Chicago Bulls Off Day: Worst Losing Streak in Years, Is Locker Room Tension Brewing? More

The last time the Chicago Bulls were in this big of a funk, Jim Boylen and John Paxson were leading the way.

Dec 7, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) looks on during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Arguably no team in the NBA needs a four-day break more than the Chicago Bulls.

With the organization failing to advance in the NBA Cup for the third year in a row, they will have plenty of time to stare into the mirror this week. Let's discuss their ongoing losing streak, as well as some of the troubles that might be brewing behind the scenes.

Worst Losing Streak in Years

Dec 3, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14), center, and guard Josh Giddey (3) after the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

By losing to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, the Chicago Bulls did something they have not done since Jim Boylen was their head coach. Talk about bleak!

The team has lost seven consecutive games for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Boylen's Bulls nearly went a full month without a victory that year, dropping eight straight games between January 29 and February 22.

This was the same disastrous season that finally forced ownership to pursue significant change. John Paxson was officially replaced as the lead executive later that offseason, with the Bulls hiring Arturas Karnisovas away from the Denver Nuggets. Billy Donovan would also come in as the franchise's next head coach before the start of the 2020-21 campaign. While this regime would go on to see a couple of different six-game skids, they have been able to avoid anything greater ... until now.

What stands out most about this losing streak is easily the level of competition. Only two of the Bulls' opponents have held winning records: Orlando and Golden State. Even then, however, the Magic were without star forward Paolo Banchero, while the Warriors were without both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

The five other losses came against teams that still sit below Chicago in the league standings. The Pelicans had a mere two wins before facing the Bulls, while the Hornets and Nets each had only four wins. As for the Pacers, two of their five wins on the year have now come against the Bulls, as they beat Chicago twice in four games. The second was a 120-105 beatdown, marking their second-largest win of the season. Their first came against the East-worst Washington Wizards.

Nevertheless, unlike what transpired a few months after that 2019-20 losing streak, it's hard to imagine the Bulls' latest meltdown will lead to anything significant. Both the front office and head coach were said to have received contract extensions this past summer. And this decision was made despite three consecutive Play-In Tournament losses.

One would think that for an organization that preaches competitiveness and anti-tanking, results like these would be characterized as unacceptable. Yet, no one has heard a peep from the Bulls' brain trust, nor given any reason to believe that seats are heating up.

The Bulls will likely hide behind their young talent and insist that this is all part of their development. Then, right after that, they may point to the 6-1 start to the year as a reason for optimism. Whether it be their 15-5 finish last season or their first-place start in 2021-22, we all know the Small Sample Size Theater is this organization's favorite date spot.

What's Going On in the Locker Room?

Dec 7, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) looks on during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

A seven-game losing streak indicates technical hurdles as much as mental ones.

The psyche of this group has seemingly done a 180 since their electrifying 6-1 start. The Chicago Bulls started the season playing like one of the most well-connected teams in the NBA. They were making up for a lack of star power by buying into an equal-opportunity system on both ends of the floor. This was a team serving as the ideal example of how the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.

Fast forward to today, and the Bulls are the perfect example of why star power and veteran leadership matter. Adversity has hit them harder than Superman going full speed. An offense that once ranked near the top of the league in assist percentage has failed to dish more than 24 assists in four of its last five games. Their once respectable effective field goal percentage has also continued to plummet, as they've held the third-worst mark in the NBA over the last five games.

Sure, defense was always projected to be an obvious problem for this roster, but the offense was supposed to click. No team has scored fewer points than this group since Nov. 29. The Bulls had a season-low 91 points with essentially a fully healthy starting lineup on the floor Sunday night. Again, this isn't simply because of some missed details. Something isn't right in that locker room.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times all but confirmed that on Monday afternoon. According to the long-time beat reporter, cracks are starting to show with this supposedly tight-knit group:

"A source told the Sun-Times on Monday that this is a crucial time for this team because it is starting to splinter. The source went on to say that Coby White – the longest tenured Bull – has been one of the main figures behind the scenes trying to put out fires, limit the finger pointing, while still holding teammates accountable," Cowley wrote for the Sun-Times.

Billy Donovan also had a comment that raised some eyebrows during his conversation with the media after the game. He said that this group will not pull itself out of the mud until they go from liking each other to loving each other.

Is it time to call the marriage counselor?

Coby White at the Free Throw Line

Mar 25, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) shoots a free throw against the Washington Wizards during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

To end on a slightly more positive note, Coby White continues to get to the free throw line at a career-high rate.

Despite dealing with multiple calf injuries this season, White has been as aggressive as we have ever seen him. The confidence he has in his ball-handling ability is night and day from a few years ago, and he's combining that with his top-tier quickness to repeatedly put pressure on the rim. While he had a rough 3-10 shooting night against the Warriors, he still managed to go 6-7 (don't tell the youth) from the charity stripe.

White has now taken at least 7 free throw attempts in five of his seven games this season. Overall, he is averaging a career-best 8.0 attempts a night and converting at an 80.4 percent success rate. We have even seen him take double-digit attempts in three games so far this year, including a perfect 14-14 performance in his debut against the Utah Jazz.

Cleaning the Glass has a metric that tracks the percentage of shot attempts where a player drew a foul. White's SFLD% sits at 18.0 percent, which currently ranks in the NBA's 96th percentile.

During the Chicago Bulls' strong end to the 2024-25 season, this is arguably what stood out most about White's game. He was showing a new layer to his scoring arsenal, and the Bulls (or any team hoping to land him via the trade market or free agency) should be very happy to see this success at the line continue.