Following a months long negotiation process and some brief flirtation with an Eastern Conference rival, Billy Donovan has reportedly made a decision on his future with the Chicago Bulls.
Donovan was set to enter the upcoming season with one year left on his contract. But now according to NBA insider Shams Charania, the former Gators/Thunder coach has re-upped in Chicago for the long haul.
Per Shams: “Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan has signed a multiyear contract extension with the franchise, sources tell ESPN. Donovan is viewed as a leader within the Bulls organization, and will enter his sixth season in Chicago in 2025-26 with 800 NBA games coached over his career.”
The Bulls are coming off a second straight 39-43 finish in 2024, good for ninth in the East and a third consecutive loss in the play-in tournament.
Chicago has only made one playoff appearance in the five years Donovan has been running the show and the team owns a 109-205 record over that span.
Still though, the Bulls have faith that Donovan’s the man that can steady the ship amid some massive roster shakeup and other changes within the organization.
Donovan owns a career mark of 438-362 in the NBA with his only other job being his run in Oklahoma City where he coached the Russell Westbrook/Kevin Durant Thunder to the Western Conference Finals in his first year before four straight first round exits.
Donovan enjoyed an outstanding career in college leading the University of Florida to back-to-back national championships in 2005 and 2006 after learning at the knee of Rick Pitino at Kentucky in the early ’90s.
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