Bulls’ Rookie Noa Essengue Faces Season-Ending Setback: What This Means for Team’s Future

Noa Essengue’s promising rookie campaign with the Chicago Bulls has hit an unexpected roadblock — a left shoulder injury that demands surgery and sidelines him for the rest of the season. What started as a seemingly minor contusion during a G-League game revealed a more serious injury, forcing the Bulls to make an official call after weeks of uncertainty. Coach Billy Donovan’s earlier hints about the operation’s inevitability have now become reality, with a recovery timeline stretching six to seven months. Essengue, the 12th pick from last summer’s draft, flashed glimpses of his raw but electrifying potential during the Summer League, though he’s mostly been known for a viral moment than game highlights. Despite logging only a handful of minutes for the Bulls this season, his performances in the G-League painted a picture of a player with high upside — averaging 23 points and 8.5 boards per outing. The team’s quick decision to address his injury means Essengue will hopefully return refreshed and ready to refine his skills next summer, though whether we’ll see him back in Summer League remains up in the air. LEARN MORE.

Bulls rookie Noa Essengue will undergo season-ending surgery on his left shoulder.

On Saturday, the Bulls made official what coach Billy Donovan had said a few days earlier: surgery was required, and the usual recovery time is six to seven months. Essengue injured his shoulder in a G-League game and, while the team first said it was a contusion, it turned out to be more than that.

Essengue was the No. 12 pick in last June’s draft and at Summer League showed his fluid athleticism and potential, but also was raw (as expected). He was mainly remembered for being on the wrong end of a meme during his first trip to Las Vegas. The Bulls wanted to deal with this injury now so that Essengue will have next summer to work on his game (whether he will play in Summer League remains to be seen).

This season, Essengue played just six total minutes for the Bulls. In four G-League games, Essengue averaged 23 points a game on 50.8% from the floor, plus grabbing 8.5 rebounds a game.