. Jordan led the league in total points 11 times. That included a streak of seven consecutive seasons at one point. Jordan scored at least 2,000 points in a season 11 times and reached 3,041 points during the 1986-87 season.
Pippen could have easily been the best player on any other team, but he spent the bulk of his career playing alongside Jordan. Pippen scored 1,000 points in nine consecutive seasons with the Bulls. His 1,720 points in a season came during the 1991-92 season. Love was one of the original great Bulls scorers. He recorded 2,000 points in a season two times, with his career high of 2,043 points during the 1970-71 season.
Rebounds – Michael Jordan
1. Michael Jordan – 5,836 Rebounds
2. Tom Boerwinkle – 5,745 Rebounds
3. Scottie Pippen – 5,726 Rebounds
While Jordan was not your typical rebounder, he was a true hustle player that wanted to grab the loose ball. Jordan was a stellar rebounding guard. Jordan averaged 6.3 rebounds per game while playing for the Bulls. Jordan reached 500 total rebounds six times in his career and reached 600 total rebounds once. His 652 total rebounds were reached during the 1988-89 season.
Boerwinkle holds a narrow 19-rebound lead on Pippen. During his career, he reached 1,000 rebounds in a season two times, with 1,133 rebounds coming during the 1970-71 season. He reached at least 800 rebounds in the first four years of his career with the Bulls. For Pippen, he averaged 6.4 rebounds in his career. With the Bulls, he went six consecutive seasons with at least 500 rebounds. He reached the 600-rebound mark for four straight years. He came up short with 595 rebounds during the 1991-92 season. His career high of 639 rebounds came during the 1994-95 season.
Assists – Michael Jordan
1. Michael Jordan – 5,012 Assists
2. Scottie Pippen – 4,494 Assists
3. Kirk Hinrich – 3,811 Assists
Jordan probably could lead the league in assists, but he was used in a different role. The Bulls used Jordan as a shooting guard. If he had been used as the team’s point guard, he would have finished with a higher career average than 5.4 per game. Jordan reached 400 total assists for a season seven times. He reached 500 assists two times and recorded a career-high 650 assists during the 1988-89 season.
Scoring, rebounding, defense, and playmaking were all abilities of Pippen. While Pippen did so much for the Bulls, he was a decent passer too. For his Bulls career, he averaged 5.2 assists per game. Pippen had at least 400 assists in eight consecutive seasons. That included reaching the 500-assist mark three times with 572 assists coming during the 1991-92 season. As for modern-day guards for the Bulls, Hinrich is the only player in the 2000s to make a dent in the leaderboards. Hinrich finished with at least 500 assists for a season three times.
Steals – Michael Jordan
1. Michael Jordan – 2,306 Steals
2. Scottie Pippen – 1,792 Steals
3. Kirk Hinrich – 857 Steals
The world looked at how gifted a scorer Jordan was with the team. What we often forget is that he was an All-Defensive player as well. Jordan led the league in steals three times in his career. That included a career-high 259 career steals during the 1987-88 season when he won the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Jordan reached at least 200 steals in a season six times.
Jordan and Pippen were as good as they got when it came to defensive tandems. Pippen led the league in steals once, when he recorded 232 steals during the 1994-95 season. Pippen reached 100 steals in nine consecutive seasons and reached 200 steals three times. While Hinrich was not a stellar defensive player like the rest, he reached 100 steals for a season three times, with 122 steals coming during the 2004-05 season.
Blocks – Artis Gilmore
1. Artis Gilmore – 1,029 Blocks
2. Michael Jordan – 828 Blocks
3. Joakim Noah – 803 Blocks
Before Gilmore played for the Bulls, he was a star with the ABA Kentucky Colonels. He led the league in blocks three times, including 422 total blocks during his rookie season. When Gilmore joined the NBA in 1976-77, he was a solid man in the middle for the Bulls. He never led the NBA, but finished with at least 200 blocks in a season once and had at least 100 blocks in six of the seven seasons.
Had Jordan not retired from the Bulls, he would have potentially owned this record, but 200 blocks would have been tough to accomplish. With that said, Jordan reached 100 career blocks two times during his career, so there was potential. Jordan reached 131 blocks for a season during his DPOY season. Jordan reached 80 blocks in a season three times. He averaged 0.8 blocks for his career with the Bulls. Noah nearly took down Jordan but needed one more year. Noah is the only other player alongside Jordan that won a DPOY Award. Noah had at least 100 blocks in a season four times.
Turnovers – Michael Jordan
1. Michael Jordan – 2,589 Turnovers
2. Scottie Pippen – 2,401 Turnovers
3. Reggie Theus – 1,567 Turnovers
The Bulls relied on Jordan to be a dominant offensive player, so naturally, a turnover of two was going to happen. While Jordan leads the team in many facets, he also leads the team in career turnovers. Jordan finished with at least 200 turnovers in a season seven times. That includes his career-high of 285 turnovers during his rookie season. Jordan nearly had 200 turnovers a few other times when he had 188 turnovers in 1992-93 and 195 turnovers during the 1995-96 season.
Jordan had the ball plenty of times, but so did Pippen. Eight times Pippen reached at least 200 turnovers for a season. He had 199 turnovers during the 1988-89 season. During the 1989-90 season, Pippen reached his career-high of 278 turnovers in a season. Theus played for the Bulls for six seasons but remains third all-time in turnovers. His first two seasons were a combined 651 turnovers. Theus finished with 300 turnovers in a season three times.
Field Goals – Michael Jordan
1. Michael Jordan – 10,962 Field Goals
2. Scottie Pippen – 5,991 Field Goals
3. Bob Love – 4,948 Field Goals
Similarly to his points record, this record is not going to get broken unless a player similar to Jordan’s statue comes to Chicago. Jordan was the best finisher of his time. The eye test and the numbers prove that. Jordan led the league in field goals 10 times. In nine of those 10 times, Jordan led the league in two-point field goals. Jordan reached 1,000 made field goals in a season three times and 900 field goals nine times. He also led the league in field goal attempts nine times.
Pippen was never going to lead the team in made field goals because he played alongside Jordan. With that said, he was still efficient in putting the ball into the basket. Pippen made 500 field goals in a season eight times and made at least 600 field goals in a season six times. For Love, he made at least 600 field goals five times, but also made 700 field goals in a season three times and 800 field goals once. His 819 made field goals came during the 1971-72 season.
3-Point Field Goals – Kirk Hinrich
1. Kirk Hinrich – 1,049 3-Point Field Goals
2. Zach LaVine – 790 3-Point Field Goals
3. Ben Gordon – 770 3-Point Field Goals
The only player to reach 1,000 made three-point field goals was Captain Kirk. Hinrich was not a player that made a dent in the league’s three-point field goals; however, he reached 100 made three-pointers in the first four years of his Bulls career. He reached 100 treys five times altogether. This low number goes to show how well the Bulls finish in the paint instead of outside.
LaVine will likely take over this record unless the Bulls trade him. LaVine is a career 38.7% shooter from three-point range with the Bulls. He owns one season with at least 200 made three-pointers, while two other seasons featured 184 and 185 made three-pointers. LaVine recently passed Gordon this season, who was the longtime teammate of Hinrich. Gordon reached 100 made three-pointers in all five seasons with the Bulls.
Free Throws – Michael Jordan
1. Michael Jordan – 6,798 Free Throws
2. Bob Love – 2,727 Free Throws
3. Chet Walker – 2,672 Free Throws
With the number of times Jordan got to the rim, it was only natural that he got fouled as much as he did. He capitalized on his attempts by shooting 83.8% of his career from the free-throw line. Jordan led the league in free throws in back-to-back seasons in 1987 and 1988. That included his career-high of 833 free throws out of 972 attempts. Both numbers led the league. Jordan made at least 500 free throws in a season eight times and 600 free throws in a season four times.
The mark between Jordan and the second-best player is large. Over 4,000 free throws separate Jordan and Love. With the Bulls, Love made 400 free throws in a season two times, with his career high of 513 during the 1970-71 season. Walker once led the league in free-throw percentage, shooting 85.9% during the 1970-71 season. He reached 400 made free throws in five of his six seasons in Chicago.
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