points per game on straight dunks. It's impossible."

Perhaps nobody knows what LaVine can do better than his father, Paul, who has trained him since he was a toddler in Seattle. In high school, Zach separated himself as a basketball prospect, jamming harder in games than his peers could in 2K. Still, LaVine was more than a highlight machine. As a senior in 2013, he averaged 28.5 points per game and was named Washington state's Mr. Basketball.

"Most people know Zach for his dunking," Paul says. "But the people that know him—they know him for getting buckets."

Fair enough. Now in his fourth NBA season, LaVine is a complete offensive player. Naturally, he is unstoppable in transition, but he can also cruise to the rim in half-court sets. Last season, hein Minnesota, where plays were seldom designed for him. That won't be a problem in Chicago.

"You're a centerpiece, you gotta play like it," he says of his new role. "You have to be a leader. This is going to be a young, rebuilding team. At 22, I'll be going into my fourth year—a lot of 22-year-old dudes are in their first year."

LaVine's situation is a rare one. Across the NBA, he might be the only player 22 or younger tabbed as the leader of a team to which he was not drafted.

Moreover, these are the Chicago Bulls, and LaVine—their cornerstone—is too young to remember watching Michael Jordan play basketball. He was six years old when MJ debuted with the Washington Wizards.

To his point, LaVine is the same age