Bear Digest

Only one highlight at the Chicago Bulls' Play-In debacle—and it was Caleb Williams

Alan Goldsher|
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams wasn't smiling for most of his recent visit to the United Center, a visit in which the Chicago Bulls were eliminated from the NBA postseason. But there was a moment...
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams wasn't smiling for most of his recent visit to the United Center, a visit in which the Chicago Bulls were eliminated from the NBA postseason. But there was a moment... | Photo: Chicago Bears video

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Last night, for the third consecutive season, the Chicago Bulls were knocked out of the NBA Play-In Tournament by the Miami Heat, losing a 109-90 beatdown that wasn’t as close as the score might indicate.

The Bulls haven’t played a postseason game since 2022.

Once again, the Windy City’s flailing pro hoops franchise finds itself at the bottom of the NBA Draft Lottery, boasting the second-worst shot at landing the number one pick (2.3%, as per Tankathon), giving them just an incremental chance of access to one of the top prospects in a top-heavy draft class.

So barring a ping-pong ball miracle, the Bulls you see today are the Bulls you’ll see tomorrow. Yay.

Needless to say, for the Chicago sports faithful, yesterday's rumble at the United Center was a straight-up, unmitigated bummer.

Mostly.

Chicago Football > Chicago Basketball…Hopefully

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams didn’t have the greatest rookie year in NFL history, but was nonetheless solid enough during the 2024 campaign, setting team rookie season records for passing yards (3,541), completions (352), and passing touchdowns (20). Even more impressively, he set an NFL rookie record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception (326).

Caleb Goes To Work

In the midst of the aforementioned, distinctly Bulls-ian Play-In snafu, Williams gave Chicago fans a moment to cheer about.

Perched in a courtside seat behind a basket and clad in a nifty yellow-and-green themed Nike hockey sweater, a plaid baseball cap, and a pair of designer glasses that probably cost more than this writer earns in three years, Williams was asked to do some football stuff.

The former Heisman Trophy winner is an affable dude, so to nobody’s surprise, he went with the flow.

After being handed a football, Williams signed the pigskin, then proceeded to hurl it into the second balcony.

Here’s another angle:

And another:

But here’s the best Caleb highlight of ‘em all:

On Wednesday night, the Chicago Bulls were terrible. But Caleb Williams sure wasn’t.

Published | Modified
Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

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