On Sunday night, the Chicago Bulls lost their seventh game in eight outings, falling 114-104 to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans have five wins on the year in 27 games, and two of those have now come against Chicago, both in the last month. The Windy City faithful have witnessed a rapid, embarrassing decline since their 6-1 start to the year, and they now sit at 10-15 through the first 25 games. There would be several different answers if everyone were asked what the root of Chicago’s issues are this season. Many of these are easy to spot, and repeated flaws have been evident over the past decade. Whether it’s rim-protection, turnovers, or other on-court issues, or coaching, development, drafting intelligently, or executing trades and contracts, most can agree that the franchise has been a mess for too long. During their last outing in the United Center, a message finally started to resonate within the organization.
The Fans Have Had Enough
During the loss at home two nights ago, the United Center looked absolutely deflated and depleted. Fans slowly filtered out as the game progressed, and the fourth quarter featured a ghost town in the stands. Chicago will always be one of the most active and rowdy fan bases with the size and passion of the city. Still, Sunday night may have shown that they’re finally standing against the leadership group and are done supporting a subpar product.
You can tell by the empty seats in the background & the "Green Bay sucks" chant from the fans what type of atmosphere we have here at the UC tonight…it's giving Tuesday night high school JV vibes as the Bulls have a 3 pt (35-32) lead over the Pelicans w/7 min left in the half. pic.twitter.com/N8jj3i91CP
— Eugene McIntosh (@EMcintosh762681) December 15, 2025
This is the most empty I think I’ve ever seen the united Center for a Bulls game
— Justin Talks Hoops (@J_Talks_Hoops) December 15, 2025
It’s quickly become the laughing stock franchise of the league, and seeing the neighboring Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears turning a few years of rebuilding woes into a successful product makes it even more baffling and frustrating.
Call To Action For Ownership
Chicago White Sox fans can agree that Jerry Reinsdorf is a significant reason both the White Sox and Bulls franchises are underperforming and failing to meet the city’s expectations. As one of the largest markets in the country, with some of the most passionate and dedicated fans, it’s genuinely a disservice that the Bulls continue to be a bottom-dwelling group. Despite being in the top five of the NBA in revenue and attendance each of the last five years, they’ve only made the playoffs once in that span, and are slated to miss it again this year. How does Reinsdorf continue to let Arturas Karnisovas or Billy Donovan keep their jobs?
Chicago Bulls have lost seven games in a row. Worst team in basketball. Our owner Jerry Reinsdorf sucks. The problem is Bulls fans packing the United Center filling Reinsdorf’s pockets every game to watch a garbage product. Nothing going to change until fans stop showing up.
— Travis Wali (@sfgiantsfan15) December 9, 2025
Only five head coaches have led the Bulls for over 300 games, and Donovan has the worst winning percentage of the group, despite coaching the third-most games in franchise history. Four of those coaches have also led the team to the playoffs at least three times and have accumulated 10 or more playoff wins during their tenure. Donovan has one postseason appearance, with only one game won. There’s no justification for his continued employment, and no reason not to experiment elsewhere.
Karnisovas has a similarly pathetic resume. He mirrors Donovan’s postseason numbers with Chicago, but also has notably whiffed on several draft choices, most famously Patrick Williams over Tyrese Maxey or Tyrese Haliburton. This season, he grabbed Noa Essengue over Derik Queen, which is already proving disastrous.
It’s getting nearly impossible to defend Reinsdorf, and while the profit continues to roll in for the Bulls, there’s no urgency for change. Was Sunday a sign that the fans are starting to take matters into their own hands and impact Reinsdorf’s highly profitable operation?
