The Chicago Bulls’ 2023-24 NBA season is only one game old, but the team is already in mid-season form when it comes to drama and fighting. In the team’s 124-104 opening night loss to the Oklahoman City Thunder, star center Nikola Vucevic and head coach Billy Donovan got into it on the bench, and after the game, the Bulls had a heated, players-only meeting in the locker room.
Toward the end of the third quarter, the Thunder scored an easy layup to take an 81-78 lead. After the bucket, Vucevic threw the ball at the basket stanchion, drawing a technical foul. When Donovan subbed him out, the two had an animated conversation on the bench.
Video of Billy Donovan & Nikola Vucevic getting into on the bench pic.twitter.com/aJGVHHJpju
— Gustavo (@iamvega1982) October 26, 2023
After the loss, Chicago Tribune beat reporter Julia Poe reported that there was a players-only meeting where the team asked Donovan to leave.
“Billy Donovan says when he walked into the Bulls locker room tonight, players were already in heated conversations,” Poe tweeted. “He asked if they wanted him to leave to handle conflict. Players said yes, so he did. Donovan emphasized that embracing conflict is key for this year’s roster.”
After that, Nikola Vucevic, the two-time All-Star who hasn’t lived up to expectations since the Bulls traded for him in 2021, downplayed the incidents.
On the Donovan conflict, Vucevic told reports, “Just not happy with normal certain stuff that we’re doing, and I just expressed it a little maybe more aggressive than I should have in the moment of the game.”
Vucevic gives his perspective on the exchange with Billy, the players only meeting and the positives that come out of these discussions pic.twitter.com/aBzNR2KEMN
— Will Gottlieb (@Will_Gottlieb) October 26, 2023
As for the Bulls’ players-only meeting, the big man said, “A lot of guys said a lot of good things, things that needed to be said. I think we can really use this to learn and change some things that we need to change. It wasn’t anything crazy, no fighting or none of that. It was really constructive. It was maybe one of the first times since I’ve been here that this was like this. And it was really needed.”
What’s in store for game two of 82? We’ll find out Friday when the Bulls host the Toronto Raptors.
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