CHICAGO _ It's still special for the current Timberwolves contingent of Tom Thibodeau, Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Luol Deng to visit Chicago.
After all, their shared Bulls' tenure produced back-to-back, league-leading, regular-season victory totals from 2010-12 and a trip to the 2011 Eastern Conference finals.
"Yeah, I get love," Gibson said about coming back. "As soon as I got on the bus, I had a garbage truck driver pull up on me and just honk his horn and we had a whole conversation. That's how Chicago is."
Gibson called that 2011 Eastern Conference finals versus LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Heat his favorite memory. But the veteran forward has grown to appreciate even the most nuanced aspects of playing for the Bulls as his career has progressed.
"Just look at the arena. It's a great arena. There are a lot of great memories, lot of history. It's one of those places where you remember all the positives," Gibson said. "Seeing the sellout crowds every night, it gets no better than that. And you see how many seats are in this arena. It's a gigantic arena. You kind of take it for granted until you're away from it."
Rose even attended a 2017 Bulls-Celtics playoff game as a fan and said his Chicago upbringing stays with him no matter which team he's on.
"The way that I play is the Chicago way of playing basketball _ very physical, one-on-one," Rose said. "I'm going at you. I'm trying to win the game by any means."
Thibodeau gets recognized every time he comes back.
"It's always good to come back. Downtown is very festive," he said. "And you have tropical weather here in Chicago."
