The Chicago Bulls are going all-in on their Michael Jordan glory days ahead of yet another doomed season.
The Bulls haven't been even in sniffing distance of legitimate championship contention in a decade. They responded to a 50-win 2014-15 season and a hard-fought second-round playoff exit by firing head coach Tom Thibodeau. It was the first in a series of boneheaded decisions that ultimately cost Chicago everything.
Now, Chicago is a perpetual play-in tournament team, too semi-competent to totally tank and thus get the best odds for an elite lottery pick, but too bad to actually make the playoffs. The Bulls have made three such futile postseason runs, and have missed the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons.
The only moves of note that Chicago made this offseason were flipping oft-hurt reserve point guard Lonzo Ball for former Cleveland Cavaliers 10th man wing Isaac Okoro, re-signing free agent guard Tre Jones, selecting raw forward Noah Essengue with the No. 12 pick in this year's draft, and trading down for the draft rights to big man Lachlan Olbrich, the No. 55 pick.
So ahead of what's likely to be another uninspiring season in 2025-26, Chicago is doing its darnedest to remind fans of what it once was.
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Per Anthony Gharib of ESPN, the Bulls are bringing back the black-and-red pinstripe jerseys they first donned during their 72-10 championship season in 1995-96. They're now dubbed Chicago's "Statement Jerseys" for this season. Per Gharib, the Bulls have also worn the threads in 1996-97 (when they won another title), 2008-08 and 2012-13.
Chicago itself showed off the return to the red pinstripes on its X account, bringing in Hall of Fame former Bulls power forward Dennis Rodman, who won three consecutive titles alongside Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen from the 1995-96 season through 1997-89, to model the duds.
Pinstripes have always looked 🔥 on The Worm.@dennisrodman | https://t.co/ZWPGcjQo2w pic.twitter.com/VbFnGaWaj6
— Chicago Bulls Archive (@BullsArchive) August 5, 2025
Although the 2025-26 Bulls roster likely doesn't sport any future Hall of Famers, it is talented enough to not be, say, the 2024-25 Washington Wizards. Still, it makes sense for a team that effectively doesn't have a traditional power forward on its roster and is overloaded with guards to lean into a starry past — and to look beyond a sad present.
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