Bulls Center Nic Claxton Expected to Make Season Debut Sunday vs. 76ers

He won't fix all of the Bulls' problems, but a healthy Nic Claxton could provide a massive boost to a struggling Chicago team in the season's early going.

Claxton has been the Bulls' projected starting center since the team acquired him via trade in June. However, a left hamstring strain during training camp has sidelined the 27-year-old big man for most of the last month, keeping him out of all five preseason games and every regular season game during the Bulls' 1-7 start.

Two and a half weeks into the 2026-27 campaign, Claxton's return is imminent. The veteran center practiced with the G League's Windy City Bulls on Thursday and was a "full go" in the Chicago Bulls' Friday practice. When asked if he expects Claxton to play at home against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, head coach Tiago Splitter said, "probably," though all signs point to Claxton's debut being more likely than not.

"One of the good things that Nic brings is he rolls to the basket, puts pressure on the rim," Splitter said following Friday's practice. "Him and Josh [Giddey] should create problems for defenses attacking the rim both at the same time."

Through eight games, the Bulls rank 28th in the league in offensive rating, 30th in defensive rating and 30th in net rating. Chicago is being outscored by an NBA-worst 17.5 points per 100 possessions, nearly five points worse than the next-lowest team.

Granted, the Bulls have also played the third-hardest strength of schedule in the Eastern Conference thus far. Six of their games have come against the reigning champion New York Knicks, the Boston Celtics, the Toronto Raptors and the 76ers, and their next five games will also include matchups with the San Antonio Spurs, the Atlanta Hawks, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Cleveland Cavaliers. An astonishing 11 of Chicago's first 13 games are against teams that reached the postseason last spring.

There's only so much that Claxton can do for one of the most inexperienced teams in the league against many of the juggernauts of the NBA. But the hope is that the 6-foot-11 center will provide much-needed size, defensive aptitude and a veteran presence to the young squad.

Splitter anticipates a minutes restriction for Claxton, whose hamstring injury was the first soft-tissue ailment of his career. Claxton said he feels great ahead of his potential debut.

"You've got to be smart with these injuries because you see people coming back and getting reinjured all the time," Claxton said. "We took more of a precautious look at it. I'm ready now, though. I put the work in and I'm ready to go."

Claxton, in his own words, is "ready to run through a wall." He prides himself on being healthy and available, and after being traded to a new team, not being able to play in Chicago yet has been frustrating. Over his last four seasons in Brooklyn, Claxton played and started at least 68 games in each year.

The Bulls have a lot of work to do, especially on the defensive end. Chicago allowed 84 first-half points to the Knicks on Wednesday and has trailed by deficits of 48, 21, 40, 32, 22 and 44 points during the team's 1-7 start. All eight of the Bulls' opponents so far have scored at least 124 points against them.

Claxton sees the No. 1 defensive issue as communication.

"We need to hear more voices out there; we need to talk more," Claxton said. "Dudes are just too comfortable out there. Obviously, we're playing against some championship-level teams, so they're gonna make tough shots, but I feel like we can make it a lot tougher for them and that's what we need to do going forward. I'll be able to help with that."

Claxton averaged 1.6 blocks per game during seven seasons with the Brooklyn Nets. He finished ninth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2022-23, when he averaged 2.5 blocks per game and made 70.5% of his shot attempts.