Matas Buzelis started off his run in Las Vegas Summer League with a poster dunk.
The 2024 NBA Draft class was considered weak at the top after some of the most highly touted prospects coming into the cycle struggled more than expected in their pre-draft season. Matas Buzelis fits that description. The 6’10 forward was the No. 1 player on our initial board published the day after the 2023 draft, but a rough season in the G League where he shot the ball poorly and lost constantly pushed him down to the No. 11 pick, where the Chicago Bulls happily scooped him up.
If Buzelis was disappointed to fall a little further than expected on draft night, he quickly forgot about that when he selected by his hometown team. Buzelis grew up in suburban Hinsdale, and wasn’t even four years old yet when Chicago drafted Derrick Rose in 2008 as another hometown pick. The rookie is putting on his Bulls threads for the first time at Las Vegas Summer League, and it didn’t take him long to create his first incredible highlight.
During his second game in Vegas, Buzelis dropped a poster dunk on the Warriors on Sunday night. Watch the play here:
Buzelis only weighed in at 197 pounds at the draft combine. He’s going to get overpowered in plenty of matchups when his rookie season starts for real, but it’s already clear he’s not going to be afraid of going up against stronger, older competition.
The Warriors beat the Bulls, 92-82, but Buzelis’ big night was enough to keep the Bulls feeling good about the game. He finished with 28 points and five rebounds on 10-of-22 shooting from the floor and 4-of-8 shooting from three. After shooting 0-for-4 in his Summer League debut on Saturday, it was encouraging to see Buzelis hit some difficult threes. Watch full highlights of his performance here:
The best rookie of Summer League so far has clearly been Reed Sheppard, but Buzelis’ second game is one of the better performances from this draft class we’ve seen in Vegas. Bulls fans needed something to keep their attention at the start of another rebuild. Buzelis has long way to go, but watching his development will be fun.
