The Chicago Bulls notched an impressive start to the 2025-26 NBA Season.
Chicago started the year with a 5-0 record and wins against Detroit, Orlando, Atlanta and New York, four teams fighting for playoff spots. Since then, though, the team’s luck has changed.
Since the Bulls’ impressive start, Billy Donovan’s team has notched a 4-12 record and now sits at 11th in the Eastern Conference, once spot out of Play-In positioning.
On Wednesday, the team received more bad news. Ahead of Chicago’s contest with the Nets, which Brooklyn won 113-103, Donovan announced that rookie wing Noa Essengue will undergo surgery on his left shoulder, bringing an end to the 2025 lottery pick’s rookie season.
After being selected at No. 12 overall in June, Essengue appeared in just two of Chicago’s first 20 games before Donovan announced the injury.
Essengue logged 3 minutes and 53 seconds of action in a 121-120 victory against the Washington Wizards on Nov. 22, going 0-of-1 from beyond the arc while recording no additional stats. Essengue was a -9 in the box score in that contest.
In a 143-130 loss at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans, Essengue spent 2 minutes and 9 seconds on the court, going 0-of-2 from the field while notching a steal and a foul. Essengue finished as a -6 in the box score against New Orleans.
While the Bulls have plenty of other young pieces to put on the floor, not being able to get a glimpse of Essengue’s potential development as a rookie is likely a let down for Chicago. Even if the 18-year-old wasn’t going to be much of a factor for the team this year, getting to see how Essengue improved, or didn’t improve, throughout the year would help the Bulls formulate a plan for the rookie.
Now, the team will have to wait another season to get a full picture on what the French wing prospect could be, and how he fits within the organization’s plans.
Playing with Ratiopharm Ulm in 2024-25, Essengue averaged 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 56% from the field and 29.4% from beyond the arc.
At 18-years-old, Essengue was a raw prospect entering the draft, so his lack of playing time as a rookie isn’t shocking. Still, being able to gather more data on the 6-foot-8, 200-pound wing would have been helpful for the Bulls.
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