Entering the 2025-26 season with a completely overhauled roster, the Chicago Bulls have fans wondering how this group will come together on the court. Since the 2025 NBA trade deadline, Chicago has added seven new players through trade, the draft, or free agency, blending a few seasoned veterans with plenty of promising young talent.

Each player is now eyeing a larger opportunity. However, all have the shared goal of leading the Bulls back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

With the season just weeks away, it’s the perfect time to look forward and predict which Bulls could take home team-specific end-of-season awards, beginning with the category that has only two possible candidates.

Rookie of the Year: Noa Essengue

Obviously, the only two Bulls eligible for this award are Noa Essengue and Lachlan Olbrich. With Olbrich likely to spend most of the season with the Windy City Bulls, Essengue becomes the clear favorite.

The French forward enters his rookie year with plenty of buzz surrounding his potential. His size, athleticism, and versatility make him a strong candidate to contribute right away. Rim protection and rebounding should earn him consistent minutes off the bench, and if he can close the year as a reliable seventh or eighth man in the rotation, it will be considered a successful debut campaign for the 18-year-old.

Defensive Player of the Year: Isaac Okoro

Acquired in Chicago’s only player-for-player trade of the 2025 offseason, Isaac Okoro arrives with a reputation as a strong defender. In limited action last season, Lonzo Ball was arguably the Bulls’ best defender, but Okoro’s ability to guard multiple positions and generate “stocks” (steals plus blocks) makes him the ideal replacement.

Averaging 1.2 stocks per game through his first five seasons, he more than likely will have a larger role in Chicago than he did on the Cleveland team competing for a championship. With a sizable increase in minutes this season, his defensive numbers could rise even further, cementing him as the Bulls’ top lock-down guy.

Sixth Man of the Year: Ayo Dosunmu

Ayo Dosunmu is arguably coming off the best season of his career, averaging 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game in a sixth-man role. As the first player off the bench, he brings instant offense, solid playmaking, and high defensive energy, which is exactly what the Bulls need from the guard positions while Josh Giddey and Coby White sit.

If Dosunmu continues to develop and impact games in this role, he won’t just be the Bulls’ Sixth Man of the Year, but could enter the conversation for the league-wide award.

Most Improved Player: Matas Buzelis

Matas Buzelis enters his sophomore campaign with the chance to build on his impressive improvement in the latter stage of the 2024-25 season. As a starter last year, Buzelis averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists, a significant jump from his first-half numbers of 5.3 points and 2.8 rebounds off the bench.

Beyond the box score, intangibles such as his confidence, shot selection, and overall feel for the game noticeably improved as the season progressed. Similar to Dosunmu, if Buzelis can build on that late-season surge, he could become not only Chicago’s most improved player but also one of the breakout young talents in the league.

Team MVP: Coby White

Coby White is preparing to carry most of the offensive load for Chicago, a responsibility he proved he could handle last year. With the roster now featuring enough shooters to provide spacing, White has room to grow both as an isolation scorer and a playmaker who creates looks for others.

White is coming off the best scoring season of his career after the departures of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, opening the door for a much larger role on the offensive side of the ball. Not to mention, the stakes are even higher this year, as he enters the final season of his contract extension. If he proves himself as the Bulls’ best player, White could not only secure team MVP honors but also a major payday next summer.