The Chicago Bulls know a thing or two about finishing strong.
In fact, it has become a rallying cry for the front office. Since the final buzzer of a play-in tournament blowout put the Bulls out of their misery back in April, the brief success at the end of the regular season has been the favored fixation of executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas.
The Bulls — this might sound familiar — closed last season 15-5 while buoyed by remarkable output from Coby White and Josh Giddey. And despite failing to make the playoffs for three straight seasons, that streak of success is what Karnišovas insists on emphasizing ahead of the 2025-26 season.
This isn’t anything new. The Bulls have been consistently strong in that department even in their worst recent seasons. The 15-5 finish last season is a companion to a 13-13 end to the 2023-24 season and a 12-8 closing run in 2022-23.
That’s why the Bulls end every season the same way — mired in the familiar muck of the play-in tournament, yet buoyed by a sense of optimism that the next season might be better. But it’s not the end of the season that’s keeping the Bulls out of the playoffs. It’s the start.
For three straight seasons, the Bulls have stumbled through the first two months before finally finding their footing in mid-January. In each of those seasons, the opening 30 games put them in a hole that proved to be insurmountable regardless of how they finished.
The Bulls opened 12-18 in 2022-23, including two four-game losing streaks, and posted identical 13-17 starts the last two seasons. Last year’s slow start was lowlighted by a five-game skid.
If the Bulls ever want to break out of this cycle, they have to start a season strong. And this year, that will be harder than ever.
The Bulls open the season with a rugged first three weeks in which they face all five of the Eastern Conference’s top seven teams from last season that aren’t without their star player.
It begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the United Center against the Detroit Pistons (44-38 last season, sixth in the East).
Over the ensuing 10 games, the Bulls will play the Orlando Magic (41-41, seventh), a home-and-away series against the New York Knicks (51-31, third), the Milwaukee Bucks (48-34, fifth), the Cleveland Cavaliers (64-18, first) and the Pistons again.
And the Bulls will have to run this gauntlet short-handed with starting guard Coby White and backup center Zach Collins sidelined by injuries to start the season.
White will miss at least the first six games because of a lingering right calf strain. Collins is out for at least 16 games after surgery on his fractured left wrist. Even in a best-case scenario, both players likely would be sidelined for at least a few more games while ramping up to game fitness.
White is both the engine of the offense and the team leader. Collins is a rare source of aggression at the rim. The Bulls can’t simply replace either player, forcing them to attempt to get significant offensive and defensive contributions by committee.
But the disruption runs deeper. Last season’s slow start was mostly due to a painful learning period as the Bulls installed a new offense that ultimately paid off with some measured success in the back half of the schedule.
This year, coach Billy Donovan is attempting to pull off a similar transformation on the defensive end. That’s a hefty enough burden for one of the weaker defensive teams in the league — and beefing up on defense while short-handed will be an even harder task.
“That’s two big losses, quite honestly,” Donovan said of White and Collins. “I’ve talked to these guys that we’ve got to utilize our depth as best as we can.
“You always want to get off to a good start to your year, but listen, the opening part of the schedule is hard. We’ve got to have other guys that are going to step up and play.”
2025-26 Chicago Bulls opening roster
- 0 Coby White, G, 6-4, 195, 25 years old
- *00 Trentyn Flowers, F, 6-9, 185, 20
- *2 Emanuel Miller, F, 6-5, 215, 25
- 3 Josh Giddey, G, 6-7, 216, 23
- 5 Jevon Carter, G, 6-0, 200, 30
- 7 Dalen Terry, F, 6-6, 195, 23
- 9 Nikola Vučević, C, 6-9, 260, 34
- 11 Ayo Dosunmu, G, 6-4, 200, 25
- 12 Zach Collins, F/C, 6-9, 250, 27
- 13 Kevin Huerter, G/F, 6-6, 198, 27
- 14 Matas Buzelis, F, 6-8, 209, 21
- 15 Julian Phillips, F, 6-6, 198, 21
- 24 Noa Essengue, F, 6-8, 200, 18
- 25 Jalen Smith, F/C, 6-8, 215, 25
- 30 Tre Jones, G, 6-1, 185, 25
- 35 Isaac Okoro, F/G, 6-4, 225, 24
- 44 Patrick Williams, F, 6-6, 215, 24
- *47 Lachlan Olbrich, C, 6-8, 236, 21
* two-way contract