Welcome to the 1998 edition of Chicago Hoop Heads’ Bull’s Draft History series. This is where this begins to get a little bit more enjoyable, at least for me, because around 1998 is when I began getting more interested in basketball. I would have watched some games with my older brother before, but around age 5-7 is when things really started to take root. That being said, this is still one of the weaker draft years for the Bulls, but this would be the year of The Last Dance, and draftees will begin getting better and more impactful in the coming years. The pick is in…
With the 28th pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select…
Corey Benjamin, Guard from Oregon State
Corey Benjamin was a very mild contributor for Chicago. He averaged 5.5 points per game while with the Bulls, appearing in 144 games over 3 seasons. He was not terribly efficient and judging by his per game stats, was more of a swing man than a facilitator or scorer. That’s a pretty nice way of saying that he didn’t do a whole lot to fill up a stat sheet.
The Last Dance may have jogged your memory of Corey Benjamin, as Michael Jordan, just one year into his 2nd retirement, came to the Bulls practice facilities to challenge Corey Benjamin to a game of 1 on 1 after Benjamin had been talking some smack. Jordan goes on to route Benjamin in front of his teammates, showing that he still had it. You can watch the clip from the practice here.
After 3 seasons with the Bulls, Benjamin played some ball overseas, and would end up signing two 10-day contracts with the Atlanta Hawks before calling it quits. Another spirit broken by the Goat.
With the 34th pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select…
Shammond Williams, Guard from the University of North Carolina
The pick that was used to draft Williams was acquired in the trade that sent Jason Caffey to the Warriors, but unlike the last guard we drafted from UNC, this pick would not stick around long. Before ever playing for the Bulls, Shammond Williams was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Corey Carr, who was selected 49th in this year’s draft by the Hawks, a 1999 second round pick, and a 2000 second round pick. Corey Carr played all of 42 games for Chicago before they waived him. That would be the end of Corey Carr’s career. I would go into his stats, but he only lasted half of a season.
With the final pick (58th) of the 1998 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select…
Maceo Baston, Forward from The University of Michigan
Mr. Irrelevant in the 1998 draft, Maceo Baston never played a game for Chicago, he hung around for a year but was eventually waived. He went on to get picked up by the Toronto Raptors and bounced between Toronto and Indiana, each year switching to the other team, for 4 years.
The top picks in the 1998 NBA Draft:
1. Michael Olawakandi – Clippers
2. Mike Bibby – Grizzlies
3. Raef LaFrentz – Nuggets
4. Antawn Jameson – Raptors (Traded to Warriors)
5. Vince Carter – Warriors (Traded to Raptors)
…
7. Jason Williams – Kings
9. Dirk Nowitzki – Bucks (Traded to Mavs)
10. Paul Pierce – Celtics
Overall, this was a really solid draft class. Bulls legend Nazr Mohammed was drafted 19th, and probably the best player to come out of Nebraska so far, Tyronn Lue was also taken in the first round of this draft. That’s a wrap for the 1998 draft, catch you next time when we take a look at 1999.
Jacob Grenemeier
July 13th, 2022
Credit to:
Photo: https://brobible.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/michael-jordan-beat-corey-benjamin-in-bulls-practice-after-retiring-one-on-one.jpg?w=640
Info: https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1998.html
Chicago Hoop Heads 
