Zach LaVine Is In Elite Company

Anyone who has watched the Chicago Bulls over the last 3 seasons can tell you one thing, shooting guard Zach LaVine is an elite shooter. In the Bull’s loss against the LA Clippers LaVine scored 45 points on 57.7% shooting. LaVine hit 10 threes against the Clippers and showed his shooting talent is elite. After the game, LaVine found himself in elite company when it comes to hitting 10 threes in a game.

LaVine is only one of five current NBA players with multiple games with 10+ threes. He finds himself surrounded by Warriors guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Blazers guard Damian Lillard, and Rockets guard James Harden. That is some pretty great company to be surrounded by. This isn’t new for LaVine who has shown many times he can be an elite scorer. The difference this year is he doesn’t have to play hero ball as the team is improving. Let’s take a look at LaVine’s numbers so far this season.

2020-2021 NBA Season

While we are only eleven games into this young season we still need to look at LaVine thus far. He is absolutely balling out so far. Look at his stretch over the last 4 games during the team’s west coast road trip.

LaVine has absolutely stepped it up a notch over the last four games and he doesn’t appear to be losing steam. Unfortunately for the Bulls, they lost three out of their last four but they were all very close. The Bulls are still figuring out their identity under new head coach Billy Donovan but even in those losses it still felt like the future was bright for the Bulls. Let’s look at where LaVine is currently sitting with his overall stats this season.

He’s 4th in the NBA in ppg this season and 14th in the league in three-pointers made per game. He has gotten better each season and he hopes to continue that trajectory the rest of this season. While it’s unfortunate that these big games continue to occur during losses in time that will be different. This Bulls team has a long way to go but LaVine has consistently kept them afloat.

Moving up in Bulls history

LaVine is slowly moving his way up in the Bulls history books. He became just the third Bulls player ever to record 10 or more 40+ point games.

While it’s going to be tough to catch the GOAT he certainly can get past Bob Love this season. Before the end of this year, LaVine may find himself behind only Michael Jordan for most 40+ point games for the Bulls. This alone is quite an impressive stat. On top of that LaVine is in a category of his own in Chicago.

There aren’t many categories that you can be the sole leader in with the Bulls. There have been many great players who come through Chicago and leave their mark. LaVine is making sure that he has a category to himself. He has shown his shooting skills throughout his tenure with the Bulls and it’s time to get this man to the playoffs. That is the one thing that continuously is criticized about LaVine.

Put some respect on his name

The biggest criticism of LaVine is that he hasn’t made it to the playoffs or brought his team consistent wins. He has been marked as a #2 player on a team and not a #1 by many. While that may be valid it’s something that hasn’t been able to been seen in true fashion. Every team LaVine has been a part of has been deeply flawed. From the roster makeup to the coaches, he hasn’t been given a fair shake. As this Bulls team grows we will finally get to see how LaVine can play with a solid supporting cast. It’s going to take time but this team can get there.

Either way, LaVine is an elite-level scorer. He deserves to be respected as such. If other teams aren’t going to respect his shot expect to see many more 40+ games from him. Zach LaVine is a walking bucket and it’s time for the NBA  to notice.