The Chicago Bulls just glimpsed their ideal future

The Chicago Bulls were on the fifth game of their six-game Western Conference road trip and their fifth in seven days. It was against a Los Angeles Lakers team welcoming back LeBron James and Rui Hachimura and fighting for homecourt advantage in the West.

Luka Doncic scored 34 points. James had 17 to go along with six rebounds and four assists. The third member of LA's big three, Austin Reaves, scored 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

And the Bulls thrashed the Lakers 146-115.

Chicago shot 58.3 percent from the field and 46.3 percent from three. It got to the free-throw line 20 times. The Bulls out-rebounded the Lakers 42-35 and forced 21 LA turnovers compared to just 10 of their own. It was a complete team victory.

But it was a trio of individual performances that stood out most, and they happened to come from the three players most critical to the franchise's future. Perhaps the next "Big 3," so to speak.

Bulls glimpse their ultimate potential in win over Lakers

Heading into the 2025 offseason, Chicago appears to have three untouchable players: Josh Giddey, Coby White and Matas Buzelis. Giddey will receive a massive extension this summer and White soon after (he'll be an unrestricted free agent after making less than $13 million in 2025-26).

All three had monster performances in the Bulls' win in Los Angeles:

Josh Giddey: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists, eight steals

Giddey almost became the first NBA player to hit the fantastic quadruple-double. He's arguably become the Bulls' best player.

In his 11 games since the All-Star break, the 22-year-old is averaging 22.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 2.5 stocks on 53/52/85 shooting splits. Pretty decent for a 6-foot-8, pass-first point guard who couldn't shoot halfway through the season.

Coby White: 36 points, 12-of-17 from the field, 6-of-9 from three

The 30-plus-point performance he displayed against the Lakers is becoming the new normal for White.

The former UNC standout has now scored at least 21 points in 12 straight games, averaging 28.7 ppg in that span. He's won back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards, the only Bull to ever do it besides ... Michael Jordan.

Matas Buzelis: 31 points, 12-of-18 from the field, 5-of-10 from three

This was far and away Buzelis' best offensive game as a pro. His 31 points were a career-high, as were his 10 three-point attempts and five three-point makes. He looked comfortable off the dribble, off the catch and driving to the basket.

It was a gem of a scoring performance from a 6-foot-10 rookie who is looking more and more like Chicago's future franchise player.

It shouldn't go overlooked, either, that head coach Billy Donovan planned to have Buzelis guard James from the opening tip, and the 20-year-old was "excited" for the challenge, per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic:

"I’m a competitive guy, so I’m just going to try to make it tough on him. Of course, (James is) one of the best players ever — or the best player ever. I just knew I’ve got to come in and compete."

Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis

LeBron was a game-worst minus-27.

Nights like this won't come along often. In Giddey's case, perhaps never again. But these three—ages 20, 22 and 24—showed what the next franchise iteration could look like if it reaches its peak.