Bulls

PARIS -- Victor Wembanyama was sitting courtside, the 19-year-old French phenom and presumed No. 1 NBA draft pick watching some of the players he'll go up ...

It was a "home" game for the Pistons, even though Paris is about 4,000 miles from Detroit. The NBA has teams in the U.S. Mexico played host to a game between San Antonio and Miami last month. [Bojan Bogdanovic](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3593/bojan-bogdanovic) led the Pistons with 25 points. It was also a celebration of the continued strength of the international footprint on today's NBA game. "It is special because we're representing not only Detroit, but the NBA," Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. "It's great for people here in Paris to get an up-close look at the NBA," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. It was amazing. Wembanyama and his family made their way to courtside seats about 15 minutes before tipoff, immediately attracting a huge crowd. [DeMar DeRozan](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3978/demar-derozan) added 26 points for the Bulls, and [Nikola Vucevic](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6478/nikola-vucevic) finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists. [Hamidou Diallo](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4080610/hamidou-diallo) had 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting for Detroit, while [Saddiq Bey](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4397136/saddiq-bey) and [Jaden Ivey](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4433218/jaden-ivey) each scored 16 for the Pistons. [Zach LaVine](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3064440/zach-lavine) -- who said his great-grandfather was French -- scored 30 points and the [Chicago Bulls](/nba/team/_/name/chi/chicago-bulls) never trailed in a 126-108 win over the [Detroit Pistons](/nba/team/_/name/det/detroit-pistons) at the NBA Paris Game on Thursday.

Bulls CEO Michael Reinsdorf is appreciative of the franchise's storied past and global brand but doesn't want to merely live in the past.

My memory of the game was sitting in the stands and people smoking cigarettes during the game, which I couldn’t believe that was still a thing,” Reinsdorf said. “This started out with the Dream Team in 1992 and the NBA is the second-most popular sport in the world and I think there’s a great opportunity for the NBA to play games all over the world.” “My memory of the game is I was actually nervous. I think this is a great opportunity for the NBA,” Reinsdorf said. “But we can’t shy away from the fact back in the 90s we won six championships in eight years and we were one of the first global teams in sports. “We don’t want to rest on what happened in the ‘90s.

The Bulls embraced the responsibility of representing the NBA on their international trip both on and off the court and hope to carry the positive momentum ...

With only nine games remaining on the Bulls' schedule before the Feb. 9 trade deadline, the team has reached a critical stage.

[Orlando](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/magic/), [Houston](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/rockets/) and [San Antonio](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/spurs/), teams with a combined 40-94 record. Before delighting the crowd with four dunks, [Derrick Jones Jr.](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/derrick-jones-jr-dCHS5R1hLEo4AXgQ/) proposed to his girlfriend, Sherry, at a team dinner. If the Bulls don’t make improvements and Ball doesn’t return, Chicago likely will land where no franchise should voluntarily choose: in the middle. If the Bulls aren’t good enough to compete for a championship this season, and because they don’t own their own draft pick, rendering bottoming out pointless, the question becomes what are they doing? Four-time NBA champion and French legend Tony Parker welcomed the crowd inside Accor Arena, alongside Vučević and [Killian Hayes](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/killian-hayes-n5aDTrWfghYABogB/), the Pistons’ starting point guard and a native of France. If they ignore the team’s inconsistency and allow the roster a chance to get right, what happens if it never does? The Bulls (21-24) will return from France only three games under .500., a record they haven’t held since Nov. Or would it be wiser if the Bulls start selling assets and retooling the roster? [all they could to turn the trip into a family affair](https://theathletic.com/4100420/2023/01/17/bulls-pistons-nba-paris/). [NBA](https://theathletic.com/nba/) behind them, the Bulls and Pistons put on quite a show for the people in France. With only nine games remaining on the Bulls’ schedule before the Feb. Well, that certainly would break the monotony and possibly serve as the catalyst that frees Chicago from inconsistency.

Three quick observations from Thursday afternoon's 126-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls at Accor Arena in Paris.

Hayes took a hard tumble under the basket in the game’s final minutes but stayed in the game. He hit all four of his shots from the field and 3 of 4 foul shots while adding two blocks, an assist and a steal. The Pistons struggled to shoot from the perimeter, hitting 8 of 34 from the 3-point arc – two in the final minute – and when a nine-point halftime deficit ballooned to 16 less than four minutes into the second half it turned into an uphill battle. REPLENISHED – After playing with only one big man for four straight games, forcing Hamidou Diallo and Kevin Knox to serve as makeshift centers, the Pistons inched toward a full complement of players. The Pistons wouldn’t get it back to single digits again until less than eight minutes remaining when Isaiah Livers’ triple cut the deficit to nine and made the Pistons 5 of 27 from three at that point. It was technically a home game for the Pistons, but it was the Bulls who looked comfortable from opening tip and forced a Dwane Casey timeout less than three minutes into the game when Chicago built a 9-2 lead.

The Chicago Bulls will have DeMar DeRozan back in the starting lineup on Thursday.

As for the Pistons, they are 12-35 in 47 games, which has them as the 15th seed (last place) in the east. Bulls: "DeMar DeRozan WILL play today vs. [Chicago Bulls](https://www.si.com/nba/team/chicago-bulls) and [Detroit Pistons](https://www.si.com/nba/team/detroit-pistons) are facing off in Paris, France.

More than 100 radio and TV broadcasters were considered. The top 20 follow, with last year's rank in parentheses. And, new this year, I included the bottom ...

Leila Rahimi (10): The daily gig at The Score ended when she was promoted to lead sports anchor at NBC 5. He calls the Brewers the “beer makers” and has renamed Wrigley Field “the federal landmark.” Please, stop. He has mispronounced names, and his voice-overs might not sync with the highlights. Laurence Holmes (7): He went from his own two-hour show on The Score to a four-hour extravaganza with Dan Bernstein that’s the highest-rated sports radio show in town. Jon Sciambi (4): Speaking of pleasant, that’s exactly how to describe listening to “Boog” call a Cubs game with Jim Deshaies on Marquee. Pat Hughes (3): Making the Cubs Hall of Fame was nice, but making the Baseball Hall of Fame was incredible. But he and Holmes (with weekly appearances by Rahimi) have doused that thought. Dan Bernstein (11): When Leila Rahimi left her regular gig on The Score, I was in favor of Bernstein working alone. He and Tom Waddle are the longest-tenured radio partners in the city. He’s patient and polite with callers, and his banter with colleagues shows how tight the ESPN 1000 crew is. Jason Benetti (1): It was a big year for Benetti, who was the voice of Peacock’s package of Sunday MLB games, then left ESPN for Fox, where he called his first NFL game on TV. The Cubs’ radio voice since 1996 has added some TV to his resume on Marquee Sports Network, and he shows no sign of slowing down.

DeMar DeRozan will play in his 999th career game on Thursday night when he returns from missing three games with a strained right quad, but the 14-year grew ...

Victor Wembanyama, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, sat courtside for the Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons game in Paris.

[Metropolitans 92](https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/nba-twitter-cant-believe-victor-wembanyama-rudy-gobert-picture). [Click here to follow the Bulls Talk Podcast.](https://link.chtbl.com/BullsTalk) [highlight-reel plays](https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/5-takeaways-victor-wembanyama-scoot-henderson-dazzle-exhibition-game). Wembanyama, 19, is a generational prospect. The Pistons entered play Thursday with the NBA's second-worst record at 12-35. [Wemby sweepstakes](https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/top-nba-prospect-victor-wembanyama-speaks-basketball-future) at 14%.

Chicago Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf discusses how the team is expanding their global brand and why they're looking to play more games overseas.

“This started out with the Dream Team in 1992, and the NBA is the second-most popular sport in the world and I think there’s a great opportunity for the NBA to play games all over the world.” “We don’t want to rest on what happened in the ‘90s. With Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman not joining the squad for that tournament, Jordan had to carry the team once again. Jordan himself played for the Bulls' team that came to France in 1997 and won the McDonalds' Championship. So to have our first real regular-season game in Europe, it does get me excited, and I think the players are excited,” From the [Derrick Rose](https://www.basketballnetwork.net/tag/derrick-rose) era to the team's recent resurgence, the Bulls have been a global phenomenon.

PARIS — With Victor Wembanyama sitting courtside and watching some of the players he'll go up against next season, Zach LaVine scored 30 points and the ...

TIMBERWOLVES 128, RAPTORS 126: D’Angelo Russell scored 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Anthony Edwards had 23 and host Minnesota rallied to beat Toronto. He made a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Jaylen Brown had 16 points and nine rebounds.

Call it guarded optimism for Donovan, but his hope is all the time spent together in Paris will carry weight in his players attacking the game the right way ...

“There’s no guarantee you’ll win the game if you do do it, but you have no chance of winning the game if you don’t. That’s why they entered Friday sitting 10th and in the final play-in spot. According to sources, as of now there were no signs that executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisoivas was looking to be a seller. Bottom line is we’ve got to do it every night. “I don’t want to say that, because there’s been some other times that I felt we did.’’ Then there were three-straight wins over Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Utah, followed up with three-straight losses to Boston, Washington, and then embarrassment against Oklahoma City.

The Bulls are 10-6 since allowing 150 points in a regular-season game for the first time in 40 years and own offensive and defensive ratings in the top-10.

A microcosm of the NBA's and Chicago Bulls' worldwide image, the kid symbolizes how far and fast the NBA and basketball have grown around the world, ...

"I wear No. I wore No. I always tried to do everything he did mindset-wise, hard work." Wear the same number, wear the same shoes, play the same way. Because you're my idol and I would like to know why you're No. 8 and when you were young who were you admiring?"

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine had a heartwarming moment in his postgame news conference after the Bulls' win over the Pistons in Paris on Thursday as a ...