Matas Buzelis had a strong finish to his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, and his teammate Ayo Dosunmu has loved what he has seen from him. During an interview with Joe Cowley, Dosunmu claimed Buzelis could one day dominate the NBA the way Giannis Antetokounmpo has.
“I’m seeing him in person, him getting stronger,” Dosunmu said. “He’s starting to realize how strong he is and how he’s able to dominate. I know Giannis is a Hall of Famer, top 20, top 30 player [all time], but Matas has a chance to really dominate the game like that because he’s 6-10, 6-11, and as he continues to get stronger, continues to get in the weight room, he’s only going to get bigger.
“So I think he’s going to continue to grow gradually like that in terms of him being able to finish, rebound, him being able to just dominate the game, and that’s definitely going to show,” Dosunmu added.
Buzelis, who chose to play in the G League instead of going to college, entered the NBA with a fair bit of hype. The Bulls selected him with the 11th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, but his career didn’t get off to the greatest of starts.
Buzelis found playing time hard to come by at first. Come the end of January, his season averages were just 5.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. It was a rather nondescript rookie season, apart from the odd highlight play.
The Bulls would fortunately decide to give Buzelis a chance to shine in early February by making him a starter. The 20-year-old certainly took full advantage of the opportunity presented to him.
Buzelis averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game as a starter. He was fairly efficient too, shooting 47.3% from the field and 34.9% from beyond the arc in that time.
All in all, Buzelis finished his rookie season with averages of 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. He was rewarded for his play with a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team.
Now, Buzelis’ numbers might not indicate he’s going to be a force like Antetokounmpo is, but you wouldn’t have thought that about the Milwaukee Bucks superstar either. Antetokounmpo averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game as a rookie.
Antetokounmpo showed some promise, but did anyone think he was going to be a two-time MVP who would lead the Bucks to a title? Certainly not. Antetokounmpo only became an All-Star for the first time in his fourth season, but then quickly went on to establish himself as one of the very best players in the NBA.
That said, not everyone is going to have a trajectory like Antetokounmpo’s. Only time will tell if Buzelis has what it takes to become a dominant force in the NBA.
