The 11th overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft was Matas Buzelis, drafted from the NBA G-League Unite. Buzelis was once mocked as a top-five pick around this time a year ago but fell outside of the top ten, where Chicago took full advantage. He received a surplus of hype on draft night and the following days leading up to the Las Vegas Summer League, where he turned more heads. The Bulls played five games over the summer, and Buzelis showed his elite athleticism, downhill scoring aggression, and a few flaws. During that stretch, he averaged 16.4 points and 4.2 rebounds, shooting 33.7% from the field and only 21.4% from three-point territory. Bulls fans were calling for him to get plenty of playing time on what appeared to be a rebuilding season. Through 16 games, the excitement-inducing play from the 20-year-old over the summer has not yet translated to the big stage.
Buzelis has faced many of the same issues as most incoming rookies. Undersized, turnover-prone, weak defensively, and an inconsistent shot-maker. At most levels he has played, he’s gotten a large share of the shot attempts for his club, and that’s not the case in Chicago. While he has shown the ability to score well at all three levels despite his current struggles at the three-point line, his entire game is too unpolished to flourish on the NBA stage. Through the first portion of the year, granted he has only had limited minutes in most games, he’s committed more personal fouls on defense than he has made field goals on offense. Adding muscle to his frame will surely be a priority in the early stages of his career.
Head coach Billy Donovan praises his rookie’s development, noting that he’s learning quickly what it takes at this level and continues to improve nightly. Most of his playing time is either matchup dependant or when the game is out of hand, so it’s hard to estimate his output every game. He’s seen five games of 12 or more minutes so far, but also five games with less than five minutes of playing time. There has been a gradual increase in his court time overall, with his highest total minutes of 20 coming in yesterday’s NBA Cup game against the Atlanta Hawks. He scored nine points on 3-of-8 from the field with three turnovers and four personal fouls. The rookie added four rebounds, two steals, and one block in the winning effort.
Looking at the youngster overall, hopes were probably a bit too high headed into the year. While Chicago might be closer to a rebuild than contention, their main objective is to win and prioritize each game over playing the youngest assets for developmental purposes. This has forced Buzelis to mold into a 3-and-D wing or ride the bench. During the first stages of the 2024-25 campaign, he’s done more of the latter.
Offense: C-
His summer league explosion is the only reason this grade is not lower. Buzelis has been virtually invisible on offense. Outside of a few highlight-reel dunks and transition buckets, he’s been one of the worst offensive players on the Chicago Bulls. His field goal percentage is only 32.0%, 33.3% from three-point land, averaging 3.3 points and 0.2 assists per outing. He’s only recorded four more made field goals than turnovers and has only three assists on the year with his 12 turnovers. When he finds his way to the charity stripe, he is doing well there, 11-14 on the year. Overall, there are some decent flashes of talent, but mediocre regarding efficiency or effectiveness.
Defense: C
If Buzelis had been less of a fouling machine, he could have quickly improved this grade. His length and scrappiness create havoc on that end of the floor, but his inability to hold his own physically with some of the NBA’s wings and bigs has exposed one of his most significant weaknesses and turned into constant fouls. He’s recorded nine blocks and seven steals but has 17 personal fouls. The potential exists, but the results have been muddied with sloppiness and compensation via fouling.
Matas Buzelis will continue to develop as the season progresses, and untapped potential is abundant when the day comes. He’ll try to roll his latest performance into a string of solid outings as the Bulls take on the Grizzlies tonight.
