By admin 
After conquering European basketball by age 25, Toni Kukoc was primed to take his talents to the NBA. Coming over as a three-time EuroLeague champion, a seven-time FIBA medal holder with Yugoslavia and Croatia (including four gold medals, two Olympic silvers), a two-time EuroLeague Final Four MVP, and an MVP of both EuroBasket and the FIBA World Cup, it’s safe to say the Chicago Bulls pulled off an absolute draft steal.
Read more Lionel Messi, Argentina Accused of ‘F— It’ Soccer by Beaten World Cup Foe
Selected 29th overall in the second round of the 1990 draft, Kukoc missed Phil Jackson’s first three-peat. Toni honed his craft on European courts until 1993, when he felt he had nothing left to prove in Europe and that it was finally time for new challenges.
The Windy City team was riding high on the wave of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, and Kukoc was meant to be the tipping point that would keep them at the top for years to come. However, the first day in Chicago could not have been worse for The Waiter.
“They killed Michael’s father, and really, the day I arrived in Chicago, the day I came to Chicago, the next morning, I went to see the training facility. I get there, it’s madness, media everywhere,” Kukoc
“I say, ‘This couldn’t be because of me. What happened?’ I didn’t know, I hadn’t watched TV, I had just woken up. And they tell me, ‘Michael, Michael quit.’ I said to myself, ‘My friend, you missed it. You’re just a little too late.’ I was so down, I went back home and told my wife, ‘Don’t even bother unpacking,'” he added.
Kukoc arrived as arguably the best player in the world outside the NBA
The start of the 1993 offseason was a total nightmare for every Bulls fan. Jordan simply lost his motivation on the basketball court after completing a three-peat, something his greatest rivals, including Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Isiah Thomas, never accomplished, and leading the Dream Team to gold at the 1992 Olympic Games.
Mike’s individual accolades speak for themselves, and there was truly nothing left on the basketball court for him to win. However, the straw that broke the camel’s back was the tragic murder of his father, which left MJ devastated.
Jordan needed time to step away from it all, finding refuge in baseball, his father’s ultimate passion, and leaving Chicago leaderless and reeling.
What is interesting is Kukoc’s unselfish mentality. He came to the league as indisputably the best player in the world outside the NBA, having won every individual and team award that existed, just like Jordan.
Read more Twins turn to Taj Bradley (190 strikeouts) in series opener vs. Angels
As a kid barely 25 years old, riding a wave of incredible self-confidence and yet to enter his prime, someone of Kukoc’s status and age would quickly get caught up in thoughts that he himself could be the new Jordan, or, at worst, a sidekick to Pippen.
It didn’t take long for Toni to prove what he was capable of by his second season, after spending his rookie year adjusting. The Croatian star averaged 15.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field, showing he was more than up to the task.
Related: “One of us forgot our t-ts at home” – Sophie Cunningham’s reaction after posing for a photo with Sydney Sweeney
MJ eventually came back
As it turned out, that was just laying the foundation for what was to come. Jordan returned after a year and a half away from NBA courts with a simple message: “I’m back.” The rest, as they say, is history.
The Bulls went on to win three more consecutive titles. Kukoc became one of the league’s premier sixth men, winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award during one of the team’s championship runs, while the team set the then-regular-season wins record at 72-10, solidifying their place as perhaps the greatest dynasty in sports history.
It’s needless to say, Toni and his wife ultimately made the right call by staying put instead of packing up and heading back to Europe. Everything that followed capped off Kukoc’s Hall of Fame career and etched his name forever into NBA lore.
Related: “We were talking about a future without Michael” – Toni Kukoc recalled joining Bulls when Michael Jordan retired
Read more WNBA Legend Tina Thompson Makes Her Opinion of Angel Reese Very Clear
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published September 17, 2026 at 5:31 AM.