Bulls first-round pick Noa Essengue's rookie season ends with six minutes played

Chicago Bulls rookie Noa Essengue will require surgery to address a left shoulder injury and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network.

The update comes from head coach Billy Donovan, who had previously noted that Essengue suffered the injury, which was initially diagnosed as a shoulder contusion, in a G League contest.

Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic quotes Donovan as saying that, in terms of recovery timelines, “Usually those things are six to seven months,” and added that the team preferred to address the injury now, rather than have it linger into the offseason.

Essentially Noa Essengue's entire rookie season was lost

After being selected 12th in the 2025 draft, Essengue only managed to play six minutes for the Bulls this season, recording one steal and one foul in that time.

He played four games for the Windy City Bulls G League team, where he averaged 23.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 30.8 minutes per game.

Johnson adds that Donovan said he had spoken with Essengue after shootaround, and that he was handling the news well.