Getty
Jaden Ivey #31 of the Chicago Bulls goes to the basket as Ben Saraf #77 of the Brooklyn Nets defends in the first half at Barclays Center on February 09, 2026 in New York City.
The NBA world is deeply concerned with the behavior of 24-year-old Chicago Bulls guard Jaden Ivey, who has been posting lengthy, religious rants on Instagram, while also calling out fans for not being “righteous” enough.
“There is growing concern surrounding Jaden Ivey,” NBA insider Evan Sidery wrote on X, while reacting to an IG live video shared by Ivey on Sunday night.
“Ivey, who admitted to dealing with depression this year, has deleted all of social media and is now posting hour-long religious rants by himself on Instagram.”
“‘The old me is dead,’ Ivey said earlier this season about his career,” added Sidery.
Jaden Ivey Warns of ‘Judgment Day’
The IG live video in question can be seen below, in which Ivey spoke at length about salvation, his past sins and why the game of basketball pales in comparison to the plans that God has for him and others in his Kingdom.
“Y’all don’t take the word of God seriously,” Ivey lamented.
“…The Lord is not going to say on Judgment Day, ‘What’s the updated score? What’s the score of Purdue Boilermakers? What’s the score of the Detroit Pistons? Jesus is not going to say that on Judgment Day.
“He’s going to say, ‘What did you do for my Kingdom?’”
Jaden Ivey Argues With Fans
Shortly after posting the IG video, Ivey went back and forth with several fans, expressing strong anti-Catholic sentiments.
“Catholicism is a false religion. And is not the true Doctrine of Christ. [It] does not lead to salvation in Jesus Christ,” he wrote when asked if he had ever made a confession.
One user, named andrewjav13r, said that he was concerned with Ivey “casting a lot of judgment” of others who don’t align with his interpretation of the Gospel.
In response, Ivey claimed the user wasn’t “righteous” enough to pose such a question.
“You don’t judge righteously because you yourself are not righteous,” Ivey said. “You clearly have a speck in your eye, so you [can’t] get a speck out of someone else’s eye.”
Ivey, once viewed as a blossoming star in the NBA, has seen his young career derailed by injuries. After suffering a broken fibula in January 2025, he missed the rest of the 2024-25 season and sat out the first 15 games of the 2025-26 season while undergoing a “reconditioning” process to return to basketball. Upon returning from injury, Ivey struggled to reclaim his starting role, averaging just 16.8 minutes over 33 games for J.B. Bickerstaff’s team before being traded to Chicago.
The Bulls have shut down Ivey (knee injury) for the remainder of the season after the former No. 5 overall pick played just five games for the team following his trade from the Detroit Pistons before the February deadline. Ivey, a restricted free agent this offseason, is not a lock to return to Chicago next year.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
More Heavy on Bulls
Loading more stories