Chicago Bulls 2025 NBA Draft grades for every pick

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The post Chicago Bulls 2025 NBA Draft grades for every pick appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The picks are in. Last week, the Chicago Bulls used the 12th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft to select French phenom Noa Essengue. In the second round, they traded away the 45th pick and ended up using the 55th pick to select Australian big man Lachlan Olbrich. Leading up to draft day , it sounded like the top contenders for the Bulls in the first round were Essengue, Derik Queen and Collin Murray-Boyles. Murray-Boyles was taken with the ninth pick in the draft, so it likely came down to Queen or Essengue. Queen has a lot of potential, but there were also a lot of concerns about him. The Bulls picked Essengue, and Queen was taken by the Atlanta Hawks with the next pick.
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For a while leading up to the draft, it was sounding like the Bulls wanted to take Derik Queen. There were a lot of mixed opinions surrounding that pick in the fan base, but there are a lot of mixed reactions about Noa Essengue as well. He has a ton of potential and raw talent, but there are fans worried about the team's ability to develop him into an elite NBA player. The same goes for Lachlan Olbrich. They both need development.
There were also talks about the Bulls potentially trading up to try to draft a player like Ace Bailey. Bailey was originally expected to be a top-three pick, but he slid down to #5. The Bulls decided that it wasn't worth trading up, and they were confident that they could get a talented player at 12. They went with Noa Essengue.
Now the wait is over. The Bulls made their picks, and they got two players that have picked up valuable professional experience overseas. Let's grade these draft picks and break it all down.
Bulls Noa Essengue draft grade: B
Noa Essengue is coming to the Bulls from Europe as he has been playing for Ratiopharm Ulm, a professional team located in Ulm, Germany. Essengue played in 18 games during the 2024-25 season, and he averaged 12.4 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 56% from the floor. Essengue doesn't shoot a ton of threes and shot just under 30% from beyond the arc.
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Essengue is one of the youngest prospects in the draft as he doesn't turn 19 until December. He has tremendous length as he stands at 6'10', and he has a 7'1″ wingspan.
It might take Essengue a little while to flourish at the next level because of his age, but he has the tools to be successful. He is tremendous on the defensive end which is a big plus for the Bulls, and his athleticism and size make him difficult to defend on offense. His shooting is something that needs to be worked on as defenders don't have to worry about him shooting the deep ball very often. Because of that, it makes it more challenging for Essengue to easily get to the rim. If he can become a shooting threat, it will make him a completely different player.
There was some chatter about the Bulls potentially drafting a guard despite having plenty of depth there, but they obviously did not go that route. Chicago needed to improve the frontcourt as Nikola Vucevic is not only nearing the end of his career, but he is also one of the team's most likely trade candidates. If Noa Essengue pans out the way the Bulls hope, they will have size and athleticism down low for a long time.
Here is what ClutchPoints' NBA insider Brett Siegel said about Noa Essengue before the draft:
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'There continues to be a lot of talk about some teams wanting to trade up in this year's draft to grab Noa Essengue, a polarizing French prospect who has the length and lateral quickness to be an impactful forward right away,' Siegel wrote. 'While multiple teams inside the top 10 have interest in Essengue, there are also teams like the Thunder outside of the lottery that have been linked to him. Esengue could go anywhere from 8-15 in this year's draft, as it does appear as if Oklahoma City would be his floor.'
Overall, this is a solid pick for the Bulls. We can analyze it as much as we want, but only time will tell how good of a pick this is. Noa Essengue clearly has the talent to be an outstanding player in the NBA, but the Bulls will need to be there to develop him along the way. If Chicago can do that, this pick should end up working out.
Bulls Lachlan Olbrich draft grade: B-
Rememeber, the Bulls were originally in possession of the 45th overall pick in the NBA Draft, but they traded that pick to the Los Angeles Lakers. In return, the Bulls received the 55th overall pick and cash. With that 55th pick, the Bulls selected big man Lachlan Olbrich.
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Lachlan Olbrich is a 6'9″, 230 lb power forward/center, and he has spent the last two years playing professional basketball in Australia. Olbrich played college basketball at UC Riverside, and then he went back to his home country to play for the Illawarra Hawks in the National Basketball League. Getting that professional experience readied Olbrich to be selected in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Olbrich averaged 8.7 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game this past season as the Hawks went on to win the NBL championship. He is great at scoring down low, but he is not much of a shooter. That would be a good thing for him to add to his game, and he could use some work on the defensive end as well.
Overall, Olbrich is a solid player to take in the second round of the NBA Draft, but this draft grade is lowered a bit because of Chicago's decision to trade away the 45th overall pick. This team is trying to build from the ground up with young talent, so why not hang on to your earlier draft pick?
Olrbich certainly has more developing to do than Noa Essengue as he isn't as ready as the Bulls' first round draft pick, but the potential is there. The Bulls selected a couple of players that need work, but the team clearly has confidence in the staff to develop these guys into productive NBA players.
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