It’s a game Isaac Okoro doesn’t like playing.
“I don’t really like comparing,” the Bulls forward said, as he sat in front of his locker, fresh off a third straight victory to start the regular season. “I’m just not a big believer in comparing teams.”
Then came the “but.”
Okoro spent his last five seasons in Cleveland. The same Cavaliers organization that finished the 2024-25 campaign atop the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 record. Different roster, different make-up of players, different playing style, but one similarity rang true.
“What I can say is that since I’ve been here this has been a real close-knit group of guys,” Okoro said. “This is like the same type of chemistry that we had in Cleveland, like whether it’s doing team dinners, team bonding things, everyone is close to each other. We sit in the locker room after practice and just talk to each other – home and away – and that’s kind of what you want in a team.
“That talk off the court, that communication, works on the court, hold each other accountable without guys getting in their feelings because we created that bond off the court.”
A seemingly simple concept that the Bulls have gotten wrong for a very long time.
Back in the days of the Three Alphas – Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo – Butler was a big proponent of speaking his mind and letting others speak theirs. It didn’t go so well when some young players started “getting in their feelings,” leading to Rondo calling out Butler and Wade, and the front office benching the two vets for a start of a game as punishment.
Even in the Zach LaVine-DeMar DeRozan Era, there were often public complaints about teammates unable to have hard conversations with each other without feelings getting hurt. Alex Caruso pointed that out several times.
This season’s Bulls locker room is different.
It’s not a veteran or two sticking out as leaders, as much as it’s a committee. Second-year forward Matas Buzelis has as much comfort in speaking to a teammate about effort or a play as 35-year-old Nikola Vucevic.
Players are heard and feelings stay at home.
“Being able to hold each other accountable is very important because at the end of the day, the goal is to win and if you can’t hold each accountable then you have to say something lighter than you want to say it, lighter than it should be said, and that hurts the team,” Okoro said. “Being able to hold the best guys accountable or anyone one through 15 – it doesn’t matter who you are – like the 15th guy can say something to the No. 1 guy. The No. 1 guy in this group can take that criticism and still go out and compete. That’s huge.”
Now, before fans read this and jump on StubHub for their Bulls ‘25-26 playoff tickets, Okoro again prefaced his look inside the locker room with a reminder that he doesn’t like comparing teams. The Cavs had an elite defensive frontcourt last year, they have an MVP candidate in Donovan Mitchell, and All-Stars throughout the roster.
The Bulls? Besides Vucevic, they’ve only watched All-Star Games on TV, and at best fall under the up-and-coming category.
But there’s a fabric there that translates from the locker room to the hardwood, and for Okoro it’s a must for team success. Go ahead and check that box for the Bulls.
“That’s what helps teams win games,” Okoro said. “We can all talk, take the criticism and keep competing. It’s rare.”