20 years ago the Chicago Bulls drafted Kirk Hinrich 7th overall. He finished 4th in ROTY voting ahead of Chris Bosh, became Chicago’s all-time leader in 3’s, and fought Rajon Rondo in the playoffs. What a legendary career by the Captain 🐐
by comeontars69
21 Comments
He had heart and those young Bulls teams with Deng, Gordon and Hinrich were fun times
One of my favorite Bulls of all-time!
That 2nd pic looks like it’s out of the Kohl’s back to school fashion catalog.
He was the starting point at which the Bulls finally began building something legitimate following the Jordan years and then the collapse into oblivion that followed.
That era may not have culminated in another ring, but they were a legit team for a minute there and Kirk was a nice cog in that machine.
That’s my Captain 🥲
Captain kirk
Led the league in on court accessories 7 years in a row as well.
D Wade said he was the toughest guy to ever guard him.
O Captain, My Captain 🫡
Interesting era of Bulls uniforms with The Bull above the name, and the name still being outlined block lettering, albeit a cleaner looking lettering than in the MJ era.
One of my favorite Bulls. Sometimes I feel it was more fun to root for terrible teams than mediocre one teams.
That’s my captain
The good old Heinrich Gordon Deng Noicioni days…the best
Fuck Rondo.
Kirks a real one.
Not too bad for a kid from Sioux City, Iowa
How about on draft night when we could have traded up to take Wade in exchange for the #7, Jalen Rose, and Donyell Marshall for Raptors pick and take Wade?
Instead we took Kirk, and traded Rose and Marshall to Toronto anyway for Antonio Davis.
Truly a sliding doors moment for the franchise.
I was a really big fan of his. I hope he’s doing ok.
Currently working for Sanford sports in Sioux Falls SD per his Wikipedia if anyone else was interested in what he was doing. I would like to hear him on some podcasts.
When things looked dark following Jay Williams’ motorcycle accident, Kirk came in to provide some light. He was initially seen as a stop-gap pick, someone to fill the position decently while we figured things out. Kirk came in and was immediately better than Jay Williams was for us.
His work ethic and leadership help set the tone for the Bulls becoming a scrappy team that could punch above their weight. He never had an ego. He often played out of position at SG to give us some options, which I think hurt his development overall. When we drafted Rose, he wasn’t worried about his starting spot. He took Rose under his wing and did everything he could to support him. He returned to the Bulls because Derrick personally wanted him back on the team. He knew how much having Kirk around meant.
There’s better players in Bulls history than Kirk, but there haven’t been many *people* better than him. He was a consummate pro, a great teammate, a great citizen for the city, and one of the best leaders we’ve seen in a Bulls uniform. I always hoped he’d return as a coach or in the FO, but I respect the hell out of him for living a quiet life and focusing on his family.
I am convinced we are not winning a championship until Captain Kirk is our Head coach