Zach LaVine has made every effort to leave his mark on this chapter of Chicago Bulls history since he was traded to the Windy City in 2017. With DeMar DeRozan providing LaVine with the assistance he needs, the team has at last enabled him to turn winning into a realistic objective for this team.
Despite not having played two full seasons with the team yet, DeRozan already ranks 34th in Chicago’s all-time franchise scoring leaders list. More astonishingly, though, LaVine has risen to the top of the Bulls’ all-time scoring list. LaVine is a better player now than he has ever been because of the substantial evolution of his game over the years.
Considering that LaVine is only now entering his peak, it’s intriguing to consider how many records he still has to shatter. He joins a limited group of former Bulls, including DeRozan, Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and Pau Gasol, who have all been selected numerous times as All-Stars in the last 25 years. Undoubtedly, one of the best offensive players this city has ever seen, LaVine scored over 8,000 points throughout his time as a Bull.
Unbelievably, this accomplishment also qualifies LaVine to pass Chicago icon Derrick Rose for the most points ever scored while wearing a Bulls uniform. LaVine outscored Rose with 8,027 points in just 329 games throughout the regular season, despite Rose having 8,001 points in 406 games with the Bulls.
By surpassing Derrick Rose in the total number of points scored, Zach LaVine has indelibly marked his place in Chicago Bulls history.
Zach still has a long way to go before he can join the Bulls’ all-time scoring leaderboard, since there is a significant gap between him and the top slot. Having said that, if LaVine keeps playing at his current rate, it wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect him to finish in the top five—or, dare I say, top three. Here are the current top 10 scorers in Bulls history.
- Michael Jordan – 29,277
- Scottie Pippen – 15,123
- Bob Love – 12,623
- Luol Deng – 10,286
- Jerry Sloan – 10,233
- Chet Walker – 9,788
- Artis Gilmore – 9,288
- Kirk Hinrich – 8,536
- Reggie Theus – 8,279
- Zach LaVine – 8,027
If he can avoid any serious injuries, LaVine, who has averaged over 1,500 points per season over the past five seasons, should easily surpass a couple of these players next season. LaVine would easily move up to fourth place on the record and even have a chance to pass Bob Love for third place if he plays out the remaining three guaranteed seasons of his deal and maintains a mark of 1,500 or more points in each of those years.
Even beyond that, LaVine has a player option for 2026–2027, so if he chooses to extend his contract with the team for an additional year, he could very well keep dominating past third. By the time his current deal expires, LaVine will still be able to score 14,000 points, even if his scoring slightly declines as he gets older. LaVine, who will turn 28 in a few weeks, has the potential to live long enough to be remembered as one of the greatest players in Bulls history.
Having said that, it’s difficult to predict whether LaVine will have any obstacles to his longevity or whether he will even want to stay with the team if they don’t advance to the championship picture. We’re talking about quite some time into the future. Though it’s hard to say how much the NBA will change in the next five years, it seems quite likely that LaVine will go down as one of the all-time greats.
Though Rose has 973 career playoff points and is currently ranked sixth in Chicago Bulls franchise history as a postseason participant, LaVine could start by boosting his 77 career playoff points and chasing Rose once again if it would be a more achievable aim.
Should Chicago Bulls Abandon a player with such potentials?
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