Okay, so the other day, I got into this whole thing about the Chicago Bulls. You know, the basketball team? I was thinking about their history and all the players they’ve had over the years. Specifically, I got stuck on the centers. I mean, everyone talks about Jordan and the guards, but the big guys in the middle don’t get enough love, in my humble opinion.
So, I started digging around. Just casually, you know, on my phone while I was waiting for my coffee. First, I just googled “Chicago Bulls centers history,” just to see what would pop up. I know, brilliant, right? A bunch of articles and lists came up, some were good and some were not so good.
After reading through a few, I realized there was a lot more to this than I initially thought. It looks like the center position has really changed in the NBA. One article mentioned that it’s almost “obsolete” now because of the “small-ball era,” whatever that means. They also listed a ton of guards and forwards, but I was after the centers, so I skipped those parts.
I found one list that ranked the top 5 Bulls centers. It had Artis Gilmore at number 1, then Tom Boerwinkle, and Bill Cartwright at 3. It seemed pretty legit, but I wanted to do my own research, too. I mean, who are these people? I started to recognize some names like Dave Corzine, because he played with Jordan, but not everyone.
My Deep Dive
- I spent a good chunk of the afternoon going through player stats and old game footage. Let me tell you, YouTube is a rabbit hole!
- I made a list of all the centers who ever played for the Bulls. It was way longer than I expected! I used some website called “Data Glossary.” I don’t know, I just clicked on it.
- Then, I started crossing off names. Some guys only played a few games, so they didn’t really count in my book.
- I focused on the players who had a significant impact on the team, you know, the ones who played a lot of games and had good stats.
It was actually pretty fun, like being a sports detective or something. I ended up with my own list of top centers, but I won’t bore you with all the details. Let’s just say, it was a productive afternoon, and I learned a lot about the Bulls’ history and the evolution of the center position. Maybe I’ll share my list in another article, we’ll see. For now, my coffee’s gone, and it’s time to do something else.
