Chicago finished 31-51 last season, 12th in the Eastern Conference, with the league’s 23rd-ranked offence and 22nd-ranked defence. It played at the second-fastest pace in the NBA and had nothing to show for it beyond a lottery pick and a February fire sale that sent Ayo Dosunmu to Minnesota, Coby White and Mike Conley to Charlotte and Jaden Ivey to the waiver wire.
Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley were dismissed on April 6. Billy Donovan resigned on April 21. Bryson Graham was hired as executive vice president of basketball operations on May 4 and Splitter followed as head coach on June 17 after one promising season in Portland.
Before backing anything on this roster, compare the full slate of sports betting odds available to Canadian players, because on the Bulls the books have reached a consensus on one market and no consensus at all on another.
The Title Market Is a Mess, and That Is Useful
Most rebuilding teams get priced the same way everywhere. Chicago has not been.
1xBet lists the Bulls at 100.00 to win the 2026-27 championship. Tonybet has 501.00. BetPlays matches at 501.00. Stake is out at 751.00. Four books, one team, and a spread of 651 points between the shortest and longest price.
MarketOddsBookImplied ProbabilityNBA 2026/27 Winner751.00Stake0.13%NBA 2026/27 Winner501.00Tonybet0.20%NBA 2026/27 Winner501.00BetPlays0.20%NBA 2026/27 Winner100.001xBet1.00%Eastern Conference Winner251.00Stake0.40%Rookie of the Year – Caleb Wilson4.50Stake22.22%Rookie of the Year – Caleb Wilson4.331xBet23.09%Rookie of the Year – Dailyn Swain151.00Stake0.66%Rookie of the Year – Dailyn Swain100.001xBet1.00%MVP – Josh Giddey1001.00Stake0.10%
Odds current as of Monday, Aug. 31. Futures drift quickly once camps open, so shop the number before you stake it.
Nobody should be backing Chicago for the title with real money. But if you are buying a lottery ticket, a $10 stake returns $7,510 at Stake and $1,000 at 1xBet on the identical outcome. The 1xBet number is not a price, it is a placeholder, and it is a reminder to compare sports betting lines on every longshot you touch this season. The gap is rarely this large. It is rarely this visible, either.
SIGN UP AT STAKECaleb Wilson Is Why the Bulls Felt Comfortable Blowing It Up
Chicago selected the 6-foot-10 North Carolina forward fourth overall in June, one pick after Cameron Boozer went to Memphis, and then watched him post the highest-scoring Summer League debut anyone can find a record of: 35 points on 7-of-11 from three, with five rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
The three-point line is the detail worth holding onto. Wilson made seven in a single night in Las Vegas having never made more than one in any game at UNC. Scouts had him as the best player outside the top three of his class, a long, athletic two-way forward with real passing feel and a jumper that was supposed to be a multi-year project. If it is not, the Rookie of the Year market is mispriced. The developmental flag is defensive: he leans on his tools rather than his positioning, which leaves him in poor spots to defend, and building better habits is the year-one target.
Dailyn Swain arrived at No. 15 from Texas, a 6-foot-8 wing who climbed the board on slashing and ball-handling and was used as an on-ball facilitator in Summer League. He over-dribbles and delays decisions until the clock forces a bad one, which is survivable in Las Vegas and less so against NBA rotations. He sat out the final Summer League game with right wrist soreness but is expected for camp.
ESPN’s summer panel picked Boozer, Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa in that order for Rookie of the Year and conceded the margins were slim. None of the panel chose Wilson. None of the three favourites will start for a coach whose only instruction is to play the rookie, either.
The Veterans Complicate the Tank
Norman Powell is the reason this is not a straightforward 25-win project. Chicago gave the 33-year-old two years and $45 million with a team option on the second season, and he arrives from Miami as a first-time All-Star who averaged 21.7 points on career splits of 47.1% from the floor, 39.6% from three and 82.4% at the line. That contract structure is a February trade chip with a jersey on it.
Nic Claxton came from Brooklyn on July 10 to start at centre, a proven rim protector on a roster that had none. Zach Collins re-signed for two years and $17 million after a ten-game cameo at 57.8% from the field. Jalen Smith, who shot 37.3% from three, drops to the bench.
Josh Giddey is the most interesting piece and the most awkward. He averaged 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists in 54 games last season and lifted his three-point shooting to 36.4%, per Basketball-Reference, on a four-year, $100 million extension signed by a front office that has since been dismissed. Giddey told ClutchPoints he believes the Bulls have “more than enough to be competitive in this league and be a playoff team.” Graham’s stated aim, by contrast, is “internal growth from our young guys and even from our veteran players.” One of those men is describing the actual plan.
Matas Buzelis played 77 games at 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. With Wilson beside him, Chicago has two athletic forwards who can protect the rim and run, and the Fansided case that the Bulls are the league’s surprise team rests entirely on that pairing plus a healthy Giddey feeding Powell.
OPEN AN ACCOUNT AT 1XBETWhat This Means for the Raptors
For Canadian audiences, Chicago’s relevance is immediate. Toronto hosts the Bulls on Oct. 21 in the season opener, then sees them again through a schedule that has Chicago playing six of its first eight games on the road with 15 back-to-backs, tied for second-most in the league.
The Raptors are priced at 23.00 to 26.00 for the title across the Canadian books and have Kawhi Leonard. The Bulls are priced at 100.00 to 751.00 and have a rookie starting at power forward. Opening night at Scotiabank Arena will be the first NBA game Wilson plays, against a team whose head coach has had all summer to prepare for a roster with a new system, a new coach and a point guard who has publicly disagreed with his own front office about what the season is for.
That is not a lock. It is a favourable spot, and the market will price it as one. The more durable angle is the season-long one: one more Eastern Conference team has voluntarily removed itself from the play-in equation, and the Bulls news cycle has been about development rather than wins since April, and every Chicago game on the Raptors’ schedule projects more favourably than it did a year ago.
SIGN UP AT TONYBETBest Bets and Predicted Finish
Best Bet: Caleb Wilson for Rookie of the Year (4.50 at Stake). Boozer and Peterson are shorter because they were drafted higher, not because their situations are better. Wilson starts on opening night for a coach whose mandate is to develop him, on a team with no reason to cap his minutes. Take the 4.50 at Stake over the 4.33 at 1xBet; it is a small edge, but it is a free one.
Value play: Dailyn Swain for Rookie of the Year (151.00 at Stake). A flier, not a position. But the 15th pick lands on a team with wing minutes available and no incentive to limit them, and there is no argument for accepting 100.00 at 1xBet on the same outcome.
Lottery ticket: Bulls to win the NBA title (751.00 at Stake). Token stake only. At 100.00 the same ticket at 1xBet is one of the worst prices on any Canadian board this pre-season.
Avoid: the Eastern Conference market. Stake’s 251.00 sits behind a conference that added Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and Jaylen Brown in one summer to a field already containing the defending champion. There is no path.
Raptors angle: back Toronto on opening night and across the head-to-head series. Chicago’s opening stretch is brutal, its rotation is unsettled and its best player is 19. Let the market absorb that by November and look for a live number on the Bulls’ win total instead.
Predicted finish: 13th in the Eastern Conference at 30-52, eliminated from play-in contention by the All-Star break, with Powell moved in February and a top-six pick beside Wilson. The season opens Oct. 21 in Toronto and ends Apr. 11 in New Orleans, and the only Chicago date most Canadians will circle is the first one.
For more NBA coverage and the latest sports betting odds, browse the online casino Canada listings if you play both sides, check the best online casino Ontario options for provincial play, compare mobile casinos Canada for wagering on the move, and read the reviews for Stake, 1xBet, Tonybet and BetPlays before you wager. Always bet within your limits.