There hasn’t been much optimism to go around the Windy City’s professional sports landscape. Between the Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs, and White Sox, postseason success is few and far between. However, among the five professional squads, the Bulls have surprisingly made the most recent playoff appearance, back in 2022.

Yet, the Bulls have won merely three playoff games in 10 years. Chicago’s battle, or should I say its consent of mediocrity, is well-documented. The Bulls have not eclipsed 46 wins nor won fewer than 39 contests in each of the past four seasons.

Thus, the Bulls have been ousted in the Play-In Tournament while being relegated to drafting players in the latter half of the lottery year after year. A direction has been anything but solidified as the Bulls are merely content with selling out the United Center.

DraftKings has set the Bulls’ win total at 32.5

Chicago’s mediocrity, coupled with a lack of marquee additions, has seemingly caught up with the organization. The sports book, DraftKings, has released its annual win totals and odds for each team ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Instead of projecting the Bulls to muster 38 to 40 wins per usual, the Massachusetts-based sports book has set Chicago’s win total at 32.5. Consequently, DraftKings predicts the Bulls to finish with the 24th-best record in the NBA, and more specifically, the 12th-best in the Eastern Conference.

Such a low win total comes as a surprise, especially considering the weakened state of the Eastern Conference. Chicago is penciled in next to the Toronto Raptors at 32.5. Moreover, the Bulls come in lower than the Miami Heat, who have yet to make any quality offseason additions, and the Indiana Pacers, who will be without Tyrese Haliburton and have lost Myles Turner in free agency.

It’s surely disheartening to see the Bulls projected to win so few games. But, for what it’s worth, DraftKings set the Bulls’ win total at 28.5 a year ago, which, of course, was far exceeded.

Bulls fans have 2 reasons not to be upset at the projection

Nevertheless, there’s some optimism to come out of DraftKings’ projection. First, this will give the organization as a whole and Bulls fans a chip on their shoulders. Second, even after exceeding prior projections, DraftKings still has the Bulls finishing in the bottom-third of the conference, which in turn equates to a high draft selection.

Lowering expectations is never something to be grateful for. However, amid a new era of transition, exceeding 32 wins would be impressive for the young Bulls. Chicago has notably begun the infusion of youth by trading away 27-year-old Lonzo Ball, swapping him for 24-year-old Isaac Okoro, and drafting 18-year-old Noa Essengue to kick off the offseason.

If there were to be a solidified direction, an argument can be made that it’s youth and defense. Seeing a combination of Coby White, Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Isaac Okoro, and Noa Essnengue (all 25 and under), leading the Bulls to 33 or more victories would be a small victory, at least now its steps in the right direction rather than winning less than 40 contests with a veteran-laden squad.

Lastly, the pessimistic win total should give Bulls fans what they’ve been clamoring for for years—a high draft pick. Perhaps the Bulls finish with the sixth-worst record, allowing Artūras Karnišovas and Co. to add a legitimate high-impact player in a tantalizing 2026 NBA Draft class.

Projecting 32.5 wins is typically crushing for fans of many NBA teams (looking at you, Portland), but in this context, there’s some optimism attached to the laughably low win total.