Former Bulls Gilmore, Winter and Rodman elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

 

“It’s a great day for Bulls fans, and our organization, when two former players and a former assistant coach are inducted into such a prestigious shrine that is the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame,” said Chicago Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. “All three of these guys have made tremendous contributions to the game of basketball, and I know that they are all proud of this recognition.”

Gilmore spent seven seasons with the Bulls (1976-82, 1987-88), and averaged 19.3 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 2.5 apg and 2.13 bpg and shot .587 in 482 career games. While with the Bulls, he was named an NBA All-Star four times and earned NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors in 1978.

In Bulls annals, he ranks first in field goal percentage (.587), first in blocked shots (1,029), second in defensive rebounds (3,851), fourth in free throws attempted (3,307), fourth in offensive rebounds (1,491), fifth in total rebounds (5,342), fifth in free throws made (2,355), sixth in points (9,288), sixth in scoring average (19.3 ppg), sixth in field goals made (3,466), eighth in minutes played (16,777) and 10th in field goal attempts (5,907). Gilmore is also the NBA’s all-time leader in field goal percentage at .599.

Photo: Artis Gilmore

Winter, known as the architect of the Bulls’ famed triangle offense, was a member of Phil Jackson’s coaching staff that won six NBA championships with the Bulls. Winter joined the Bulls as an assistant coach in 1985 and remained with the Bulls through 1999.

 

 

Photo: Assistant coach Tex Winter

Rodman, a member of three NBA championship teams with the Bulls, spent three seasons in Chicago (1995-98). He played in 199 regular season games with the Bulls and averaged 5.2 ppg, a franchise-best 15.3 rpg and 2.8 apg. He led the NBA in rebounding three straight seasons while in Chicago, and his single-season rebounding averages of 14.9 rpg in 1996, 16.1 rpg in 1997 and 15.0 in 1998 rate as the three top rebounding averages in franchise history. He also earned NBA All-Defensive First Team accolades in 1996. In team history, he ranks seventh in offensive rebounds (1,097) and eighth in defensive rebounds (1,939). He also holds the team’s single-season record for rebounds with 1,201, a record he established in 1998 at the age of 36. In addition, Rodman also owns the top two spots for offensive rebounds in a season (421 in 1998, 356 in 1996), as well as the most defensive boards in a season (780 in 1998).

 

Dennis Rodman

Gilmore, Winter and Rodman are part of this year’s 10-member induction class and will be honored in Springfield, Mass. August 11-13 during the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies.

Source: nba.com/bulls

Photos: Artis Gilmore (nba.com/bulls), Tex Winter (foxsports.com) , Dennis Rodman (upi.com).