Through the first month of the 2024-25 season, the Bulls owned the league’s 13th-best offense but ranked just 29th on defense. Sure, their faster pace played a role, but the bigger issue was a failure to disrupt opponents or force them out of rhythm.
Over this time span, the Bulls ranked 27th in steals and 30th in opponents' turnovers. As the season progressed, Chicago's defense improved, but only marginally. Come the All-Star break, the Bulls placed 27th in defensive rating, 26th in steals, and 28th in opponents' turnovers.
Following the All-Star break, Chicago’s defense took another step forward, ranking 10th in defensive rating—though still just 20th in steals and 25th in opponent turnovers. Jumping from 27th to 10th in defensive rating is significant, but the Bulls’ lack of defensive playmaking remained glaring.
The Bulls are one of the NBA's worst teams at forcing turnovers
The Bulls relied on sound, technical defense, holding opponents to just 45.5 percent from the floor (fifth in the NBA) and 34.3 percent from three-point range (third in the NBA). Yet their inability to truly disrupt opposing offenses leaves little margin for error. When opponents shot efficiently, as they did early in the season, ranking 21st in field goal percentage allowed, Chicago’s defense suffered.
You’d think the Bulls would aim to improve their defensive playmaking this offseason… right? Not quite. Chicago traded for Isaac Okoro, an impressive point-of-attack defender, but he’s never averaged more than a steal per game in any season. To get him, the Bulls gave up their steals leader, Lonzo Ball, who averaged 1.3 per game last season.
Chicago will return only one player from last season who played more than 30 games and averaged over a steal per game—Josh Giddey. Notably, it was his first season reaching that mark; his previous career high was 0.9 steals per game.
Giddey is a savvy defender, but he’s not exactly a defensive playmaker. That leaves Chicago without any true disruptors entering the 2025-26 season, which is a problem that still needs to be addressed. The Bulls will once have to rely on strong team defense and essentially hope their opposition misses open shots.
That is, until the trade deadline, when the Bulls’ front office will have to reassess the roster and confront its lack of defensive disruption. With several offloadable contracts, there’s a real possibility that Chicago finally acts to fix its fatal defensive flaw.