The Chicago Bulls on Thursday announced the full 82-game schedule for the 2026-27 season, charting a path for the first year under new vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham and coach Tiago Splitter.
The Bulls will open the season Oct. 21 on the road against the Toronto Raptors, and their first home game is scheduled three nights later against the Washington Wizards.
Despite drafting Caleb Wilson with the No. 4 pick to pair with Matas Buzelis in their rebuild efforts, the Bulls still landed only three nationally televised games: Dec. 1 against the reigning champion New York Knicks, Jan. 4 at the Indiana Pacers and Jan. 20 at the Brooklyn Nets.
Here are five things to watch from this season’s Bulls schedule.
NBA Cup nights
The Bulls will host two East Group C games — Nov. 13 against the Atlanta Hawks and Nov. 20 against the Washington Wizards — and hit the road for two others — Oct. 30 versus the Boston Celtics and Nov. 25 at the Charlotte Hornets — in the NBA Cup. Eight teams will advance to the knockout rounds: the team with the best record in each of the six groups and two wild-card teams in each conference.
This year, the knockout rounds of the in-season tournament will take place in the city of the higher-seeded team. The NBA Cup championship game will be played Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Bulls have not advanced out of the group stage of the NBA Cup since its introduction to the league in 2023.
Hometown return
Bulls forward Caleb Wilson speaks to the media at an introductory news conference June 26, 2026, at the Advocate Center. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)
One date is certainly circled on Wilson’s calendar: the Dec. 29 matchup against the Hawks in Atlanta.
The Bulls will play host to the Hawks on Nov. 13, but the road matchup will mark Wilson’s first opportunity to play an NBA game in front of a hometown crowd. The rookie told the Tribune during Summer League that playing in front of Atlanta fans would be one of his mostly highly anticipated moments of the season.
Rookie rivalries
While Wilson is looking forward to his first game in his hometown, most of the league will be tracking how the rookie matches up against the other top talent in the 2026 draft class.
One of those questions will be answered early in the schedule. The Bulls home opener on Oct. 24 will pit Wilson against No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa and the Wizards. The Bulls won’t face the No. 2 pick in the draft until Dec. 16, when they play host to Darryn Peterson and the Utah Jazz. Wilson won’t see his final top-four matchup until March 13, when the Bulls will face Cameron Boozer and the Memphis Grizzlies for the first time at the United Center.
Familiar faces
Hornets guard Coby White warms up for a game against the Bulls on Feb. 24, 2026, at the United Center. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
After more than half of the roster was traded away at the deadline last season, this year’s schedule will offer an opportunity for a series of reunions between Bulls fans and longtime former players.
Coby White will return to Chicago with the Charlotte Hornets on March 6 (and again April 7). Local product Ayo Dosunmu will make his way back Jan. 14 with the Minnesota Timberwolves. And among the other returnees to the United Center will be Nikola Vučević on March 15 with the Orlando Magic.
Notable home games
The Bulls will host a slate of interesting opponents throughout the season, headlined by their first game against LeBron James and the new-look Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 8. Other notable United Center matchups include a Dec. 1 game against the reigning champion Knicks and a Feb. 4 visit from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This season will not feature a major holiday game — Christmas, New Year’s or Martin Luther King Jr. Day — for the Bulls, either at home or on the road.