The Chicago Bulls have won their home opener for the first time since the 2021-22 season and only the second time since 2016-17.
Box Score & Player Grades: Bulls 115, Pistons 111 – October 22, 2025 I am genuinely impressed with what we saw last night. Does the victory drastically change what I believe the ceiling is for this team moving forward? No. We need a much larger sample size before reconsidering what this group is capable of. But if fans are looking for a reason to watch, the Chicago Bulls provided one last night. Despite missing their projected leading scorer and one of their most physical bodies in the paint, the Bulls had control over a reigning playoff team for the majority of the game. And they did this by combining the positive elements from last season with a more disciplined approach in several new categories. The unselfishness and open floor athleticism that caught teams off guard last season carried over to Night 1 at the United Center. The Bulls got into their offense fast and put consistent pressure at the rim, which led to a pleasantly surprising 35-point first quarter. By the time halftime arrived, they had also assisted on 17 of their first 22 made field goals. Seriously, this was some of the most impressive ball movement I have seen from the Bulls in quite some time. Everyone was engaged from the jump. The off-ball action and cutting, in particular, felt like a breath of fresh air. The Bulls were a transition-heavy team one year ago and frequently became one-dimensional when the game slowed down. Not this time. Players looked significantly more connected in the halfcourt, and a big reason for this was the space they created with the constant off-ball movement. Likewise, I was very encouraged to see the frequent trips to the free-throw line. This stood out a lot to me in the preseason, and it was the No. 1 thing I wanted to see translate once the games started to matter. Remember, the Bulls were downright awful at getting to the charity stripe last season. They ranked 29th in free-throw attempts per game and drew the fewest personal fouls in the league. While you don’t have to dominate at the free-throw line to be an efficient offense, you also can’t be that incapable of drawing whistles, especially in crunch time. This has felt particularly important for a Bulls team that has taken pride in its speed and downhill athleticism. There is no reason why this young and explosive group shouldn’t be putting more teams in foul trouble. Oct 22, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) and Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) point for possession after a rebound went out of bounds during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images The Bulls were also among the NBA’s worst offensive rebounding teams in 2024-25. While they were able to clean the defensive glass pretty well, losing the second-chance points battle killed them at least once a week. It seems like Billy Donovan was well aware of that heading into a new year. The Bulls outrebounded the Pistons and won the second-chance points battle 16-5. I mean, that’s downright shocking considering the ultra-physical presence of Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. The Pistons were a Top 5 rebounding team last season and averaged nearly 15 points a night on extra possessions. Nikola Vucevic deserves A LOT of credit for shutting down those two big men inside. Speaking of which, I guess Nikola Vucevic really wants to be traded to a contender! The veteran looked awesome in the first game of his 15th season, leading the Bulls with 28 points on 11-18 shooting from the field. He continued to look shockingly comfortable in this uptempo offense, trailing for some three-point splashes and even scoring off a dive cut to the rim! Who knows if he will be able to keep this up, but it’s a good reminder that last year technically was a career year for Vucevic. While there has been this perception that he is aging out of being an impact player, the reality is that he’s showing few signs of that.“I just came off a great year. I played really well with the national team. I had a great summer. Again, just because I retired from the national team, [it] has nothing to do with my basketball career … I take pride in what I do and the work I put in to be out there and play the best that I can,” Vucevic told reporters after the game (h/t CHGO).
I mentioned in the box score and player grades, but I also think the immediate ability for this young group to overcome some adversity is encouraging. The Pistons made two strong runs to steal back that game, yet the Bulls avoided a downward spiral. This young group stayed committed to their identity and came up with some excellent crunch-time plays. Matas Buzelis soared for an epic alley-oop slam. Josh Giddey nailed the game-clinching free throws. Isaac Okoro helped halt Cade Cunningham’s run and secured a key rebound. As important as Vucevic was down stretch, these young players were just as much a part of closing things out. That’s a great learning experience. Matas Buzelis is going to be all over SportsCenter this season. The Bulls haven’t had someone as explosive and exciting as him in a long time. twitter.com/BN_Bulls/status/1981223825175171152 This quote from Vucevic about Buzelis being a man now is hilarious …Nikola Vucevic on Matas Buzelis' big dunk over Isaiah Stewart: "I'm very proud of Matas. He became a man tonight. He got his first legit poster. He tried to claim he dunked on D'Angelo Russell or something last year, but I'm like, 'Matas, you're like two feet bigger than him.'"
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) October 23, 2025 Arturas Karnisovas joined 670 The Score’s Spiegel & Holmes to discuss the upcoming season ahead of last night’s game. Typically, when an executive sits down for a radio interview, it’s well worth a full breakdown. But Karnisovas isn’t your typical executive! To be honest, he really didn’t say anything that meaningful or interesting. He continued to tout the importance of home court advantage and repeated a lot of what we heard during Media Day. With that said, I do give him credit for not mentioning the playoffs and continuing to stress that this season is primarily about development and evaluation. This was also before the Bulls upset the Pistons, though. So now I expect rumors about the Bulls trading all their picks for an injured Paul George or something. ICYMI: The video of Michael Jordan shooting his nervous free throw surfaced this morning! You can literally see the relief on his face once he drains it. ICYMI PART II: Both Chauncey Billups of the Portland Trail Blazers and Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat have been arrested for their involvement in gambling schemes. This is a huge story that is still breaking. The Bulls won AND I cashed in big on Bleacher Nation Fantasy!? What a Wednesday night! All three of my Bulls picks hit, and the same goes for my six-pick entry that turned $20 into $400. Once again, if you want to join in as the NBA season gets underway, now is an excellent time. We are still running a 100% deposit match up to $500 with code DUNK. I’ll be handing out my favorite picks before every Bulls game, by the way. So keep an eye out for those!✅✅✅Bulls win AND I win on @BN_Fantasy_!What a lovely opening night! Can’t wait to do this for more games, t.co/RsIzCZfMUv
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) October 23, 2025MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter
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