On Thursday, the Chicago Bulls ruled Jaden Ivey out for the rest of the 2025-26 season due to a knee injury, and he has now sparked concerns about his mental well-being. Ivey preached his faith during a 75-minute-long Instagram Live session over the weekend, and then sent out some controversial messages while reacting to fan comments.
Most notably, when one asked Ivey if he went to confession, he made a strong anti-Catholic statement.
“Catholicism is a false religion. And is not the true Doctrine of Christ. [It] does not lead to salvation in Jesus Christ.”
While this comment alone would raise eyebrows, it should also be pointed out that Ivey’s mother, Niele, is the head coach of Notre Dame’s women’s basketball team. The university was, of course, founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Roman Catholic congregation of priests and brothers. You wonder how this comment will go down there.
Another fan commended Ivey for speaking up for God, but also raised concern about his casting judgment on others who don’t align with his interpretation of the gospel. In response, the 24-year-old claimed the individual isn’t righteous.
“You don’t judge righteously because you yourself are not righteous. You clearly have a speck in your eye, so you [can’t] get a speck out of someone else’s eye.”
When a concerned fan sent prayers, Ivey had a clear message for them.
“God does not hear your Prayer if you are a sinner.”
All of this has fans understandably concerned about Ivey’s mental health, but he insists all is well. When asked to reach out to his loved ones if he’s having a rough time, he claimed to have peace and joy.
As for the Instagram Live, Judgement Day is something Ivey brought up on a fair few occasions during it.
“Y’all don’t take the word of God seriously,” Ivey said. “… 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?'”
Ivey, of course, went to Purdue for college and was then drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the fifth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. The Pistons chose to cut ties with him days before the 2026 trade deadline, sending him to the Bulls on Feb. 3. Ivey also later claimed, “The Pistons not gonna matter on Judgement Day,” and you can check out the entire clip below.
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You’d hope all is well.
It has been a difficult year or so for Ivey on the professional front. He suffered a broken left fibula in a game against the Orlando Magic on Jan. 1, 2025, and missed the rest of the 2024-25 season.
Ivey then missed the first 15 games of the 2025-26 season for the Pistons as well. He looked far from his best once he did return, which surely played a part in their decision to ship him out of town.
You wondered if a fresh start would do Ivey wonders, but he only managed to play four games for the Bulls this season. He averaged 11.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in them.
Ivey will become a restricted free agent in the summer, and it’ll be very interesting to see what happens with him.
