Hey, at least the new-look Chicago Bulls can say they had a historic 2026-27 season opener!
Anticipation was high for the Bulls' meeting with the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. While the all-around expectations for the season may be tempered, there is plenty of buzz about what this new young core can accomplish long-term. More specifically, Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis are two young wings who many believe can drag the organization back to relevance.
Alas, building around young talent always comes with its ups and downs, and fans were reminded of that from the jump. The Raptors ran the Bulls off the court to the tune of a 135-92 victory. Chicago shot a mere 31.8 percent from the field, looking completely lost against Toronto's aggressive defense. It was a rude awakening for everyone involved – the kind that puts you on the wrong side of history.
Chicago Bulls Lose in Historic Fashion
The Chicago Bulls' 43-point loss to the Toronto Raptors was the first of its kind in franchise history. To be sure, the organization has faced steeper defeats, but that marked the Bulls' worst ever on opening night.
To little surprise, this meant it was the largest margin of victory for the Toronto Raptors on opening night, per ESPN Insight. Elation for one team. Embarrassment for the other.
ESPN also noted that Splitter put his name in the record books with the worst loss by a head coach in their debut with a team. With that said, Splitter does have a worse loss on his resume, as the Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 157-103 in February of last season. Keep in mind, however, that Splitter was only considered an interim head coach at the time. This season marks his first with the official head coach title.
But, wait, it somehow gets worse!
Caleb Wilson gets to claim some bad history of his own. The rookie finished with a -45 in his NBA debut. According to Underdog NBA, this is the worst plus-minus in a debut ever. Jalen Green previously held the record, finishing with a -37 with the Suns in 2021. StatMuse also shared that this is the second-worst plus-minus for any Bulls player in any game.
Now, in all fairness to Wilson, plus-minus is a wonky stat. Is he void of criticism after a loss like that? Of course not. Wilson shot 7-21 and turned the ball over *gulp* NINE times. However, his plus-minus falls victim to the team-wide incompetence. Splitter played him by far the most of any player (32+ minutes) and opted to keep him in the game until the final whistle.
In other words, as jarring as that -45 might feel, Wilson's night wasn't actually that discouraging. The ball-handling is certainly something he needs to work on, but he had a few nice cuts to the rim and a great driving dunk. Bulls fans shouldn't be sounding any kind of alarm.
Indeed, this might as well be the moral of the story. While the Bulls had a very bad night, it shouldn't be viewed as much more than that. All that matters now is learning from the mistakes and taking a step in the right direction this weekend.
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