Below are the latest updates on all things summer league for the Chicago Bulls, including three guards fighting for roster spots, rookie Noa Essengue’s injury battle and playoff standings from Las Vegas.
Yuki Kawamura, Javon Freeman-Liberty, Jahmir Young all standing out
Freeman-Liberty has been the Bulls’ most consistent player in Sin City. Kawamura is once again a July sensation, but is making a case to be more. And Jahmir Young just had the highest-scoring game of the 2025 NBA Summer League.
Young finished with 40 points on 13-for-18 shooting in a July 16 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. He was 7-of-8 from three and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. (Those are shooting splits of 72/88/78, if you’re counting.) He was a plus-21, leading the Bulls’ second-half comeback.
Freeman-Liberty continued to shine, scoring 23 points while adding eight rebounds and four assists. He’s now averaging 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals as one of summer league’s best players. Kawamura is averaging 5.8 dimes, 12th-best in Vegas, as well as 2.3 steals.
Lonzo Ball is now a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are set to be unrestricted free agents after next season, as is Javon Carter. Young is currently a member of the Bulls’ 15-man roster as a two-way player, but that spot looks like it’s up for grabs.
Noa Essengue injury update
Essengue, the No. 12 pick in last month’s draft, missed the team’s win over Milwaukee with what the Bulls are calling a right thigh contusion. He’s listed as day-to-day, but one more glorified exhibition contest might do the 18-year-old some good heading into training camp and preseason.
Essengue has gotten better in each of his three summer league games. He looked rattled and unsure in Chicago’s first but posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in its second. He then went off for 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-for-8 from three in a win over the Indiana Pacers before missing the game against the Bucks.
Chicago has one more game left on the schedule: Friday, July 18, against the Utah Jazz.
Bulls officially miss 2025 NBA Summer League playoffs
Every team plays four “regular season” games in summer league before the top 4 teams by record advance to the “playoffs.” Tiebreakers help decide that quartet, but, unfortunately, Chicago doesn’t need to worry about it. Even with back-to-back wins against Indiana and Milwaukee, a 2-2 record means the team will fall short.
Every squad is guaranteed to play at least five times, however, so the players on the 26 remaining rosters will get one more chance to prove themselves. It will be a meaningful final contest for players like Freeman-Liberty, Young and Kawamura.
