Pete Myers
An NBA role player forever etched in history as the man who temporarily filled Michael Jordan's starting spot for the Chicago Bulls during his baseball sabbatical.
Born 1963 (age 63)·American basketball player and coach·Birthday: September 15·Baby Boomers
Biography
Pete Myers built a solid, decade-long NBA career on defensive grit and professionalism, but his legacy is inextricably tied to two years in Chicago. A second-round pick by the Bulls in 1986, he was traded away before the dynasty began, bouncing around the league as a reliable reserve. In a twist of fate, he was re-acquired by Chicago in 1993, just as Michael Jordan stunned the world by retiring to play baseball. Suddenly, Myers was tasked with starting at shooting guard for the defending champions. While no one could replace Jordan, Myers provided steady defense and ball-handling, starting all 82 games in the 1993-94 season. After Jordan's return, Myers continued as a valuable bench player, earning a ring in 1996. His post-playing career saw him remain close to the game as a scout and assistant coach, often with the Bulls, a lasting symbol of the team's connective tissue between its iconic eras.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Pete was born in 1963, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Pete Was Born
The biggest hits of 1963
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Best Picture
Tom Jones
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Pete's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1963Born
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1968Started school
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1976Became a teenager
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Could drive
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Could vote
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Turned 21
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1993Turned 30
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 40
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 50
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 60
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 63 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Started all 82 games at shooting guard for the Chicago Bulls in the 1993-94 season following Michael Jordan's first retirement.
- Won an NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls in 1996 as a reserve player.
- Played 11 seasons in the NBA for seven different teams, establishing himself as a dependable defensive guard.
- Served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls for multiple seasons after his playing career ended.
Did You Know?
He was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 29th pick in the second round of the 1986 NBA draft, the same draft where the Bulls acquired Scottie Pippen.
Myers led the University of Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 1986.
After his stint replacing Jordan, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets as part of the deal that brought Dennis Rodman to the Bulls.
He worked as a Bulls television analyst for a period after his coaching tenure.
“My job was to guard the best player every night and be ready when my number was called.”
