Believe it or not, the Chicago Bulls’ 3-11 stretch hasn’t done them any favors in the eyes of the national media.
The team began the year as one of the league’s biggest surprises. They were atop the Eastern Conference with a 6-1 record and playing a brand of basketball that was hard not to enjoy. To be sure, some luck was on their side with cold opponent shooting, but the offense’s success felt sustainable. Their assist percentage was sitting right near the top of the league, while their depth punched opponents in the mouth on a nightly basis.
As teams gathered more film on this group and the injuries stacked up, however, the Chicago Bulls started to come back down to earth. Before we knew it, they were spiraling out of control and losing to some of the NBA’s worst squads.
Chicago is now in the thick of a five-game losing streak, which has featured losses to the Pelicans, Hornets, Pacers, and Nets. Their most recent loss to Brooklyn featured their worst effective field goal percentage of the season (46.1).
The Bulls recorded a 46.1 EFG% last night against the Nets – aka the worst shooting effort by any team this season vs. Brooklyn.
Keep in mind that the Nets entered the night allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 58.6 EFG%.
Both sides of the ball are a mess for Chicago.
— Elias Schuster (@Schuster_Elias) December 4, 2025
The losing stretch has unsurprisingly resulted in another drop in several power rankings across the NBA. Let’s take a look at where some of the most well-known sites have the team placed this week.
Where Did the Chicago Bulls Fall in Latest NBA Power Rankings?
Only two of the most recent rankings chose to leave the Chicago Bulls in their previous spot. ESPN kept Chicago within the Top 20 at No. 19 overall. This had them sitting ahead of teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies.
It’s worth noting, though, that ESPN published its latest list before the Bulls’ fifth consecutive dud on Wednesday night. While it’s unclear if this would have changed anything, it sure feels like Milwaukee’s win over the first-place Pistons would have been reason enough to swap the two spots.
Nov 24, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Chicago Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan looks on against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Nevertheless, CBS Sports’ Rankings also had Chicago at No. 19, and they do have things updated to include the Bulls’ current 9-12 record. They saw Milwaukee’s big win and still placed the reeling franchise in the bottom ten. In fact, they even decided to place the Bucks below the Grizzlies.
The next highest ranking came from USA Today, which moved Chicago down one spot to No. 20. The Athletic and NBA dot com opted for a much steeper drop off. The former had the Bulls falling four spots to No. 21, while the latter also went with a four-spot change from the previous week, moving them to No. 23. For what it’s worth, each of these publications submitted before the Bulls’ losses to the Magic AND Nets.
So to recap …
ESPN – 19
CBS Sports – 19
USA Today – 20
The Athletic – 21
NBA – 23
Considering the Chicago Bulls have finished the last three seasons 18th, 20th, and 19th in the league standings, respectively, it’s hard not to look at this and feel a strong sense of deja vu. The team is back to being viewed as nothing more than a fringe Play-In Tournament team. Not good enough to contend, yet not good enough to make a run at a top pick.
Will that ever change? We talked more about that in Thursday’s Chicago Bulls Off Day notes.