No one really knows what a special advisor does on a basketball team, but whatever it may be, Toni Kukoc will be doing it for the Chicago Bulls for the near future, just like his former teammate, Scottie Pippen.
Kukoc, who lives in Highland Park, played for the Chicago Bulls from 1993 to 2000, being part of the second three-peat next to Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen (who has also been on the special advisor role since 2012) and Dennis Rodman and also a little bit later in the darker years after the team broke up.
He will be an adviser to team president Michael Reinsdorf. What does it mean? Wide ranging was how it’s been described, from relating to international players to talking to business partners and fans. Kukoc said it’s a thrill and honor to be back with the organization.
When Kukoc arrived in the NBA (1993) he was 25, after doing everything that can be done in European and international basketball except for an Olympic gold (he has two silver, one with Yugoslavia, one with Croatia). He also picked up every possible individual award in Yugoslavia, Croatia and Italy before making his move to the NBA, where he played until 2006, joining the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks after leaving Chicago.