The Chicago Bulls could really use some lottery luck.
Sunday's annual NBA Draft Lottery will provide 14 teams the opportunity to strike gold with the No. 1 overall pick, a selection the Bulls have not held since drafting Derrick Rose in 2008. However, the compensation for not landing the top pick isn't too shabby either, with three to four potentially franchise-changing talents projected to be drafted.
Under new head executive Bryson Graham, the Bulls are hoping to restore the franchise to its glory days, when Chicago won six NBA Championships in eight years. The Bulls are bringing a key piece from that era back to serve as their good luck charm for Sunday's lottery.
Forward Toni Kukoc, who spent parts of seven seasons with the Bulls from 1993 to 2000, will be Chicago's representative at the NBA Draft Lottery.
The Bulls have the ninth-best odds to win the No. 1 overall pick at 4.5%, as well as a 20.3% chance to jump into the top four. Chicago's most likely landing spots are No. 9 (50.8%) and No. 10 (25.9%) overall.
Kukoc, 57, was the 29th overall pick by the Bulls in the 1990 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-11 Croatian wing starred in the EuroLeague, winning three titles and several international Most Valuable Player awards. Kukoc came to the United States as a 25-year-old in 1993 and debuted for the Bulls shortly after Michael Jordan's first retirement.
After coming off the bench and landing on the All-Rookie Second Team, Kukoc entered the starting lineup, but returned to the bench for most of the Bulls' second three-peat. He won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award in 1995-96 as Chicago marched to a then-record 72-10 mark in the regular season and beat the SuperSonics in the NBA Finals.
Sep 11, 2021; Springfield, MA, USA; Class of 2021 inductee Toni Kukoc speaks alongside presenters Michael Jordan and Jerry Reinsdorf during the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement at MassMutual Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn ImagesKukoc averaged career-highs after the trio of Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman dissolved. In a lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, Kukoc posted 18.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game and led the Bulls in each category. Chicago traded Kukoc to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2000, and he ended up spending time with the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks to close out his career.
The longtime Bulls forward retired in 2006, was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017 and joined the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. Kukoc totaled 13 seasons in the NBA, with half of that coming in Chicago. He is now a special advisor to Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf.