Top Ten Most Awesome Bulls Foreign-born Players

An underrated aspect of the Bulls 90's dynasty is how they had the best player from almost every basketball playing country around the world. Jordan was the best American, Longley the best Australian, Kukoc was the best European, Wennington the best Canadian. And there was Steve Kerr, who I’ll just assume is the best basketball player ever born in Lebanon. As such, here are the ten most awesome Bulls players born abroad.

Note: Johnny Red Kerr, born on the super-continent Pangaea, is not featured.

10. Luol Deng

While Deng is one of the best players the Bulls have had since Jordan retired, he may forever be known as the guy the Bulls wouldn’t include in a trade for Kobe.

9. Martynas Andriuskevicius

One the few people I liked exponentially more after getting their ass kicked. When the 7’3 Andriuskevicius got socked in the eye by 6’5 local guy Awvee Storey, I immediately imagined something out of Mike Tyson’s Punchout. Andriuskevicius also holds the distinction of being the least cool person ever nicknamed Big Marty.

8. Dragan Tarlac

Take a look at the 00-01 Bulls. Seriously, that may be the funniest team of all time. You wonder why Ron Artest is so crazy now? It’s probably because he spent his NBA formative years hanging out on practice courts and in planes with the likes of Tarlac, Khalid El-Amin, and the immortal Jake Voskul, who I distinctly remember had great hair. Something tells me Bryce Drew probably hung out a lot with Fred Hoiberg an Brad Miller during those days.

7. Thabo Sefolosha

Owns the best website for an athlete this side of Pat Mannelly.

6. Viktor Khryapa

One of the great Russian deceptionists of our time, Khryapa somehow found a way to stay in the NBA for four seasons despite never being given the chance to actually play. All that ended this season, however, when Bulls coach Jim Boylan, in search of the ever elusive eight man rotation, played Veektor over a three game stretch from January 29 to February 2. Khryapa struggled mightily with his first real glimpse of NBA action- even though two of the games were against the Timberwolves, a team that currently employs both Antoine Walker and Sebastian Telfair. Days later, Khryapa was cut. His uncanny impression of Stacy King will sorely be missed.

5. Bill Wennington

Will also be featured on our list of “top sandwiches named after Canadians” for the aptly named ‘Beef Wennington.’

4. Andres Nocioni

3. Dalibor Bagaric

I was having trouble coming up with something for this space…until I came upon Bagaric’s NBA.com page. Bask in the glory:

- Enjoys eating pasta.

- Lists his favorite video game as “Medal of Honor”.

- Wedding had 390 guests and was attended by teammates Marcus Fizer and Tyson Chandler.

2. Luc Longley

Longley was famously the target of many Jordan tirades when he came to the Bulls, but persevered to become arguably the top surfer in Bulls history. Head to Australia and you can still see Luc catching some waves.

1. Toni Kukoc

While The Croatian Sensation was one of the most talented and versatile players the Bulls have ever had, he may ultimately be remembered as a footnote. Everyone remembers when Scottie Pippen refused to take the court with 1.8 seconds left in a tied playoff game against the Knicks, but it as Kukoc who admirably stepped up and knocked down the game-winning shot. The 6’11 Kukoc probably would have started for any other team in the NBA during his prime, but gladly took a backseat to win titles with the Bulls.

Honorable Mention:
Steve Kerr
Darius Songaila
Ben Gordon