Chicago Bulls: 15 toughest players in franchise history

You would have to think that anyone born in a town named Sparta has to be one tough dude, right? Well, that’s exactly the name of the town in Georgia where Bulls power forward Horace Grant grew up. So it should come as no surprise that it produced one of the tougher Bulls in franchise history.

The 6-foot-10, 215-pound mountain of a man was the muscle on many of those championship teams of the 1990s. Look, he did not earn the nicknames “The General” and “The Enforcer” by being soft.

From 1987 to 1994 he was not only one of the baddest dudes on the Bulls but in the entire NBA. Grant was unmistakable on the court, donning his signature goggles. Ironically, Grant continued to wear the specs after eye surgery, even though they were no longer necessary, to make children who have to wear glasses feel better. That was an incredibly nice gesture by Grant.

Unfortunately for the rest of the NBA, Grant was not as nice. While he averaged a modest 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, his value cannot be reduced to simple statistics.

He was the “heart and soul” of the Bulls dynasty and was always willing to put his body on the line for the team. Grant irritated the heck out of opposing players with his smothering defense, harassing nature and willingness (if not eagerness) to step in and take a charge.

He also wasn’t afraid to mix it up when necessary, just as he did when he punched Joe Dumars in 1990 or Danny Ferry in 1996. There weren’t many who had the guts to go toe-to-toe with Grant during his heyday. Since we didn’t want him showing up at our doorstep, we included him on our list of toughest Bulls.