The Chicago Bulls ended the 2024-25 regular season Sunday in relative anonymity.
Standings were set in the Eastern Conference by the end of Friday, leaving little to play for in Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bulls played all their available starters for the first half to prepare for Wednesday’s play-in tournament game against the Miami Heat, allowing the secondary rotation to handle the second half for a 122-102 win.
What stood out most on Sunday, however, was the mundane uniformity of this season’s results. The Bulls finished the 2024-25 season with the exact same record (39-43) and the exact same standing (ninth in the Eastern Conference) as the prior season.
Nothing and everything have changed. The roster is overhauled. The goals are different. And yet, the results remain identical. So what — if anything — can be learned about a season that is simultaneously so familiar and transformative?
Here are seven takeaways from the 2024-25 season.
1. An era is over.
It might not have been an ideal ending. But the Bulls front office finally ripped off the bandage and blew up the former core, trading Zach LaVine at the deadline after parting with Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan last summer.
Did the Bulls get enough in return for the bulk of their former stars? Probably not. But they finally took the hard and messy first step of establishing a new identity for this Bulls roster.
2. Josh Giddey is here to stay.
Josh Giddey’s numbers after the trade deadline jumped off the page — he averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists while shooting a ridiculous 45.7% from 3-point range in his last 19 games. But the guard also started the season as a disastrous shooter and defender who balanced gorgeous assists with boneheaded giveaways.
In such a small sample size, it’s hard for the Bulls to define which version of the guard is the “real Giddey.”
The guard’s current injury status certainly won’t help answer that question. The Bulls needed to utilize the postseason to assess Giddey’s ability to impact meaningful games, but he will be playing through a forearm injury — if he’s cleared for the play-in tournament at all.
That likely won’t impact decision-making for the Bulls. Executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas has been bullish on Giddey since he executed a rare player swap trade for Caruso last summer. Giddey is expected to return on a long-term deal with the Bulls next season. The only uncertainty is the price tag.
3. Matas Buzelis is the real deal.
The Bulls landed one of the steals of the 2024 draft by grabbing Matas Buzelis at No. 11. The rookie’s development was arguably the best omen for the future to come out of this Bulls season.
Buzelis is still defining what his ceiling will be as an NBA player. But his floor is relatively high. He’s a solid defender and an elite shot-blocker. His creativity on offense is balanced with promising efficiency from the 3-point arc. And, of course, the dunks speak for themselves.
Will he develop into a true centerpiece star? At age 20, it’s too early to tell. But landing and developing Buzelis showcases how this front office can begin to mold success in Chicago.
4. The kids are the future.
With the clear exception of Patrick Williams, every ...
