Thursday night at Chicago’s United Center was supposed to be a classic NBA showdown between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls. Instead, fans, players, and coaches were met with a bizarre and frustrating twist: the game was postponed after a nearly two-hour delay, all thanks to an unplayable, slippery court caused by relentless condensation. It’s the kind of off-court drama that rarely makes headlines—yet on January 8, 2026, it became the story everyone was talking about.
The matchup had all the makings of a pivotal midseason clash. The Bulls, sitting at 17-20 and desperate to snap a three-game losing streak, were eager to turn things around in front of their home crowd. The Heat, meanwhile, came to Chicago with a 20-17 record, looking to build momentum on the second leg of a four-game road trip. Oddsmakers even pegged Miami as 6.5-point favorites, with the over/under set at 237.5 points—a testament to the offensive fireworks many anticipated.
But as tipoff approached, something felt off. Referee Sean Wright described the scene: "At 9:13 on the warm-up clock, some Miami players came and said the court was real slippery and at the same time some Bulls players came over as well. So, I checked the court conditions and then I immediately got on the horn and notified the (NBA) Replay Center what was going on." The court, it turned out, was slick with moisture—an issue that quickly became apparent to everyone on the floor.
Efforts to fix the problem were nothing short of Herculean. Arena workers hustled across the hardwood with thick towels, mops, and even buckets to wring out the excess water. At times, the towels and mops absorbed so much moisture that staff had to squeeze them out over buckets right there on the sidelines. The United Center, home to both the Bulls and the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, had hosted a hockey game the night before, and the ice rink beneath the basketball court was melting at the edges. Combine that with unseasonably warm, rainy weather—temperatures in the mid-50s and humidity levels near 60 percent inside the arena—and you had a recipe for a perfect storm of condensation.
The fans, for their part, waited patiently—at least at first. The initial tipoff time of 7:05 p.m. local was pushed back, and around 7:45 p.m. the public address system announced that the delay would continue. That’s when the boos started to rain down. Bulls guard Tre Jones, who was in the starting lineup on his 26th birthday, summed up the uncertainty: "They were just telling us, that pretty much, they were gonna’ keep waiting. It was like 15-minute segments and every 15 minutes would go by and they’re just like trying to continue to work on it to make sure we had a safe playing field, but just couldn’t get it figured out."
Players from both teams tried to make the best of the situation. Some shot around, others chatted, and a few even played impromptu games of H-O-R-S-E to pass the time. Benny the Bull, the beloved Bulls mascot, entertained the crowd by teaching rookie Matas Buzelis his signature over-the-head half-court shot. WNBA star A’ja Wilson, in attendance to support her partner Bam Adebayo, snapped photos of Heat players from courtside. But as the minutes ticked by, hope faded. The Bulls’ side of the court dried out more quickly, but the Heat’s remained stubbornly slick.
By 8:25 p.m., officials, players, and coaches returned to the floor to reassess. Bulls head coach Billy Donovan and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra were seen deep in conversation, no doubt weighing the risks. Spoelstra later explained, "We always want to try to go. The players were complaining about it on both sides. So pretty much indeed we felt that it wasn’t playable. We have that in our practice facility and when there’s condensation it takes about 15 minutes for it to change. So we weren’t too optimistic it was going to change."
Ultimately, safety won out. At 8:53 p.m., nearly two hours after the scheduled start, the game was officially postponed. The announcement was met with a mix of disappointment and understanding from the crowd. Referee Sean Wright made it clear: "We tried to work together to see if we could fix the problem. We had ongoing talks and tried some different stuff on the court, and nothing seemed to work. Player safety is always the most important despite the efforts by the United Center to rectify the situation. We were unsuccessful in doing so, and we decided that player safety was the most import and we just couldn’t guarantee a safe on-court experience."
For many, this was a first. "It was my first time dealing with something like this since I’ve been in the league," said Tre Jones, reflecting on the surreal turn of events. The unique combination of a recent hockey game, rapid changeover from ice to hardwood, and Chicago’s warm, humid weather created conditions that simply couldn’t be overcome, no matter how many towels or mops were deployed.
It’s not the first time an NBA game has been postponed due to condensation. In 2017, a Minnesota Timberwolves–Portland Trail Blazers game was rescheduled after a similar issue at the Target Center. Still, such incidents are rare—and the logistical headache of rescheduling looms large. The Bulls, for instance, were set for a home-away back-to-back after playing in Detroit the previous night, while the Heat had a road back-to-back looming against the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. There’s not a two-day break in the Bulls’ season until after the All-Star break, making the task of finding a suitable date for the makeup game a challenge for NBA schedulers.
Fans who had tickets for Thursday’s game need not worry—the Bulls have promised that those tickets will be honored for the rescheduled contest. As for the players, they’ll have to wait a little longer to settle things on the court. The Heat will remain in Chicago until Friday afternoon before heading to Indianapolis, while the Bulls will prepare for their next home stand, hoping that the United Center’s hardwood is back to its usual, playable self.
On a night when basketball was supposed to take center stage, it was the weather—and a stubbornly slick court—that stole the show. The NBA, the teams, and the fans now look ahead to the rescheduled date, eager to see the action that was put on ice—quite literally—by Chicago’s unpredictable winter.
