Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic are usual suspects to ESPN’s Top 100 Players list heading into the season, but they’ve each fallen in the ranks from a season ago. While some of the scrutiny may be justified, this looks like a case of the NBA media overlooking the Chicago Bulls yet again. In 2022, LaVine, DeRozan, and Vucevic were slotted at 27, 28, and 57, respectively, which didn’t make much sense in its own right. DeRozan was fresh from a top-five MVP finish, was an NBA All-Star starter, and led the league in fourth quarter scoring for the Eastern Conference sixth-seeded Bulls. LaVine was rehabbing a knee surgery following his second consecutive All-Star appearance, had just been inked to a max-contract extension, and had fewer points and assists at a less efficient rate than his running mate DeRozan yet stood one slot ahead in the rankings. Vucevic’s spot made more sense, given the gradual downfall since arriving from Orlando a season prior. Where did the trio land on the current list, and was their positioning justified?
Time Is Now For Zach LaVine
Zach LaVine has, at times, been one of the most underrated and overrated players in the league. After signing his max contract last summer, expectations matched the payday. As the 16th highest-paid player in the NBA, not receiving a single All-Star vote and missing the postseason entirely was not a great start to earning his lucrative deal. While he may have stumbled out of the gates last year due to the off-season knee surgery slowing his summer workouts and progression, he was arguably one of the best scorers leaguewide and players overall during the second half of the season. LaVine has fallen from the 27th ranked player to 38th heading into the 2023-24 campaign. Much of the justification from ESPN’s Collier was attributed to his slow start last year, but with no injury concerns this summer, it doesn’t make much sense that he’d regress this season.
From January to March of 2023, LaVine lit the Association on fire with over 26.7 points per game in his 41 appearances from January to March. Taking that momentum into a summer where he does not need to rehab a knee surgery for months, look out for the best version of the former UCLA Bruins guard.
DeRozan’s Age Becoming A Factor
DeMar DeRozan was named an All-Star in Chicago for his second consecutive season in 2022, continuing to be one of the biggest free agency steals in recent memory for the Bulls. In 2021, he was named to the All-NBA Second Team and finished the season with MVP votes. Given that he did neither of those things in 2022, it would make sense that he’d fall from his previous ranking, but to 39 is quite the dip. As an All-Star last year, an honor that 26 players earn each year, the reasoning for being a dozen slots below that is quite head-scratching. Assuming age plays a factor as DeRozan heads into his age 34 season, some regression could be argued by the national media.
Carrying a similar roster into 2023, Chicago should expect an equal or greater output from DeRozan this season. He’s also on a contract year, which signifies another source of motivation as he will strive to gain as much negotiating power in this summer’s extension or deal elsewhere as possible, much like Vucevic’s performance last season and desire to play all 82 games for the first time in his career.
Vucevic’s Resurgence On The Cusp
Nikola Vucevic’s downfall in the NBA ranks makes the most sense and has the most supporting evidence. Falling nearly 20 spots from 2022, Vucevic didn’t regress last year but didn’t progress in many areas. He became a much more efficient scorer, improving his field goal percentage by nearly 5% from his 2022 campaign, but he also became more of a defensive liability in the process. He displayed impressive durability on his way to playing all 82 games and chose to return to Chicago this summer because of “unfinished business,” amongst other reasons.
During opening interviews, he also spoke on expanding his role within the offense, which he excelled in during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, averaging nearly 20 points and nine rebounds per contest for his home country of Montenegro. If this version of Vucevic comes to life in Chicago, his rank of 75 will undoubtedly undermine the impact he has for the Bulls in 2023.
LaVine at 38, DeRozan at 38, and Vucevic at 75. Are the Bulls being disrespected by the NBA media once again, or is this accurate for a trio of former All-Stars who missed the playoffs in 2022? They’ll be seeking to make it beyond the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time as teammates in 2023 and are out of excuses for getting it done.
