B.J. Armstrong reveals why it was hard leaving the Bulls for the Warriors: “I learned very quickly the NBA is much different originally appeared on Basketball Network.
B.J. Armstrong was one lucky player. He was expected to be a lottery pick in the 1989 NBA Draft after a standout career at Iowa. However, after suffering a broken hand during one of the pre-draft workouts, Armstrong slipped outside the lottery spots.
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B.J. ended up getting drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 18th overall pick and became one of the final pieces of the Bulls’ championship puzzle. He was part of Chicago’s first three-peat and earned an All-Star spot in 1994. However, after his time ran out in the Windy City, Armstrong realized that life elsewhere in the league wasn’t as easy.
“When I got traded, I’d only known the Bulls. So I didn’t know any other system of play other than what I learned there in Chicago. And I learned very quickly that the NBA is much different, when I left Chicago,” said Armstrong on former teammate Bill Cartwright’s podcast.
The Bulls left Armstrong unprotected in the 1995 Expansion Draft
Actually, the Bulls did not trade Armstrong. Because Michael Jordan was coming back in 1995 and Chicago was eyeing to add Dennis Rodman, they needed to free up cap space. And so, since B.J. was coming off an All-Star season in 1995, they felt they could no longer afford him, so the Bulls left him unprotected in the 1995 Expansion Draft, where he easily became the No.1 overall pick.
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However, because he did not want to play for the Raptors, Toronto traded him to the Golden State Warriors for Victor Alexander, Carlos Rogers, and the draft rights to Michael McDonald, Martin Lewis, and Dwyane Whitfield.
In the Bay, B.J. had teammates like Latrell Sprewell, Joe Smith, Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin, Rony Seikaly, and Kevin Willis, who were all double-digit scorers during the 1995-96 season when Armstrong arrived. However, Golden State won only 36 games and missed the playoffs. The following year, the Dubs were worse, going 30-52 during the 1996-97 campaign.
Playing with MJ’s Bulls was special
After two seasons in Golden State, B.J. was traded to the Charlotte Hornets during the 1997-98 season. Armstrong also played for the Orlando Magic before finishing his career where it started — in Chicago. However, the point guard never got to play in another NBA Finals and admitted that his first stint with the Bulls was very special.
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“I really didn’t know what to expect. But I knew the game was different. We had some good players. We had some injuries. I remember Tex would say this, ‘Wining covers a multitude of things’. And that’s when I really learned how special those moments were in Chicago, because in Chicago, all I knew was that I was preparing to win games. But it’s really hard to win this league, so it wasn’t eye-opening, but I had a deeper appreciation when I played and went to other places to play,”he added.
MJ’s Bulls were one of the most dominant teams in NBA history. They won six NBA championships during a six-year period from 1991-1998. You could argue that they could have won more if MJ hadn’t left for baseball in 1993 and if they had not broken up after “The Last Dance.” Armstrong was blessed to be a part of the first three.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 17, 2025, where it first appeared.