The Chicago Bulls may have pulled out a 121–120 win over the Washington Wizards, but one of their leaders walked off the court furious — and he didn’t bother hiding it. Nikola Vučević, the veteran big man who dropped a dominant 28-point, 12-rebound double-double, publicly blasted his team for what he called a soft, unfocused, and unacceptable performance. His postgame comments hit harder than any shot he took on the floor.
“For three quarters or whatever, we were very soft,” Vučević said in a tense postgame interview. “We gave no resistance. We didn’t do anything that we talked about.”
There was no spin, no diplomacy — just a blunt assessment of a win he clearly saw as a warning rather than a success. He even expressed frustration with how some teammates celebrated afterward, calling the reaction completely out of sync with the way the Bulls actually played.
But the criticism didn’t stop at the interview podium.
Vučević went straight into the locker room and addressed the team himself, saying, “We just didn’t play up to NBA standards.” He emphasized that he wasn’t ranting out of anger but out of concern that the Bulls have not grasped the urgency required to compete at a high level. “I don’t think we understand that it’s just not sustainable to play this way,” he said, doubling down on his message that Chicago’s issues were rooted in effort and discipline — “things that we can really control.”
And he’s not wrong.
Chicago’s defense was virtually non-existent in the opening quarter, giving up 41 points to a Wizards team that now sits at 1–15. The Bulls only stayed alive because their offense exploded for 40 points of their own. For a team that ranks 20th in the NBA in defensive rating, this game was another glaring example of bad habits becoming patterns rather than anomalies.
Still, despite the defensive collapse, the Bulls clawed their way back. Vučević himself drilled two massive three-pointers in crunch time, including one that put Chicago ahead by five. Yet Washington — a team in full rebuild mode — stormed back to grab a one-point lead before Tre Jones’ clutch free throws sealed the victory with 34 seconds left.
Vučević finished with monster numbers: 28 points, 12 rebounds (nine offensive), 12-of-20 shooting, and 3-of-7 from deep. His production wasn’t just good — it was essential. But after the game, the All-Star wasn’t interested in talking about stats. He wanted to talk about standards.
“We cannot keep doing this and expect to win,” he stressed. And the evidence is right there: inconsistent defense, slow starts, and repeated reliance on late-game heroics are not the foundation of a playoff team.
The Bulls are 9–7, winners of three of their last four, and on paper trending upward. But Vučević’s outburst sends a very different message — that the record might be disguising deeper issues. With the Eastern Conference tightening and several teams making aggressive pushes, Chicago cannot afford to sleepwalk through stretches of games, even against bottom-tier opponents.
Whether Vučević’s public and private criticism sparks change or deepens tension remains to be seen. But one thing is clear:
This wasn’t just frustration after a sloppy win — it was a warning from the Bulls’ most dependable veteran that something needs to change before it’s too late.
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