Professional career
Boerwinkle was drafted as the fourth pick of the 1968 NBA draft and played with the Bulls until 1978. Although largely unappreciated during his playing days, Boerwinkle was a very efficient player, using his brawny seven-foot frame to grab rebounds and set picks while teammates like Jerry Sloan, Chet Walker and Bob Love did most of the scoring.
In addition, Boerwinkle contributed with his passing skills, averaging 3.2 assists per game during his career. Acting as a distribution hub from the center position, he helped set a precedent for future passing big men such as two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić. On January 8, 1970, Boerwinkle set a Bulls record by grabbing 37 rebounds against the Phoenix Suns. He retired with career totals of 4,596 points, 5,745 rebounds, and 2,007 assists. Boerwinkle also had five triple doubles in his career. [7]
Later life
Boerwinkle later served as a radio color analyst for the Bulls. [8] He was a longtime co-owner of the Olympic Oil Co. in Stickney, Illinois. [9]
Boerwinkle died on March 26, 2013, in Willowbrook, Illinois, after struggling with myelodysplastic syndrome, a form of leukemia. [10]
Upon his death, longtime Bulls teammate Bob Love said, "He was a great teammate with a heart of gold. And I always tell people: Half of my baskets came from him. He's one of the best-passing big men of all-time." Hall of Fame center and Bulls teammate Artis Gilmore said, "He understood his role extremely well. He had a very big body and he absorbed a lot of space. With those behind-the-back and over-the-head passes, he was very good. He understood the game and he played intelligent basketball." [11]
He was survived by his wife of 41 years, [1] Linda, son Jeff and daughter Gretchen. [11]
Nathaniel Thurmond was an American basketball player who spent the majority of his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors franchise. He played the center and power forward positions. Thurmond was a seven-time All-Star and the first player in NBA history to record an official quadruple-double. In 1965, he grabbed 42 rebounds in a game; only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell recorded more rebounds in an NBA game. Thurmond was named a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985, one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and part of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr., usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Considered one of the greatest small forwards of all time, Pippen played an important role in transforming the Bulls into a championship team and popularizing the NBA around the world during the 1990s.
Juwan Antonio Howard is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's team from 2019 to 2024 before joining the Nets in 2024.
Antoine Devon Walker is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker played for the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, the BSN's Mets de Guaynabo and the NBA D-League's Idaho Stampede before retiring from basketball in 2012. Walker, a three-time NBA All-Star, won an NCAA championship with Kentucky in 1996 and an NBA championship with the Heat in 2006.
Charles Oakley is an American former professional basketball player. Oakley is best known for playing 10 of his 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association with the New York Knicks. As a power forward, he consistently ranked as one of the best rebounders and defensive players in the NBA. He also played for the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and Houston Rockets. Since 2017, he has been the coach of the Killer 3's of the BIG3.
Michael Joseph Dunleavy Jr. is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the general manager for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, earning consensus second-team All-American honors in 2002. Dunleavy was selected by Golden State with the third overall pick of the 2002 NBA draft. He played in the NBA for the Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks. He is the son of former NBA player and head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr.
Chester "Chet" Walker was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and was selected in 2012 to become a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star. He played 13 seasons in the NBA, seven with the Philadelphia 76ers, and he helped lead the 76ers to an NBA championship in 1967. He played his last six seasons for the Chicago Bulls from 1969 to 1975. He played college basketball for the Bradley Braves, twice earning first-team consensus All-American honors, and was famously "hijacked" to Bradley to keep him from attending the University of Nebraska instead. He also won an Emmy award as a television producer.
John Graham Kerr, also known as Red Kerr, was an American basketball player, coach, executive and broadcaster who devoted six decades to the sport at all levels. The affable 6'9", 230-pound center starred for the University of Illinois (1951–1954) before he became a three-time All-Star and one-time league champion in the NBA (1954–66), primarily as a member of the Syracuse Nationals.
Robert Earl Love was an American professional basketball player who spent the prime of his career with the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. A versatile forward who could shoot with either his left or right hand, Love later worked as the Bulls' director of community affairs and goodwill ambassador. Love was nicknamed "Butterbean", which dates back to his boyhood when he was fond of the legume.
Christopher Steven Mihm is an American former professional basketball center who played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball at Texas, he was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls.
Rodney King Thorn is an American basketball executive and a former professional player and coach, Olympic Committee Chairman, with a career spanning over 50 years. In 2018, Thorn was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Donald R. Kojis was an American professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Kojis is credited as involved in the creation or advancement of the alley-oop dunk.
Robert Kauffman was an American professional basketball player and coach. Kaufmann was a three-time NBA All-Star.
Joakim Simon Noah is a former professional basketball player. Born in New York, Noah was a member of the France national team and played college basketball for the Florida Gators, winning back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007. The Chicago Bulls selected Noah with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. Noah is a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the All-NBA First Team in 2014 when he also was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Ronnie Brewer is an American former professional basketball player and currently an assistant coach. Brewer played collegiately at the University of Arkansas, where his father Ron Brewer was a star in the late 1970s. Brewer is known for having an unorthodox shooting technique, the result of a childhood water slide injury.
Ömer Faruk Aşık is a Turkish former professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Aşık, standing at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), was sought after by many of the top Euroleague basketball teams at the age of 19. Aşık got his first chance playing professionally with the Turkish Basketball League team Fenerbahçe in 2005–06. After one season with Alpella, Aşık moved back to Fenerbahçe and eventually ended his Turkish club career with them in 2009–10. He gained recognition playing for the Turkey national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, and as the starting center, he helped Turkey win the silver medal. In July 2010, Aşık signed with the Chicago Bulls. He was nicknamed "The Turkish Hammer" and "Asik the Destroyer" by Bulls commentator Stacey King.
The 1967–68 Chicago Bulls season was the second season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Evan Marcel Turner is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He was most recently an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted second overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2010 NBA draft.
Clifton Pondexter is an American former professional basketball player.
Cormac Karl "Max" Christie Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top shooting guards in the 2021 class.
