4 Bulls Make ESPN's Top 100 in Another Sign of Better Days Ahead

There are a lot worse ways for the Chicago Bulls to start a rebuild.

New front office leader Bryson Graham is only a handful of years removed from swimming in the depths of the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans. He's also only a year removed from joining forces with the reshaping Atlanta Hawks. While young, he has seen firsthand how difficult it is to get the right talent in the building. And he may be ahead of the game in Chicago.

A long, winding, puddle-filled road still rests ahead for the Bulls. If this franchise has proven anything since the turn of the century, it's that they can always find new ways to fall flat on their face. However, Graham is trying to break that trend, and some of the talent he already has could be a big part of it.

Don't just take my word for it, though!

ESPN released its Top 100 players for the upcoming 2026-27 season. The rebuilding Bulls largely felt like an afterthought on such a chart, yet they actually came away with FOUR players on the coveted list.

No. 4 overall pick Caleb Wilson has already made the cut. The ferocious forward was placed at No. 97, surpassing established contributors like Luguentz Dort, RJ Barrett, and Jalen Suggs. Matas Buzelis wasn't too far off. The versatile forward went from unranked ahead of 2025-26 to No. 88. This puts him ahead of Warriors stars Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler, former teammate Ayo Dosunmu, and recent champion Josh Hart.

Not too shabby, huh?

Two spots later is when Norman Powell finds his name. Only CJ McCollum separates him from his newest Bulls running mate, and this No. 86 ranking follows a No. 82 ranking on ESPN's 2025 chart. The slight drop-off likely has more to do with the talent around him improving as opposed to his own performance.

After all, Powell is fresh off the first All-Star season of his career. This alone might make a slip feel unwarranted, but let's consider how much the environment plays a role. He almost surely has a harder time entering the All-Star conversation with the rebuilding Bulls than with the Heat.

Finally, there is Josh Giddey. ESPN ranks the jumbo guard as the organization's top talent, placing him at No. 80. This lands Giddey right in front of Naz Reid, who is now with the Charlotte Hornets, and one spot behind Ajay Mitchell of the OKC Thunder.

ESPN is still releasing the full Top 100, but Giddey will almost certainly be the final Bull on the list. With that in mind, it seems fair to say that a team's best player ranking in the 80s likely doesn't bode well for their short-term success. But who said the Bulls care about that?

This upcoming season is all about the future, which is why already having four players listed in the Top 100 feels like a decent win for the franchise

Bulls Have Makings of an Intriguing Core ...

Mar 16, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) and forward Matas Buzelis (14) high five during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As far as building a foundation goes, having three Top 100 players on your roster who are 23 years old or younger is hard not to like.

Of course, with the three being as young as they are, the door is still open for them to trend in the wrong direction. There is just a lot of unknown, specifically when it comes to the futures for Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis.

At the same time, the Bulls are currently in the business of potential, and this is another indicator that they are doing things right. All three continue to have pretty tremendous upside – let alone the kind of skillset that meshes pretty darn well on paper. In terms of unselfishness and playmaking IQ, there may not be a better guard than Giddey for two athletically gifted wings. Sure, it would be nice if he shot the three-ball better, but his floor-spacing has only trended up in recent years.

Wilson and Buzelis still have to prove they can coexist, but there is little reason to believe it will be a problem. Each possesses a versatile skill set that allows them to play both an inside and outside game. The ball-handling and downhill scoring upside, in particular, make them a fascinating one-two punch offensively. There is a world where the two of them are consistently running action off one another.

The defensive potential is also downright tantalizing. Buzelis already finished Top 6 in the NBA in total blocks last season. Wilson is another springy and long forward with good shot-blocking timing and the footwork to keep up with smaller guards. The switchability of the two could give the Bulls a real identity on that end.

Heck, even having another Top 100 player in Norman Powell in the mix shouldn't be overlooked. While he isn't destined to be a long-term piece, the Bulls went out and got a legitimately impactful player to help show these young guys the ropes. They could have easily settled for more of a role-playing veteran or two, but they wanted someone who immediately makes those around him better.

Speaking of which, it's not completely right for this franchise to ignore the 2026-27 win-loss column. The league has drastically changed the lottery odds to hurt those teams that finish in the bottom three. In this new version of the NBA, it's all about raising the floor. The Bulls have potentially done that by signing Powell and giving themselves a chance at a higher pick.

I'll be the first to admit that harping on a Top 100 list is silly. You never know exactly how the cards will fall, and it's not like this is some kind of uber-accurate portrayal of the league's best talent. With that said, it does give us a general idea of how much raw talent resides on each team, let alone the kind of talent.

The Bulls have had this many names on the list before during the LaVine, DeRozan, Vucevic Era. However, those were all established and aging players ranking lower than one would like. This is the opposite scenario. The Bulls now have several youngsters in the conversation, and the chance of them climbing the leaderboards in the coming years is so much higher.

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