This summer, a vocal majority of NBA pundits shouted from the rooftops that the Chicago Bulls were headed, at best, to a third-consecutive appearance in the dreaded Play-In Tournament.
Guess what: Bulls head coach Billy Donovan and his scrappy crew have shut those Stephen A. Smith-esque screamers right on up.
As of this writing, the Bulls sit at 6-3, tying them for the third spot in the Eastern Conference. And four of their six victories were over teams who have legitimate designs on a lengthy playoff run, those being Detroit, Orlando, New York, and Philadelphia.
This all begs the question, how has a team that finished the 2024-25 season with a meh 39-43 record — the same record as 2023-24, fwiw — and returned (more or less) the identical roster from last year turned itself into one of the NBA’s most enjoyable teams to watch? Let’s check in with the Chicago Bulls and find out.
Checking In With the Chicago Bulls
Why are the Chicago Bulls a thing?
1) Josh Giddey Is Playing at an MVP Level
When Chicago acquired Josh Giddey from Oklahoma City in exchange for Alex Caruso last June, Bulls Nation let out a collective, “WTF?” After all, Caruso is a perennial candidate for the All-Defensive team, while Giddey was coming off of a season in which he regressed in every major statistical category outside of his shooting splits.
In his debut season in the Windy City, Giddey performed well enough in his 70 games, setting career highs in total assists (503), 3-pointers made (105), and free throws made (175). But as witnessed by Chicago’s identical back-to-back sub-.500 records, the Aussie didn’t have a concrete impact on winning.
Different story this year.
Over Chicago’s first nine games, Giddey is pouring in 21.4 points (27th in the league), 9.3 dimes (fourth), and 9.6 boards (12th). Little wonder that NBA.com’s Shaun Powell currently ranks him sixth in his MVP ladder.
He’s a nightly triple-double in waiting, and when fellow G Coby White returns from his calf injury — which could be as soon as this week — the Bulls might have themselves one of the East’s top backcourts. Whoda thunk?
Chicago Bulls G Josh Giddey’s PrizePicks Projection For 11/10/25: 20.5 Points, 9 Rebounds
2) Speed Kills
Over the last three seasons, Coach Donovan has tried to institute an up-tempo motion offense, but wasn’t able to do so, primarily because during most of his tenure, the ball ran through former-Bull-and-current-Sacramento-King G/F DeMar DeRozan. Yes, DeRozan is a sublime player who will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he’s also a James Harden-level ball-stopper who makes it all but impossible for a team to consistently jitterbug up and down the hardwood.
This season, thanks to a fleet-footed backcourt populated by Giddey, Tre Jones, Ayo Dosunmu and a couple of quick bigs in Matas Buzelis and Patrick Williams, Chicago ranks sixth in the league in pace (103.6).
Chicago Bulls G Ayo Dosunmu’s PrizePicks Projection For 11/10/25: 11.5 Points, 13.5 Points+Rebounds
3) Give and Ye Shall Receive
This Bulls team is loaded with willing passers — they’re third in the league in average assists (29.8), their 68.9 assist percentage ranks fourth in the Association, and their 114.7 assist rating puts them at third.
Because sharing is caring.
Chicago Bulls G Tre Jones’ PrizePicks Projection For 11/10/25: 12.5 Points, 6 Assists
4) Spreading the Wealth
Thanks in part to Giddey’s willingness to distribute the rock, the Bulls have six players averaging in double figures in points…
- G Josh Giddey: 21.4
- C Nikola Vucevic: 17.8
- G Ayo Dosunmu: 14.6
- F: Matas Buzelis:14.2
- G/F Kevin Huerter: 13.1
- G Tre Jones: 12.8
…and this is with Coby White and his career 15.2 PPG on the shelf.
Chicago Bulls C Nikola Vucevic’s PrizePicks Projection For 11/10/25: 18.5 Points, 10.5 Rebounds
5) Rookie Jitters
On the downside — and there’s almost always a downside in all Chicago sports — rookie forward Noa Essengue is, well, we don’t know how he is, because he hasn’t played a single professional regular season minute.
The slender teenaged Frenchman was projected to be a project who would spend most, if not all of the season with the G-League Windy City Bulls.
But when Bulls fans see bigs selected after Essengue in the 2025 NBA Draft thriving — among them New Orleans’ Derek Queen (8.9 PPG in 19.2 MPG) and Charlotte’s Ryan Kalkbrenner (6.9 RPG in 27.3 MPG) — they ain’t thrilled.
Chicago's 6-3 record, however, most definitely softens the blow.
With things swinging in Chicago's United Center, what better time than now to make your NBA picks on PrizePicks. Just predict More or Less on NBA player projections and win money if you're right.
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