Bulls 26th in Power Rankings of 2002-06

ESPN.com has released a list that ranks all the teams in the NBA based on its weekly power rankings since 2002.  The Bulls come in at disappointing 26.  “There really isn’t much separating No. 26 Chicago’s average rank (19.28) from the team sitting in the No. 20 slot (Philadelphia at 18.44). But the Bulls’ numbers unquestionably absorbed considerable (and deserved) punishment last season when — in a rare scenario for teams down here — they were widely expected to contend for the East title and wound up as a complete nonfactor in the playoff chase by winning just 33 games,” the comment on the Bulls reads.

It’s not really a big surprise to see the Bulls low on this list.  It may have been lower than this blogger would have put them, but you can chalk up a lot of this position to the true Baby Bulls years where the team was being built around Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler.  Draft day in 2001 saw the Bulls ship their best player since MJ, Elton Brand, for a high draft pick.  The Bulls then used two top five picks to select the two high schoolers as the cornerstones of the franchise.  It looked like a decent idea on paper that had tons of upside, but it also resulted in the Bulls hanging out in the Eastern Conference’s cellar for a few years before shipping both players.

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