Chicago Bulls: Matas Buzelis’ Case for Rookie of the Year

Buzelis has an outside chance at bolstering his trophy case in the upcoming NBA season.

Jul 14, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) shouts at a teammate while playing against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into the 2024 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls likely assumed they had no real chance at landing forward Matas Buzelis, who after an up-and-down season in the G League, was still slated to be a top-five to seven draftee.

But on draft night 2024, things shook out differently, with several different prospects jumping ahead of Buzelis.

To the joy of both player and team, Buzelis — who grew up and played basketball in Chicago — landed with the Bulls at No. 11. And he now joins a Chicago team on the precipice of a full-blown rebuild. One of the major reasons he’ll eventually have a great shot at Rookie of the Year, should he come out swinging.

This offseason, the team let their best player in DeMar DeRozan walk, and sent Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a shiny new point guard in Josh Giddey. The team is still compiled of mostly win-now players — including Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and Coby White — but just a few more moves will leave the team in good position for the 2025 NBA Draft.

The Giddey trade likely signals that Buzelis is in line for plenty of minutes in the upcoming season, especially in the latter half.

There’s no guarantee the 6-foot-9 forward will be ready as early as year one. He struggled to stay consistent on both ends in the G League, and the NBA will be a steep learning curve. But Buzelis has long been one of the best players in his class, and he could find his groove with some development in Chicago.

In Summer League, he averaged 16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, struggling with efficiency but putting together several highlight-worthy performances in strong two-way efforts.

It remains to be seen whether Buzelis will have a ROY push in him, but he’ll have the opportunity and seems to have the drive for the upcoming season.

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