He wasn’t Michael Jordan and he wasn’t Scottie Pippen, but if the original Chicago Bulls dynasty was to you what it was to the rest of the world, he was the next best thing.

Perhaps most well known for his reserve role with the 1991 and 1992 championship-winning Bulls, BJ Armstrong was more than just Chicago’s baby-faced answer to teams that doubled down on Jordan and Pippen in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense; he was the symbolic leader of the early Jordanettes, the one to whom the youngest basketball generation could relate.

Don’t get me wrong, Armstrong’s career .425 three-point percentage is evidence enough to convince anyone that the baby-faced point was more than capable of making his living from long range, he just happened to be so much more than what his 9.8 points and 3.3 assists per game averages suggest. Originally the back up to John Paxson, Armstrong took over as the starting point guard for the Chicago Bulls in 1993, just in time to help lead Jordan’s Army to its third consecutive title. The next year, when Jordan opted to try his luck with the Chicago White Sox farm system, Armstrong held the position and didn’t look back. People often forget that BJ Armstrong was voted in as a starter for the 1994 All-Star game. Yeah, let that marinate for a bit.

Though Armstrong will never be remembered in the upper echelon of NBA guards, the fact that he brought to the table an intangible presence will never be forgotten by those who watched him play. Whether it be those who silently appreciated the seven consecutive years of .400-plus from beyond the arc, or the younger bunch that emulated him out in their driveways.

The second half of Armstrong’s career is not without its twists. In 1995, Armstrong became the first Toronto Raptor in franchise history, as the recently-created club quickly snagged him in the first round of the expansion draft with the Vancouver Grizzlies. From here Armstrong was relayed to the Golden State Warriors where he would play for two years before being bounced around Charlotte, Orlando and then finally Chicago once again.

At the end of the 1999-2000 season, Armstrong would retire from basketball and walk directly into a front office job with the Bulls under Jerry Krause. Until 2003 Armstrong filled the role of special assistant to the Vice President of Operations, but when Krause resigned Armstrong opted to try his hand as a scout, a position he held until 2005.

With a resume that by then had already included years as a championship-winning sixth man, time as an NBA All-Star, professional scouting experience and a reputable front office gig, it wasn’t hard for Armstrong to then catch on as an NBA analyst for ESPN. Now Armstrong pays the bills representing athletes from an agent’s perspective, one of whom is projected to go first overall in tonight’s NBA Draft.

These days Armstrong seems to have found yet another calling giving young pros the tools to deal with the NBA lifestyle, but it wasn’t long ago when Armstrong was just as content dropping daggers against any who challenged the Jordanettes Dynasty (YouTube).

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