The Chicago Bulls are a fun team.
No, don’t bother double-checking your calendars. It’s not the 1990s or the early 2010s; it really is March 2025, and the Bulls are seemingly on top of the world again. A buzzer-beating, half-court three from Josh Giddey capped off the Bulls’ 119-117 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night. From the looks of the United Center that evening, you would never know that this same team won just three games last month. They’ve now won 9 of their last 11 contests as the regular season begins to wind down.
This all begs the vitally important (and potentially difficult to answer) question: How did the Bulls get to be fun again?
Wild Win in the Windy City
We can certainly gain some insight on this development by examining that wild win over the Lakers Thursday, which is the reason I sprang to my feet and decided to finish this article immediately. A 10-point first quarter lead quickly vanished to become a 1-point deficit at the half, which then spiraled to a 16-point hole heading into the final frame. Where previous iterations of the Bulls (including a couple of versions of this year’s team) would lie down and accept their fate against LeBron and Luka, the Bulls neared an 80% shooting percentage in the fourth quarter to give themselves one last chance to steal a win from the 4th-seeded Lakers. An Austin Reaves lay-up with three seconds to go pushed LA back up one, before Josh Giddey capped off his incredible night with a 46’ heave from halfcourt at the buzzer.
Giddey’s shot of the year and his 25-point triple-double certainly take the spotlight. But aiding Giddey’s efforts was Coby White, whose 15 fourth-quarter points led the comeback effort en route to his final statline of 26 points and 9 assists. Fellow starters Nikola Vucevic, Matas Buzelis, and Kevin Huerter all scored in double figures, led by Huerter’s 21. Even Patrick Williams and Zach Collins came off the bench and had 11 and 10 points, respectively, with Collins shooting a perfect 5/5 in just 16 minutes of play.
Superstars Emerge
The elevated play of the Bulls reaches further back than just Thursday. Josh Giddey has been more than just the man of the evening for Chicago, averaging 23 points, 10.5 rebounds, and nine assists on shooting splits of 53/52/81% since the all-star break. Giddey has battled through injuries to establish himself as the de facto floor general for this Bulls team in his first season in Chicago. Now that Zach LaVine has been dealt away, Giddey’s potential for superstardom has taken center stage in the Windy City.
Giddey’s acquisition this offseason from the Oklahoma City Thunder has also elevated the play of fellow guard Coby White, who’s captured national attention recently with his back-to-back Eastern Conference player of the week honors. White’s month of March has been nothing short of terrific, notching his career-high 44 points against the Magic on the 6th. He’s followed that up with point totals of 35, 36, and 37 to close the Bulls’ west coast road trip, even receiving chants of his name in front of the visiting crowd in Denver. Coby White may not have won the most improved player last season, but he’s captured more than a lion’s share of attention from the national media in his last four weeks of play.
Supporting Cast Takes a Bow
(David Banks / Imagn Images)
Credit is due to both the most and least-experienced members of the Bulls as well, namely center Nikola Vucevic and forward Matas Buzelis. Vooch averages a double-double in his 65 games this year, providing a quiet but necessary presence on both ends of the floor for a youthful Bulls team. On the flip side, the rookie Buzelis makes the most of his youth. Flashes of brilliance from the 20-year-old Chicago native are becoming more common every week, most recently culminating in a 31-point career high performance against the Lakers on March 22nd. (Don’t forget his 24 points on a perfect 100% field goal percentage last month either!)
The main slight towards the remainder of the season for the Bulls was the newcomers acquired in the haul for Zach LaVine. That trio of Kevin Huerter, Zach Collins, and Tre Jones seems to find their strokes just the same. Huerter has increased his three-point efficiency to explode for a few 20+ point outbursts, Collins has stepped up to play a big role for a roster depleted of big men at times, and Jones has shown his veteran capabilities before a foot injury last week. (Read about their arrival in Chicago here)
Patrick Williams, Dalen Terry, and Julian Phillips have yet to take a full step forward in their games truly. That also may be a nitpick, seeing that each of them is no older than 23 this season. The emphasis will be on Williams, the former 4th overall pick in 2020, who received a contract extension this offseason. They’ll certainly be necessary down the stretch alongside fellow role guys like Jevon Carter, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Jalen Smith, especially if the injury bug continues afflicting this team. Key contributors Lonzo Ball and Ayo Dosunmu have only been available sparingly, with Dosunmu ruled out for the season at the beginning of March.
What the Future Holds
Many fans were calling for an immediate rebuild after years of play-in tournament failures. Instead, the front office doubled down on their beliefs and their decision to make the Lavine deal. GM Arturas Karnisovas specifically mentioned the prospect of pairing the previously mentioned newcomers with team veterans. He even launched the idea of an immediate postseason run with this squad, which sounded pretty farfetched given the standing of the team at that time. The probability of that has gone from unfathomably impossible to just barely thinkable, as the Bulls’ winning ways still have them entrenched in the 9th seed. They still remain 1.5 games out of the 8th seed in the East, but there’s no doubt the Bulls are the hottest team in basketball.
Some may use that final point as a reason to remain off the Bulls’ bandwagon. It’s still the same old Bulls; they’re ruining their draft position, and they only win when it doesn’t count, they say. I pose a question to those who are hating: Who Cares? For the first time in what seems like forever, the Bulls have a core built with beloved, budding superstars who’ve committed to building something in Chicago. They make highlight plays, win in miraculous ways, and get opposing fans to chant their names (for crying out loud!) The city of Chicago is clamoring for a successful professional sports team to proudly and unapologetically wear “Chicago” across their chests. Even if this late-season push won’t result in immediate success, who the heck cares?! It’s something that fans can finally enjoy, and it’s something for fans to believe in.
The most important statistic of all wasn’t something tracked in the box score in Thursday night’s win: fight. Lakers head coach JJ Redick called the Bulls “relentless”, and the aforementioned Josh Giddey added, “It could have been easy for us to throw the towel in, but we were resilient and kept coming back.” And for once, fans and non-fans alike can agree that this Bulls team has fight, fervor, and most importantly: a future.
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