With Norman Powell out with back spasms, Chicago Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter inserted Isaac Okoro into his starting lineup against the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 8. It led to arguably the team's best performance of the season, even in a loss.
Noa Essengue can do exactly what Okoro did, but he can do it better. Like Okoro 2.0.
The Bulls should have much higher hopes for Essengue; the No. 12 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft should become more than an average role player like Okoro. But he doesn't need to develop into a 40 percent 3-point shooter or an All-NBA-level defender.
He just needs to find ways to make his teammates better and do the little things that impact winning, much like Okoro did against Philly (again, in a loss. But still. The bar is pretty low for the Bulls this season.)
Isaac Okoro played a key role in a "good" Bulls loss to the 76ers
Chicago fell to LeBron, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and Co. 127-121 in a game that it trailed by just six entering the fourth quarter. Okoro's defense and fit-in-ability played a crucial part.
Matas Buzelis scored 19 points, his second-highest total of the season. Josh Giddey got his groove back, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and 15 assists. Okoro tied his season high with 12 points in 25 minutes, but it wasn't his numbers in the box score that mattered.
The 25-year-old was a stout defender, surely a welcome change for fellow starters like Buzelis, Giddey and Caleb Wilson after playing eight games next to Powell. He stood in the corner and spaced the floor but was content to shoot only five times.
The fifth pick in the 2020 draft knew his role and was just about elite in it.
"Ice (Okoro) is a guy that is very, very accepting of his role," Giddey said. "It’s hard to find in the NBA, a guy picked as high as he is," Giddey said via Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (subscription required).
"Very simple game. You know what you’re gonna get from him."
Essengue is well suited to do the same thing.
The Bulls don't need Noa Essengue to become a star to be valuable
Essengue measured nearly 6-foot-11 in shoes at the 2025 draft combine with a 7-foot-1 wingspan. His graceful athleticism at that size was his most alluring trait and what convinced Chicago's former front office to make him a lottery pick.
He needs to add strength to his lanky frame. His defensive IQ has to rise. His effort level needs to be more consistent.
But he's perfectly capable of filling the role Okoro just did against the Sixers. More capable, actually.
Splitter said earlier this season that he believes Essengue can become an elite NBA defender. He's a natural at attacking the rim and drawing fouls. Presumably, he could find a way to do that as a cutter. And he can do these things alongside Wilson, Buzelis and whichever other players the Bulls decide to build around.
Just like Okoro did against the Sixers. But better. Okoro 2.0, if you will.
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