With less than 10 games left in the Chicago Bulls' season, they have been mathematically eliminated from the NBA Postseason. This was despite one of the hottest starts in the league, leading many to believe the 1990s' Bulls were back. Now, the question is what they can do to rebuild.
Ever since the end of the Michael Jordan era in Chicago, every NBA season has ended with a conversation about what's next for the storied basketball franchise. There have been good players and good coaches, but nothing ever seems to line up for the Bulls. Not in a way that matters, at least.
The 2025-2026 NBA season started with a lot more hope. Chicago won their first five games, ultimately picking up six victories in their first 10 games. It led to a lot of conversation that the Bulls were back, thanks to players like Coby White, Josh Giddey, and Matas Buzelis.
What went wrong in Chi-Town?
Unfortunately, the wheels came off quite quickly. Injuries to Giddey, White, and Patrick Williams derailed significant momentum. While it hasn't reached Sacramento Kings' levels of insanity, the Bulls' campaign was definitely hampered by players being knocked out for the season.
Roster construction is also a real issue. They are a guard-heavy team with significant imbalances, leading to logjam issues at some positions and a lack of depth at others. On top of that, questionable trade deadline moves cost them core players, which disrupted what little flow they had.
The question of coaching also has to be addressed. Billy Donovan is in his sixth season as head coach and has a losing record overall with only one postseason appearance on the books. Chicago reputedly signed him to a multi-year extension in 2025 despite his terrible record with the Bulls.
The Chicago Bulls have to make better choices
While injuries to key players were just bad luck, trading significant parts of the team was just a bad choice. The same is true when the Bulls made a long-term commitment to Donovan. Chicago is trying to find that 1990s glory again, but they are not making the moves to get there.
So far, Donovan has proven that he's not the man to head up the rebuild on the court. Keep in mind that the roster is going to need significant work, and the front office hasn't been making great decisions. Even a great head coach would have trouble offsetting these moves.
The Bulls are currently in the 10th draft slot, which gives them a 3.7% chance of selecting first and 16.9% chance of selecting in the top four. Hopefully, a great pick will be the beginning of big changes for Chicago, but a lot of other issues will have to be fixed for it to matter.