Over the past decade, Giannis Antetokounmpo grew from a wild card first-round pick to one of the game's premiere talents. As he continues to put together an all-time resumé, one current player feels one of his teammates could see a similar type of trajectory in the NBA.
With the 11th pick in the 2024 draft, the Chicago Bulls took a flier on G-League Ignite prospect Matas Buzelis. Though he came out of the gates slow, the versatile forward showed a lot of promise towards the end of his first year in the league. In 27 appearances following the All-Star break, Buzelis averaged 13.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.9 APG.
Earlier this month, numerous members of the Bulls agreed to link up for early offseason training. Among the standouts from the group was Buzelis, who allegedly has added a noticeable amount of muscle to his 6-foot-10 frame.
While talking about the steady improvements Buzelis has made over the last year, Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu did not shy away from giving his true thoughts on his teammate's potential. He feels the former lottery pick could continue to grow and eventually be as dominant of a talent as Giannis.
“He loves the work. I have high praises for him, high expectations for him. 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.”
Seeing that Giannis is a multi-time MVP and still one of the NBA's top talents, these are lofty expectations for Buzelis. Nonetheless, Dosunmu appears confident the young forward can reach any bar set for him moving forward.
As the roster embraces a youth movement, the Bulls hope that Buzelis can become anything close to the level of player Giannis is. With Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan out of the picture now, the franchise needs a promising young talent they can build around moving forward. Based on Dosunmu's recent remarks, Buzelis seems to be doing everything he can to try and emerge as a foundational piece for the Bulls.