The City of Chicago holds deep pride in its sports teams. This is despite the fact that each franchise within the City has had a history of inconsistent success, at best.
However, if anyone has been paying attention recently, Chicago sports may be on the verge of a renaissance.
- As we all know, the Chicago Bears have a talented young team that threatened an NFC Championship berth for the first time since 2010.
- The Chicago Bulls have found an exciting Head Coach and General Manager combo to help lead a young/talented roster that recently added fourth overall pick, Caleb Wilson.
- The Chicago Cubs are on track to make a second consecutive postseason, with one of the most electric young players in Pete Crow-Armstrong leading the charge.
- The Chicago White Sox have surprised many by leading the AL Central 90 games into the season, sporting an exciting young core of Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery, and Munetaka Murakami.
- The Chicago Blackhawks continue to stockpile talent, and have improved their record in each of the last two seasons and have playoff aspirations in 2026/27 during Connor Bedard’s age 21(!) season.
- The Chicago Sky have been wheeling and dealing, turning over the roster dramatically after down years, and despite a poor record (and injuries) in 2026, a core of Kamilla Cardoso, Gabriela Jaquez, and Rickea Jackson looks promising.
- The Chicago Fire sits third in the MLS standings through 14 contests, led by Hugo Cuypers’ 13 goals.
- The Chicago Stars have had a difficult 2026 season after finishing last in the league in 2025. They currently have a 3-9 record.
Of the 8 professional sports teams in Chicago, an argument could be made for 7 of them having their arrow pointing up. Which got me thinking – could Chicago sports be a few years away from multiple championship contenders?
Which Chicago sports franchise will win a championship next?
This
is a Chicago Bears blog, and I truly think that the Bears are poised to win a championship next among these teams. However, I am going to zag and make an argument for the….Chicago Bulls?
Look – I will take any and all grief thrown my way for choosing one of the two Jerry Reinsdorf franchises. Reinsdorf, the owner of the White Sox (until 2029-2033 when Justin Ishbia plans to take over) and Bulls, is not known for prioritizing winning, or more accurately put – spending.
With that said, his franchises have won in the past despite him, so while he may not be a reason they win, he is also not a complete roadblock either. As long as there are butts in seats…
My reason for choosing the Bulls is simple: the NBA is fully of parity at the moment. No other league can come close to sporting the distinction of 8 different teams in the last 8 years. The reason to me is clear – there aren’t any megastars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, or Michael Jordan to dominate the league, but an abundance of Stars to compete.
So the likes of Jalen Brunson, SGA, Jayson Tatum, Nikola Jokic, etc. are all excellent players, but they aren’t top 10 all time. This means that if the Bulls can find a “Star” level talent, they could quickly ascend to championship contention.
I think Caleb Wilson could be that “Star”.
Just a few weeks ago, Draymond Green (maybe not the most authoritative voice in the league) said Wilson’s floor is “Kevin Garnett”. We should all take this with a heaping pile of salt, but still, it shows what Wilson could be capable of. He’s young, motivated (I see you Dayo), has prototypical size, and is wildly talented. If he puts it all together, he could be a top-five player in the NBA before his third season. I am not going to bet against a highly drafted Tarheel in Chicago.
So, while my head says that the Bears are building a sustainable and competitive team that will absolutely compete for a Super Bowl, I think the Bulls could have a shortcut to the Larry O’Brien trophy on their team.
Let me know if I’m stupid, blind, ignorant, or otherwise in the comments, please.
Now it’s your turn! Who do you think will be the next Chicago franchise to win a championship? Sound off in the comments!
