Chicago will have a large -- and most likely, loud -- presence at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in August. Artis Gilmore, Dennis Rodman and Tex Winter, three men who left sizable imprints on the Bulls and Chicago, were elected to the Hall.
Rodman's tenure in Chicago was unforgettable. After spending years tormenting the Bulls as a Piston and a Spur, he came to Chicago.
He was a key part of the second three-peat of championships as a force in the paint. His focus on getting a loose ball could not be shaken by anything silly like walls, gravity, fans in the seats or even a cameraman.
He led the league in rebounding in 1998 and was second and third in the league in boards in '96 and '97, respectively. He was a phenomenon in Chicago, as everything from his hair color to his practice habits to his "wedding" drew headlines, but none of that mattered when Rodman hit the basketball court. He had a sort of clunky grace that was mesmerizing. Even with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen on the court, Rodman was the player to keep an eye on. Now, he'll be in the same Hall of Fame as those two.
Winter's name is rarely mentioned without two important words: triangle offense. As an assistant coach for the Bulls from 1985-1998, Winter implemented this offense that utilized Jordan and Pippen's strengths. It took pressure off of Jordan, while still giving him cover to score. The result? Six championships in Chicago, and Jordan's legacy as one of the best scorers of all time. He joins Phil Jackson as a coach in the Hall.
Gilmore's legacy, in addition to having an amazing head of hair, is that of a great player who was stuck on poor teams. After playing for the Kentucky Colonels in the ABA, Gilmore was drafted with the first pick by the Bulls.
In six seasons with Chicago, Gilmore led the league in field goal percentage twice, and was Top 10 in rebounding four times. He is the NBA's career leader in field goal percentage and was an All Star 11 times in the NBA and ABA. He never won a championship, but he did create some exciting basketball at the old Chicago Stadium in the 70s and 80s.
These three men, along with Harlem Globetrotter Reece "Goose" Tatum, Chris Mullin, Tom "Satch" Sanders, Arvydas Sabonis, Teresa Edwards, Herb Magee and Tara VanDerveer, will be enshrined on Aug. 12.
That's one weekend after Chicago will celebrate the induction of Richard Dent into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
