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Boardroom is a sports, media and entertainment brand co-founded by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman and focused on the intersection of sports and entertainment. Boardroom’s flagship media arm features premium video/audio, editorial, daily and weekly newsletters, showcasing how athletes, executives, musicians and creators are moving the business world forward. Boardroom’s ecosystem encompasses B2B events and experiences (such as its renowned NBA and WNBA All-Star events) as well as ticketed conferences such as Game Plan in partnership with CNBC. Our advisory arm serves to consult and connect athletes, brands and executives with our broader network and initiatives.

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Sports November 6, 2025
Boardroom Staff
Boardroom Staff

Shams Charania Breaks Down the Chicago Bulls’ Surprising Start, Led By Billy Donovan

Michael Reaves / Getty Images
The NBA insider dives into the Bulls’ impressive run, highlighting their young core, Nikola Vučević’s resurgence, and steady coaching leadership.

The Chicago Bulls have seemingly been stuck in a state of mediocrity for the last decade. Since Michael Jordan‘s last title in 1997-98, the team has only advanced past the first round of the NBA Playoffs four times and has made the playoffs just once since 2017-18.

The last couple of seasons have been all about changing that narrative, but that doesn’t come without some growing pains. That required the front office to get creative in offloading some hefty contracts it had signed in years prior, while also making moves to acquire young talent to complement its own draft picks. Those moves have led Chicago to a core of Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu to go with 35-year-old Nikola Vučević, who has his highest scoring average in five years on a career-high field goal percentage.

The result? A 6-1 start to the season to sit atop the Eastern Conference.

“I think it’s just leaning into a different group that you want to see what we have here,” Shams Charania said on the latest episode of Network with Rich Kleiman. “Clearly, the chemistry that those guys are showing, Matas Buzelis looks like an early-season MIP candidate, Josh Giddey looks like a triple-double threat every night, they’re getting great performances out of Vučević. So, I think this is a group that’s young, that’s hungry.”

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However, as everyone knows in the NBA, no matter how talented a roster might be, a team only gets as far as its head coach. For the Bulls, they feel like they have found a perfect fit in Billy Donovan, who has been guiding the franchise since 2020-21.

“The Bulls, from ownership to front office, they really love Billy Donovan there, and what he brings on a daily basis. … You just see someone that’s just poised, focused, knows exactly what he wants to accomplish, and I think the leadership that he’s brought, the Bulls really value that,” Charania said. “The Bulls really value his ability to really coach the younger players on the team. You’re seeing a coach that’s able to, when he has a group that’s committed to what he’s trying to do, he’s shown to have a lot of success.”

Be sure to catch the full conversation between Charania and Kleiman across Boardroom and Yahoo Sports platforms.

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Boardroom Staff