Washington Wizards Set for First Back-to-Back, Face Chicago Bulls

The Washington Wizards will look to put the first loss of the season behind them when they travel for the first road game, along with the first back-to-back, of the 2026-27 regular season.

The Wizards are set to tipoff against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night while Washington is looking for its first win against the Eastern Conference foe since Jan. 1, 2025 after the Bulls took all three meetings last season.

Just like Washington, the Bulls have opened the regular season against both the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks with Saturday marking the Bulls' home opener. Chicago opened up the regular season with a 43 point loss against Toronto before securing the first win of the season on Friday afternoon following a seven point win against the Bucks.

With both teams looking to go above .500, Saturday could potentially not feature a pair of prospects who went top four in the 2026 NBA Draft with AJ Dybantsa missing the last two games with what the team ruled as an ankle injury.

Yet the Wizards will still prepare for rookie Caleb Wilson, providing an intriguing matchup for the Wizards' frontcourt that has watched Deandre Ayton, Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr man the paint through the first two games.

As of 9 AM on Saturday, neither Washington nor Chicago have submitted injury reports. Washington entered Friday night with Dybantsa sidelined alongside Tristan Vukcevic and Jamir Watkins, while rookie forward Felix Okpara was available vs. Toronto after being listed as questionable with an illness ahead of tipoff.

Still, Saturday marks the chance for the Wizards to answer the test in the first back-to-back of the season. While part of the question will be whether head coach Brian Keefe will have his full roster available given Anthony Davis will now tested with two games in two days for the first time with the organization, the other will be how the team responds after being punched in the mouth for the first time this season.

Washington will face a Chicago Bulls team that ranks among the worst in the NBA in turnovers, giving the Wizards a chance to be the more efficient team, a potentially important showing given they recorded 20 turnovers in the loss on Friday night. After cutting back on turnovers in the regular season opening win, Washington will have a chance to showcased better efficiency on the road.

Tipoff is set for 8 PM ET.