NBA free agent Jaden Ivey spotted street preaching after firing by Chicago Bulls

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Monday, April 06, 2026

Less than a week after being waived by the Chicago Bulls, purportedly “due to conduct detrimental to the team” for calling the NBA’s celebration of LGBT pride month “unrighteousness,” NBA free agent Jaden Ivey has taken his Christian message to the streets of Chicago.

“And eat of the tree of life. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” Ivey declares in a viral video clip showing him preaching in Chicago. The video, which has more than 40,000 views, was posted over the weekend by TikTok user Kedrick Atwater with the message: “Y'all free my boy Jaden Ivey, man, so he can make a FDO hit.”

The video has also been shared across several social media platforms, triggering a range of reactions, including strong support from many in the Evangelical community.

“Jaden Ivey is out here preaching on the streets after the Chicago Bulls fired him for his bold Christian faith. They called it ‘conduct detrimental to the team.’ He calls it preaching the Gospel. I’ve been saying it — this man is called to preach,” wrote pastor and apologist, the Rev. Jordan Wells, in a statement on X.

“He didn’t fold under pressure. While the world mocks him and cancels him, Heaven is celebrating his obedience. What good is it to gain the NBA, the money, the fame … and forfeit your soul? Jaden chose Jesus over the league,” he continued. “Respect. Keep pushing forward, brother. The same God who closed that door is opening a greater one. The world may reject you, but God is raising you up.”

Josh Howerton, senior pastor of the multi-site Lakepointe Church in Texas, also praised Ivey for standing up for his faith.

“To understand what just happened to NBA star Jaden Ivey, all we have to do is go back to Daniel in the Bible. Obey God rather than men,” Howerton wrote in a statement on Facebook.

Ivey, who was selected as the fifth overall pick by the Detroit Pistons in the 2022 NBA Draft and has been vocal about his faith throughout his time in the league, was waived by the Chicago Bulls after declaring that the NBA is promoting “unrighteousness” with its celebration of LGBT pride month.

“The world can proclaim LGBTQ, right?” Ivey told his more than 200,000 followers in an Instagram lifestream. “They proclaim pride month. And the NBA, they proclaim it. They show it to the world. They say, ‘Come join us for pride month to celebrate unrighteousness.’ They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim it in the streets. Unrighteousness.”

In another video shared on Instagram, Ivey challenged the claim that the profession of his faith values has been detrimental to the team.

"[The Bulls] said my conduct is detrimental to the team," he said. "Why didn't they just say, 'We don't agree with his stance on LGBTQ'? Why didn't they say that? ... How is it conduct detrimental to the team? What did I do to the team? What did I do to the players?"

Ivey, who previously shared that he was sexually abused as a child, also called Bulls officials “liars.”

“They’re lying, saying my conduct is detrimental to the team. That’s a lie. Ask any one of them coaches in there, ‘Was I a good teammate?’ All I’m preaching about is Jesus Christ, and they waived me. They say I’m crazy, right? I’m psycho,” he said. “I didn’t get myself waived. I was in the gym today. I was rehabbing, doing what was required of my job.”

Chicago traded for Ivey at February’s trade deadline. He had a contract that expired at the end of the season. The waived guard only played four games for the Bulls before he was shut down for the rest of the season by the team because of injury, days before his controversial comments.