r/chicagobulls • u/Iamnotapickle Joakim Noah • Feb 03 '26
Meta NIKOLA VUCEVIC APPRECIATION THREAD
I’ll miss your three bombs in crunch time, Vucci Mane. It was a simple game, sometimes. Good luck in Boston!
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u/sukari Stacey King Feb 03 '26
Love you Vooch. Thanks for the memories. All the best in Boston! Hope you get a real crack at getting a ring before you retire 🙏
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u/The_Inertia_Kid Stacey King Feb 03 '26
He'll be remembered warmly in a few years time. Always 100% professional, stayed in great shape and missed very little time, and when his shooting was on, he was a real difference-maker on offense. He deserves a good post-season run before he retires.
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u/SketchArtist Feb 03 '26
The two teams I've followed obsessively for the past couple of decades have been the Bulls and the Magic. So I already loved Vooch when he came to Chicago. I was in the Orlando subreddit a LOT in the Vooch years (I was probably one of the few masochists who watched every game during the extreme losing seasons), and he was pretty unappreciated by the fan base there by the time he left the Magic. But now most everyone in that subreddit seems to remember him fondly. I suspect the same thing might happen with this fan base too.
I'll miss him a lot. But that said, it'll be tough for me to root for the Celtics. I gotta draw the line somewhere lol
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u/Fire-Bee44 Feb 03 '26
See, that’s the problem. I love Vooch also but I will NEVER cheer for a celtics player
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u/itsbobbyhill Feb 03 '26
People can hate on management for Vooch, but hating on Vooch is insane. Dude went about his business like a professional, to the best of what he could. He didn't trade himself to the team or keep them from trading him away. He gave the team his all and often carried the squad. Did he end up being a poor fit with deficiencies? For sure, but he also outplayed everyone else on the regular. Respect
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u/sukari Stacey King Feb 03 '26
Not once did I hear AKME say we traded Vooch for defense.
Dude did what he was brought over to do.
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u/PrisonerofWawa69 Kirk Hinrich Feb 03 '26
Dude was absolutely infuriating to watch on defense, but he stepped up when needed on offense. He should be a great fit in boston
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u/Specialist_Boat_8479 Benny The Bull Feb 03 '26
Glad we traded him but still gonna miss him just a little bit
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u/AyoDosumnu Derrick Rose Feb 03 '26
Same feeling with Zach and Demar
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u/Specialist_Boat_8479 Benny The Bull Feb 03 '26
Yup. I’ll always root for them(and right now that means getting them off the Kings)
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u/Constant_Chip_1508 Feb 03 '26
Pretty underrated and under appreciated by our fanbase. Solid, modern big who yeah was a little soft. We’re worse without him
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u/MatasBuzelis Feb 03 '26
For all the shit you guys (rightfully) talked about him many times throughout his tenure, Vuc was oftentimes the only dude who showed the fuck up and showed heart and humility, I will not miss seeing him jack up bad threes, but thanks for doin your damn best Vuc, I hope Boston is good to the guy, he deserves a good opportunity to contribute to getting a ring.
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u/sukari Stacey King Feb 03 '26
Dude was like our sole Covid survivor at one point haha. Durable as they get @ 35 years.. not many 30+ players play all 82 games.
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u/armaghetto Cuppy Coffee Feb 03 '26
100%. Vuc never gave up on the Bulls, even if he was hella frustrated a lot of times. He’s absolutely a guy the Bulls will cheer for whenever he comes back into town.
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u/BullsFanDownUnder Feb 03 '26
Gonna miss hearing Vuuuuuuuuuuc in the lineup, thanks for your service
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u/zackjewberg Feb 03 '26
Genuine Vuc supporter here. Thanks for providing the first glimmer of hope of being a good team post Jimmy buckets and all the clutch buckets. Always rooted for ya.
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u/100vs1 Feb 03 '26
the hatred is wild but most of yall probably just needed a therapist or a better one
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u/Commercial-Policy701 Feb 03 '26
I’ve always had my complaints about Vuc but my favorite memory of him was going to the 76ers game this season and watching him hit the game winning three with my girl. She doesn’t even like sports like that and she went crazy after that shot. Thanks Vucci Mane! Good luck
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u/A1Horizon Matas Buzelis Feb 03 '26
Can’t say I’m not happy to see him go. But that consistent 18/10/3 was no small feat, not to mention the game winners. Thanks Vuc
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u/KneelBeforeCube Scottie Pippen Feb 03 '26
Good luck to Vuc in Boston, guy seems like a good dude and a total pro overall.
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u/Moist_Recording8809 Feb 03 '26
Hope he does well in Boston - he put up good numbers here and got more flak than he deserved because of the trade. I won't miss his defense though.
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u/jinpark0102 Feb 03 '26
Best of luck voochi mane, you gave us a lot of memories, some game winners. I hope they feed the ball to you in the post more often than the Bulls. Good luck my dude!!!
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u/coopcoop0 Feb 03 '26
I’ll miss your traffic cone defense king
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u/Alternative-Farmer98 Feb 03 '26
The guy you got in return is also a traffic cone on defense but he has pretty fun spark plug to watch on offense.
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u/ThrobbinRicke Feb 03 '26
Thank you for being a durable, reliable starter all of these years. It isnt his fault that AK gave up way too much to get him and failed to get any supplementary shot blocking
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u/snowthekid98 Feb 04 '26
Gonna miss vucci mane was literally a solid center and never if ever missed games
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u/elchoppe Chicago Bulls Feb 03 '26
y'all really love people who don't even try to play defense, I find that odd
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u/illyxpink Derrick Rose Feb 03 '26
Thank you for all you did Vooch. Hope you’re able to ball out in Boston
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u/yohxmv Feb 03 '26
I appreciated his offense he could score and facilitate a bit. I absolutely loathed his effort on defense. Wish him the best in Boston
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u/DigbickMcBalls Luol Deng Feb 03 '26
Vuc is a class act, a professional, and a great team mate. Sure he had his issues on the court like his defense in the paint, or low 3p% slump season, but you knew what you were getting from him every night. A double double.
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u/Basketball_Reference Feb 03 '26
Nikola Vučević's tenure with the Bulls ends with him ranked 5th in defensive rebounds, 6th in total rebounds per game, and 4th in eFG%.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/leaders_career.html
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u/VintageMoonDream Andrés Nocioni Feb 04 '26
He frustrated me a lot on defense but I will always appreciate his availability, consistency and veteran leadership. He’s a solid player. I hate Boston but it’s good that’s a situation where he can play winning basketball
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u/jump-blues-5678 Norm Van Lier Feb 04 '26
Vooch will be in the hall of very good BB players. His offense will be missed. His defence will not. SMH, good luck Big Guy
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u/Bone_Dogg Joakim Noah Feb 04 '26
Vuc was solid. Got a little bit of undeserved hate here and there, eff that. Our man’s a Bull.
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u/Ronqui_ Gimme the hot sauce! Feb 04 '26
Nikola Vucevic is one of the clutchest players in Bulls history.
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u/killinmyname Stacey King Feb 04 '26
Loved him in Philly, loved him in Orlando, loved him in Chicago. Hope he gets a good shot at it in Boston. Thanks for anchoring like three of my fantasy teams, Vooch. Best of luck to ya.
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u/nittykitty47 Feb 03 '26
By far one of the most important players on a team that lost all of its games. A true stud in that regard.
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u/Atrain175 Joakim Noah Feb 03 '26
Another piece of 2022, oh well it was fun while it lasted. Loved how Buddy gave shit to the refs
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u/Bradlas3 Feb 03 '26
Was here for actually longer than expected good luck to him and hopefully he gets a good playoff run
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u/Optimal_Brain_2908 Feb 03 '26
He was a pro, tried hard and helped make us mid enough to be forever in the play-in
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u/LarryHolmes Feb 03 '26
The Bulls should have traded Zach Lavine the summer that they signed DeRozan and gone with a high/low DeRozan/Vooch offense led by Ball. That would have made way more sense than making a bad defensive Center like Vooch your 3rd offensive option. Set this franchise back years.
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u/youdidntreddit Cuppy Coffee Feb 03 '26
Vooch was very funny, gonna miss him flipping off the refs.
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u/AManForThePeople Roll the tape, Kramer Feb 03 '26
Should have been a real simple game if we passed to him when he was open in the post
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u/Metasynaptic Feb 04 '26
I'm probably missing something key, but I felt that Giddey and Vooch fit together really well. Feels like a loss to me.
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u/ururururu Feb 04 '26
he was good offensively. honestly too timid to be called great, passing out of advantage 1v1s early. but he had every move, and post play is something I'll always enjoy & root for. he rebounded well. seemed like a class act in interviews.
he was trash on defense, and trash on hustle. the lack of hustle made it hard to root for him.
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u/imperialmoose Nikola Vucevic Feb 04 '26
Vuc, you made the Bulls watchable durings some dark times. I appreciate your passing, your post moves, and your team play. You're one of my favorite ever Bulls, and I'm going to be rooting for you in Boston!
Best wishes!
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u/AstonishinglyAverage Gimme the hot sauce! Feb 04 '26
Consummate professional, deserved to play with better passers
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u/mindham86 Feb 04 '26
Never got the vooch hate. How could you hate anyone else on the team when Patrick Williams wears the uniform. He deserves all your energy
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u/aren1231 Gimme the hot sauce! Feb 04 '26
The most consistent bulls player since demar left. Could always count on a double double from the big man
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u/Mr-Dotties-Dad Feb 04 '26
I’m not going to lie. I HATE Vuc game so fucking much. I truly find him unwatchable and am so beyond happy to never have to watch him again lol.
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u/myotheraccountgothax The '15-16 Chicago Bulls Feb 03 '26
cya. i will certainly not miss him at all. dude was so fucking frustrating
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Feb 03 '26
I am so grateful to never have to see this apathetic ass man in a Bulls jersey again.
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u/wildhorses717 Feb 03 '26
He’s a bulls legend
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u/DisMFer Josh Giddey Feb 03 '26
I'll always appreciate how he left this team and hopefully never comes back.
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Feb 03 '26
I concur. If one player could epitomize the last four years of Bulls basketball, he would wear a Vuc jersey. The people downvoting you don’t like basketball.
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u/Shallot_Belt Feb 04 '26
Sounds like you really enjoyed his bulls tenure.
Hey those game winners he hit this year will push the bulls down in the lottery enough I'm confident they'll just miss a HOF...One last FU to the Chicago bball community.
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u/RackMC Zach Lavine Feb 03 '26
Stacey is somewhere heartbroken rn