Josh Giddey finally looked like the version of himself the Bulls have been waiting on.
It took almost 10 games, but Chicago’s $25 million-per-year guard showed real life in a 125-121 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, a night that ended the Bulls’ run of blowout defeats and gave them a chance to hang around until the finish. Giddey flirted with a triple-double and, more importantly, played with the kind of force Chicago needs from him if this season is going to amount to anything.
The line was strong across the board: 19 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting. Even better for the Bulls, he went 6-of-8 on twos, which may have been the clearest sign that he was attacking instead of drifting.
That kind of assertiveness has been missing far too often early in the year. Through his first eight games, Giddey had attempted at least 10 field goals only twice, going 1-of-10 in one of those games and 5-of-15 in the other. For a player Chicago is counting on to help carry the offense, that level of passivity was hard to ignore.
He entered the matchup with Philadelphia shooting 38.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from deep. His two-point percentage, 45.5 percent, was also down from 50.0 percent in 2025-26, and that dip seemed to feed into his reluctance as a scorer.
For a Bulls team sitting No. 26 in the NBA in offensive rating, that simply wasn’t sustainable. If a player who looked like a future All-Star last season isn’t pressing the issue, the offense has nowhere to go.
There are signs Giddey is already starting to change that. He has handed out at least 10 assists in three of his past six games, and the passing load has been there. What Chicago needs now is the scoring to come with it.
That’s the piece that can tilt everything. Giddey doesn’t have to become a true go-to scorer, but the drop from 13.3 field goal attempts per game in 2025-26 to 9.3 in 2026-27 is too steep to wave away.
When he’s passive, defenses can sit on the pass. When he’s aggressive, the whole floor opens up.
The numbers from last season back that up. Chicago went 10-10 when Giddey scored at least 20 points in 2025-26, and 11-23 when he played but didn’t reach that mark. His scoring has a direct effect on how often the Bulls win, and that puts extra weight on his shoulders as he tries to take pressure off rookie Caleb Wilson.
Against Philadelphia, Giddey finally played like he understood that burden. If this is the start of him climbing out of the early-season funk, the Bulls may have found the version of him they’ve been waiting to see.
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