Head Coach Scott Skiles has described Hinrich as the team's "most consistent and best player."

The 6-3, 190-pounder spent the first five games of the season on the Injured List with a viral infection but quickly proved why Chicago drafted him 7th overall. Fighting to gain back his conditioning and the 15 pounds he lost while on the Injured List, Hinrich averaged 4.1 assists per game and 4.14 turnovers per game through his first 7 appearances.

Through his final 68 appearances, he averaged an impressive 7.2 apg (486) and limited his mistakes to just 2.56 tpg (174). Hinrich led Chicago in assists in 46 of his last 63 games, including 27-of-33 contests, and passed a season-high 14 assists versus Boston (02/12). He also tied his then season-high with 23 points (6-8 3FG) against the Celtics that night. He scored a season-high 17 points at Milwaukee (12/12), then followed that up with a new season-high 18 points the very next night versus the Pacers (12/13).

Then versus Orlando (12/16), he tallied another season-high 21 points – his third consecutive game that he scored a season-high. He also passed 10 assists versus the Magic for his first career double-double. Against the high-octane Dallas Mavericks (01/23), he scored a new season-high 23 points and grabbed a season-high 11 boards, his first career point-rebound double-double. His latest season-best scoring output came against the Atlanta Hawks (04/09) when he tallied a game-high 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three-point range.

Streaks: Kirk Hinrich started 60 of Chicago’s last 61 games and has passed 4+ assists in 44 of his last 47 appearances. Additionally, he hit at least two 3-pointers in 25 of his last 34 games and led the Bulls in assists in 28 of his last 34 games.

Cool Hand Kirk: On the year, Hinrich averaged 6.8 apg, good for 7th in the NBA (tied Memphis’ Jason Williams) and first among all rookies, while committing 2.68 tpg, good for a 2.53 A/TO ratio, ranking him 26th in the league (tied Portland’s Derek Anderson). During the month of March, Hinrich produced 7.5 apg (112), trimmed his turnovers per game down to 2.53 tpg (38) and raisied his assists to turnover ratio to 2.95 A/TO for the month.

For Starters: Hinrich appeared in 76 games on the year and started his last 60 appearances since he was inserted into the starting lineup against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 13. During that span, he let his play speak for itself averaging 13.2 ppg, 7.4 apg, 3.8 rpg, 1.42 spg, while shooting .393 from behind the arc.

Hinrich Plays in 2004 Rookie Challenge
Kirk Hinrich participated along with eight other freshman NBA players in the 2004 got milk? Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. Hinrich started for the Rookies squad, playing alongside LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Kaman in the opening lineup. The Bulls point guard finished with 7 points (3-6 FG), a team-high 6 assists, 1 rebound and 1 steal in 25 minutes of action.

"If I really wanted to break it all down, Kirk's our best player," Bulls Head Coach Scott Skiles stated on 1/6. "So he stays on the court the most. All around, top to bottom, with all the things he does for the team, he has been our most consistent and best player. We're a totally different team when Kirk sits down. His defensive effort is there every minute of every game and every minute of every practice. He leads our team in taking charges from the guard position. So he deserves it."

How Hinrich stacked up against other top rookie point guards during the 2003.04 season: