Chicago Bulls’ Matas Buzelis Has a Message for the NBA

Buzelis was coming off a solid outing personally. Checking in as a starter, alongside Jalen Smith, Nikola Vucevic, Tre Jones, and Josh Giddey, Buzelis played for 25 minutes during the preseason finale.

via @pointmadebball: Another day, another opportunity to question how in the world Matas Buzelis fell outside of the top-10 on draft day. There’s just no way teams should’ve been afraid to bet on a player with this level of feel, size & athleticism

@TheHoopCentral: MATAS BUZELIS WINDMILL

On Thursday, Buzelis shot 8-13 from the field. He went 2-5 from beyond the arc. The veteran forward produced 19 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.

Chicago defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-120.

The Bulls just squeezed their way into the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament last season. With a 39-43 record, the Bulls placed 10th in the East, trailing the Chicago Bulls by one game.

As a rookie, Buzelis appeared in all but two games. He started 31 of the 80 games he played, appearing on the court for 18.9 minutes per game.

The rookie produced 8.6 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.9 blocks. He made 45 percent of his shots from the field and drained 36 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

Heading into the 2024 NBA Draft, Buzlis was one of the final draft prospects to come from the NBA G League Ignite program. His teammate, Ron Holland, was drafted fifth overall by the Detroit Pistons. Buzelis fell to No. 11, where the Bulls made the call to take him on.

At 21, Buzelis is viewed as a key player for the future of the Bulls. He still has plenty to learn in the league, but the young second-year player is showing solid strides in his development through the preseason so far. His sophomore campaign will begin next week, when the Bulls host the Detroit Pistons for the season opener.

Buzelis and the Bulls will get a fresh start as they hope to prove to the Eastern Conference that they can be a dark-horse threat.

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