There is a bespoke characteristic in Chicago Bulls fandom as it relates to Bulls players who are also natives of the Chicago sports media market (which includes Northwest Indiana). A character trait that has grown as a byproduct of the Bulls' persistent rostering of local-product basketball players over the last 40 years.
In the entire history of Jerry Reinsdorf’s ownership of the Bulls, there have been recurring instances of Chicagoland natives on varying iterations of Bulls rosters, notably during the Michael Jordan-Bulls era, with players such as Arlington Heights’ Dave Corzine, Park Forest’s Craig Hodges, and West Side Chicago native Randy Brown. These three players served different ensemble roles, never a top-billing player on a Bulls roster.
Something changed about the franchise’s positioning of Chicagoland basketball players once the Bulls selected center Eddy Curry with the fourth overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft.
For the first time in Reinsdorf-owned franchise history, a local basketball product was acquired to function at the core of the Chicago Bulls. From that moment, a long, winding franchise connection to Chicagoland basketball players evolved from a feel-good story to a cursed cocktail of basketball highs and lows. This is the “From Chicago” curse.
Curry’s time in a Bulls uniform was massively underwhelming relative to his Illinois high school basketball track record and the lottery pick status that brought him to the Bulls.
The silver lining to the four seasons of Curry's misfortune inside the Bulls organization arrived when the Bulls arranged for a sign-and-trade deal with the New York Knicks in 2005 that principally returned the draft pick that became Bulls legend center, Joakim Noah.
The next great Bulls player and, until further notice, the greatest Bulls player from Chicagoland, was selected in the 2008 NBA Draft: guard Derrick Rose. Rose’s career highs and lows with the Bulls are well documented. Bulls' franchise history with Chicagoland natives post-Rose has felt like a constant chasing of long-lost good times from Rose's meteoric rise to NBA MVP status.
An Alpha to an Ayo, and all around
The transformation of the Bulls' hometown hero role from a sign of endearing affection to a cursed public relations and branding tool was solidified in the post-Rose acquisitions of an aging guard, Dwayne Wade, and forward Jabari Parker, who didn’t make it past his first NBA trade deadline in Chicago.
Welcome Home, @DwyaneWade! pic.twitter.com/uEEtZb55IP
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) July 16, 2016
The hiring of Arturas Karnisovas as Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations took the “From Chicago” curse to cartoonish levels of roster acquisitions. Buyout battery, guard Patrick Beverly gave Karnisovas a smug end-of-season press conference talking point at the conclusion of the Bulls' 2022-23 NBA season.
Jevon Carter and Talen Horton-Tucker occupied roster spots for aimless purposes over the span of two and a half NBA seasons. Where Karnisovas realized his best work in rostering local hoops talent occurred in his draft selections of forward Matas Buzelis in 2024 and guard Ayo Dosunmu in 2021.
Dosunmu is an appropriate landing spot for discussion of the “From Chicago” curse because of CHSN’s Kendall Gill recently disclosing that Dosunmu would consider a return to the Chicago Bulls now that he is an unrestricted free agent after finishing his 2025-26 NBA season with the Chicago Bulls.
Ran into a Fellow Illini today on Oak Street. He had some great words for my son Phoenix. I also tried recruiting him back to the Bulls. Hey, if the money is right you never know. He didn’t give a thumbs down on the Idea. Would love to see Ayo come back home! I-L-L🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/f90acp8i30
— Kendall Gill (@KendallG13) June 7, 2026
It’s understandable why Bulls fans would love to see Dosunmu return to the Bulls, and there is a wonderful opportunity for Bulls Nation to fully embrace a proper rebuild that prioritizes returning the franchise to nationally-relevant winning basketball. If the Bulls can be an elite NBA team again while rostering a core player from Chicago, the ‘burbs, or Northwest Indiana, that’s cool.
However, where a prospective Bulls player grew up or played high school should be an afterthought for the Bulls front office and fans alike if the Bulls are to exchange cursed basketball for winning basketball.
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