B.J. Armstrong on how his predraft workout injury helped Tim Hardaway: “He goes on to win the MVP and they win the tournament” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
B.J. Armstrong recently shared how he ended up playing with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
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Armstrong was projected to be a lottery pick in the 1989 NBA Draft after finishing his college career as Iowa’s all-time assists leader. However, he suffered an injury during the predraft workouts and could not participate in the tournament and the individual team workouts. Because of that, he slipped outside lottery position and ended up on the lap of the Chicago Bulls at No.18.
The injury was a blessing in disguise
According to Armstrong, the NBA used to hold a predraft workout for top college seniors applying for the Draft. The players would be divided into teams that competed against each other and played four to five games in a tournament-style format for a week.
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That year, the camp was held in Florida, and like everyone else, Armstrong was looking forward to impressing the scouts who were there. However, he ended up missing the whole thing after suffering a freak injury during his first game on the opening play.
“It was one of the weirdest things,” recalled the retired NBA point guard. “It was literally a jump ball, and a guy tips the ball to me, and I grabbed the ball with my left hand, and my hand broke. And no one was around me… So I miss the entire thing for the predraft, and there was a guard who replaced me. His name was Tim Hardaway. Tim Hardaway replaces me, and he goes on to win MVP at the tournament. They win the tournament, and I think he ends up going in the lottery, and I end up going to 18th to the Bulls.”
Armstrong became a key player in the Bulls’ first 3-peat
Tim Hardaway was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 14th overall pick. Meanwhile, Armstrong was chosen four picks later by the Bulls, who had drafted forward Stacey King of Oklahoma with the No.6 pick.
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When asked why they chose Armstrong, the late Bulls general manager Jerry Krause said that he needed another floor-spacer to help Jordan operate.
“I liked his shooting. I wanted another Paxson. B.J. is a really great person, too,” Krause said.
Armstrong shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range throughout his career. He led the NBA in 3-point accuracy during the 1992-93 season (45.3) and finished second in that statistical category one season later.
Unfortunately, by 1995, with Jordan making his return after a retirement and the Bulls eyeing Dennis Rodman to bolster their frontcourt, the organization could not afford to keep him on the roster. As a result, they left him unprotected in the 1995 Expansion Draft, where he instantly became the No.1 pick.
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Still, Armstrong helped the Bulls win three rings in his six seasons with the team. He bounced around the league after 1995 only to return to Chicago in 1999 where he finished his NBA career.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 16, 2025, where it first appeared.