<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-most-improved-player-declaration');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Matas Buzelis’ Most Improved Player declaration isn’t looking so far-fetched');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Oct-29-2025-Chicago-Illinois-USA-Chicago-Bulls-forward-Matas-Buzelis-14-shoots-against-the-Sacramento-Kings-during-the-first-half-at-United-Center.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Matas Buzelis’ Most Improved Player declaration isn’t looking so far-fetched</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-30T08:26:51-07:00">October 30th, 8:26am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-30T08:26:51-07:00">October 30th, 8:26am</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>During Media Day in September, the Chicago Bulls’ second-year guard Matas Buzelis said he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-most-improved-player-goal">wanted to go for</a> the NBA’s Most Improved Player honors. After the first four games of the season, he is showing considerable promise.</p><p>So far, Buzelis is averaging 16.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Additionally, he is shooting 51% from the field. Plus, he became the youngest player in franchise history to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-feat-michael-jordan">score 20+ points in a season opener</a>.</p><p>He scored 21 points against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 22.</p><p>On Wednesday, Buzelis scored a high of 27 points, grabbed five rebounds, and shot 11-for-18 from the field against the Sacramento Kings.</p><p>In the process, the Bulls came out on top 126-113 to start the season 4-0.</p><p>Altogether, Buzelis exudes a brash confidence. He doesn’t want to settle and has ambitions to achieve big goals. As a result, Buzelis <a href="https://pippenainteasy.com/matas-buzelis-has-taken-leap-that-bulls-fans-have-been-waiting-for" rel="noopener">has expanded his game</a>, and the results prove that so far, per Austin McGee of Pippen Ain’t Easy.</p><p>Specifically, Buzelis is excelling in free throw, field goal, and three-point attempts. Furthermore, he is growing in confidence when driving to the basket and taking pull-up jumpers.</p><p>When the season commenced, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan openly cautioned Buzelis about getting too far ahead of himself.</p><p>“He has not arrived,” Donovan said. “He just hasn’t. And that’s just the truth. And I love Matas and think he’s got an unbelievable runway to be an outstanding player in this league if he keeps his drive and his motivation and doesn’t think he’s arrived.”</p><p>On Friday, the Bulls are looking to start 5-0 as they take on the New York Knicks.</p><h2><b>If he keeps it up, Matas Buzelis could very well contend for Most Improved Player honors</b></h2><p>Last year, Buzelis averaged of 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assist per game. Additionally, he had a field goal percentage of 45.4% and a three-point percentage of 36.1%. He averaged 18.9 minutes per game and played 80 games.</p><p>This year, Buzelis is stepping up to a greater role as a starter. As a result, he is playing much more and is so far averaging 28.0 minutes per game. Furthermore, Buzelis’ increased playing time is partly due to the absence of Coby White <a href="http://google.com/search?q=clutchpoints+coby+white+calf+injury&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS799US799&amp;oq=clutchpoints+coby+whit&amp;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggCECMYJzIGCAAQRRg5MggIARBFGCcYOzIGCAIQIxgnMgYIAxBFGDsyBwgEEAAY7wUyBggFEEUYPDIGCAYQRRg8MgYIBxBFGDzSAQgzODYzajBqN6gCALACAA&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">due to a calf injury</a>.</p><p>If he can continue to increase his numbers, put up the minutes, and maintain his winning attitude, he could very well contend for that honor, if not win it.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Matas Buzelis’ Most Improved Player declaration isn’t looking so far-fetched

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-hall-of-famer');   ga('set', 'title', 'Matas Buzelis names surprise Hall of Famer he wants to emulate');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Matas-Buzelis-names-surprise-Hall-of-Famer-he-wants-to-emulate.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Matas Buzelis names surprise Hall of Famer he wants to emulate</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-28T09:37:57-07:00">October 28th, 9:37am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-28T10:09:16-07:00">October 28th, 10:09am</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Already three games into the season, and Matas Buzelis <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-reminds-nikola-vucevic-nba-greats">is making an impression</a> on the Chicago Bulls. He is averaging 12.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as the Bulls are off to a 3-0 start.</p><p>On Monday, they came back from 13 points down to defeat the Atlanta Hawks 128-123. Altogether, Buzelis finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists.</p><p>As the season unfolds, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-most-improved-player-goal">Buzelis has set lofty goals</a> for himself. His boisterous confidence has led him to aim for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award in his second season.</p><p>Recently, Buzelis <a href="https://rg.org/news/basketball/matas-buzelis-eyes-most-improved-player-bulls-chase-playoff-return">outed the player</a> he wanted to follow in Tracy McGrady’s footsteps, per DJ Siddiqi of RG.org. Essentially, Buzelis said he didn’t necessarily follow the team but was drawn to McGrady’s style.</p><p>“I was a guy who watched a lot of players,” says Buzelis of McGrady. “I like Tracy McGrady.”</p><p>Plus, Buzelis connected his own fandom to that of the present NBA landscape. In other words, it is more about the players and not the team.</p><p>“I think the younger generation now are fans of our fans of certain players, not teams specifically,” he said. “I was a guy who watched everyone, and I would steal stuff from everyone.”</p><p>Much like Buzelis, McGrady was 6-foot-8. Altogether, he became a seven-time NBA All-Star and a scoring champion. He played for the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, and Houston Rockets.</p><p>He was a high-scoring, up-tempo player who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. Buzelis brings a similar sense of urgency, quickness, and flair.</p><h2><b>Tracy McGrady could have played for the Bulls</b></h2><p>Following the end of the Bulls’ dynasty in the 1990s, the organization began a steep decline. However, on two occasions, they could have <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/article/sam-smith-believed-chicago-shouldve-012300714.html#:~:text=The%20Bulls%20waited%2010%20years,become%20championship%20contenders%20once%20again.">snatched up</a> McGrady.</p><p>In 1997, then General Manager Jerry Krause was looking to trade Scottie Pippen and draft McGrady from Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, North Carolina. While the longstanding belief is that Michael Jordan prevented it, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf was the one who decided against it.</p><p>Ultimately, the Toronto Raptors drafted him.</p><p>Three years later, the Bulls made an offer to McGrady after he became a free agent. Instead, he signed with the Orlando Magic.</p><p>In 2010, Chicago <a href="https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2010/07/27/chicago-bulls-express-an-interest-in-mcgrady/26279520007/">made one last pitch</a> to get McGrady. However, he had come off knee surgery and concerns about his health and limited play derailed any more chances.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Matas Buzelis names surprise Hall of Famer he wants to emulate

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-feat-michael-jordan');   ga('set', 'title', 'Matas Buzelis reaches feat even Michael Jordan never accomplished');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Chicago-Bulls-forward-Matas-Buzelis-greets-fans-after-the-game-against-the-Detroit-Pistons-at-United-Center.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Matas Buzelis reaches feat even Michael Jordan never accomplished</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-24T08:33:56-07:00">October 24th, 8:33am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-24T08:37:47-07:00">October 24th, 8:37am</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Chicago Bulls started off the season on a high note. On Wednesday, they upset the Detroit Pistons for a 115-111 victory at the United Center. While their veteran center, Nikola Vucevic, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-editorials/nikola-vucevic-bulls-unique-gunslinger">led the charge toward victory</a>, Matas Buzelis was his second-in-command.</p><p>Altogether, Buzelis finished the game with 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 34 minutes of play. In the process, Buzelis <a href="https://x.com/CHSN_Bulls/status/1981730457721917626" rel="noopener">achieved an exploit</a> that even Michael Jordan didn’t, per Bulls on CHSN. That is Buzelis became the youngest player in Bulls’ history to score 20+ points in a season opener.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Matas Buzelis became the youngest Bulls player ever to have 20+ points in a season opener 🔥<a href="https://twitter.com/ruthiepolinsky?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ruthiepolinsky</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/GabeRamirez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GabeRamirez</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidHaugh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DavidHaugh</a> break down his big night on The Chicago Lead ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/KaUfLGFr9f">pic.twitter.com/KaUfLGFr9f</a></p><p>— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) <a href="https://twitter.com/CHSN_Bulls/status/1981730457721917626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>For comparison sakes, Jordan scored 16 points in his first season opener with the Bulls in 1984. At the time, he was a 21 year old rookie. Fast forward to 2025 and Buzelis is 21 years old and beginning his second season in Chicago.</p><p>A far cry from where Buzelis was a year ago. In the Bulls season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans in 2024, Buzelis played only five minutes and didn’t score a single point. He managed to muster up an assist and two rebounds.</p><p>This year, Buzelis is looking to capitalize on a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/exclusive-bulls-matas-buzelis-leap-nba-summer-league">strong showing during the NBA Summer League</a>. All the while, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-most-improved-player-goal">gunning for a NBA Most Improved Player Award</a>.</p><p>Essentially trying to prove that he is to not be overlooked.</p><h2><b>Matas Buzelis has a Jordan like confidence and impatience</b></h2><p>When Jordan arrived in Chicago, he was an irreverent rookie who didn’t wait his turn. The end results obviously speak for themselves.</p><p>Buzelis possesses those same attributes, looking for success in the here and now. Meanwhile, head coach Billy Donovan has encouraged <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-billy-donovan-matas-buzelies-arrived">Buzelis to hit the brakes</a> before he goes off a metaphorical cliff, saying that Buzelis has not ‘arrived” yet.</p><p>Nevertheless, Buzelis is expected to take on a greater role in the follow of the Bulls offense. That is because <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-editorials/matas-buzelis-bulls-breakout-coby-white-injury">Coby White is out with a calf injury</a>.</p><p>The Bulls will play their second game of the season on the road against the Orlando Magic on Saturday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Matas Buzelis reaches feat even Michael Jordan never accomplished

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-reminds-nikola-vucevic-nba-greats');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reminds Nikola Vucevic of NBA greats');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Matas-Buzelis.jpg"><figcaption>Matt Marton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reminds Nikola Vucevic of NBA greats</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-22T22:06:47-07:00">October 22nd, 10:06pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-22T22:06:47-07:00">October 22nd, 10:06pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor, NFL and NCAA Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Chicago Bulls are in a rebuilding phase in 2025-26, but that didn’t stop them from getting in the win column on opening night. In front of a packed crowd at the United Center, the Bulls picked up a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-ayo-dosumnnu-patrick-williams-season-opener">115-111 win over the Detroit Pistons</a> to get going in the right direction this season.</p><p>Nikola Vucevic starred for the Bulls, finishing with 28 points and 14 rebounds to lead all scorers. However, he got plenty of help from his second-year teammate Matas Buzelis, who racked up 21 points and six boards in the win. After the game, Vucevic gave Buzelis a strong endorsement and claimed he <a href="https://x.com/CodyWesterlund/status/1981206810804834432" rel="noopener">reminds him of some of the greats</a>, via Cody Westerlund of 670 The Score.</p><p>“What I really like about him is he has a little bit of cockiness in him, but not in a bad way,” Vucevic said. “He just has belief, which all the great ones do have. Obviously, he still has to continue to work, but I think he’s taken huge steps from last season.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-editorials/matas-buzelis-bulls-breakout-coby-white-injury">Buzelis has a versatile skillset and a lot of potential</a> after the Bulls took him in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, so it’s good to see him get off to a good start this season. If he can emerge as a true franchise centerpiece for this Bulls squad moving forward, this season can be viewed as a success no matter what the final win-loss record ends up being.</p><p>However, after this showing in the first game of the year against a team that went to the playoffs last season, the Bulls will have their eyes on a playoff berth this year. They have other promising young pieces around Buzelis, and they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-coby-white-will-miss-start-of-season-with-calf-injury">played without point guard Coby White</a> on Wednesday night as he works his way back from a calf injury.</p><p>On top of that, Vucevic can still carry the load offensively at times with his ability to score at all three levels of the floor. If Buzelis can step up as another go-to guy that Chicago can rely on each and every night, this could be a sneaky competitive team in the Eastern Conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reminds Nikola Vucevic of NBA greats

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-editorials/matas-buzelis-bulls-breakout-coby-white-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Matas Buzelis primed for Bulls breakout after Coby White’s injury setback');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Chicago-Illinois-USA-Chicago-Bulls-forward-Matas-Buzelis-14-goes-up-for-a-dunk-against-the-Minnesota-Timberwolves-during-the-second-half-at-United-Center.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Matas Buzelis primed for Bulls breakout after Coby White’s injury setback</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-20T13:32:38-07:00">October 20th, 1:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-20T13:35:29-07:00">October 20th, 1:35pm</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The news that Coby White <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-coby-white-will-miss-start-of-season-with-calf-injury">will miss the start of the season</a> due to a calf injury was not what the Bulls were hoping for. After all, White is their dynamic scorer and playmaker as well as the team leader.</p><p>The guy around whom the offense revolves. Indeed, his absence will be felt, but luckily for the Bulls, they have someone up their sleeve who could <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/bulls/news/bulls-make-starting-lineup-change-vs-denver-nuggets" rel="noopener">temporarily fill the void</a>, per Will Despart of Sports Illustrated.</p><p>That person is second-year sensation Matas Buzelis. During the preseason, Buzelis put up some decent numbers. He averaged 17.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Additionally, he shot 57% from the field, 39% from the three-point line, and averaged 23.3 minutes per game.</p><p>Over the course of five games, Buzelis had some standout performances. Against the Denver Nuggets, he scored 20 points, had 5 blocks, and grabbed three rebounds in a 124-117 loss. In their final preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he scored 19 points in 25 minutes of play and led to a 106-100 win.</p><p>Last season, Buzelis averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 18.9 minutes per game in 80 games. Over the summer, Buzelis <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/exclusive-bulls-matas-buzelis-leap-nba-summer-league">put on a dazzling performance</a> during the NBA Summer League. He averaged 22.5 points and five rebounds per game. Among his notable games were 28 points against the Indiana Pacers.</p><p>On Wednesday, the Bulls will begin their regular season at home against the Detroit Pistons.</p><h2><b>Matas Buzelis is at the right place at the right time for the Bulls</b></h2><p>With White out for the time being, Buzelis is the right guy to take over. He has the athleticism, leadership bravado, and versatility that is needed to get the Bulls off to a decent start.</p><p>After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-trade-grade-for-zach-lavine-blockbuster">Zach LaVine was traded to the Kings</a> in February, space was created for Buzelis to contribute. Since then, he has become a reliable presence on the court to score in bunches as well as defend. At 6-foot-10, Buzelis has the size and strength to guard multiple defenders.</p><p>Additionally, he excels in the area where White struggles with and that is being a consistent defender. Last season, Buzelis finished with 75 blocks, 5th among all NBA rookies.</p><p>Furthermore, Buzelis is an overall offensive asset who can score from all spots on the floor as well as push the tempo. Those two does a great deal of good when being paired with Josh Giddey. Both gel when it comes to playmaking and finding those ample opportunities to score in transition.</p><p>As was the case against the Timberwolves in their final preseason game. Giddey <a href="https://www.bleachernation.com/bulls/2025/10/16/matas-buzelis-bulls-16/" rel="noopener">was able to find</a> Buzelis at the right moment for the moment for the slam dunk, four them to be exact.</p><p>Then, there is the confident personality that Buzelis possess. He has that old school “put me in coach I’m ready to play today” ethos. In other words, he is not waiting for his time, his time is here and now. He wants the ball, he wants to contribute, and he wants to do whatever it takes to win.</p><p>During Media Day, Buzelis set his sights on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-most-improved-player-goal">winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award</a> as well as looking long term to winning a championship, every player’s dream.</p><p>Lofty is an understatement to describe the latter considering where the Bulls are. Nevertheless, Buzelis brings that championship spirit that the Bulls could feed off of.</p><p>While White’s absence is a major bummer, have no fear, Matas Buzelis is here.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Matas Buzelis primed for Bulls breakout after Coby White’s injury setback

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-most-improved-player-goal');   ga('set', 'title', 'Matas Buzelis sets Most Improved Player goal for Year 2');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bulls-rookie-Matas-Buzelis-dunking-the-ball.jpg"><figcaption>Matt Marton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Matas Buzelis sets Most Improved Player goal for Year 2</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-29T12:38:43-07:00">September 29th, 12:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-29T13:40:55-07:00">September 29th, 1:40pm</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There is really no overlooking the Chicago Bulls. That is especially true with their second-year forward Matas Buzelis, who <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-player-shock-world-breakout-2025-26-season" rel="noopener">has the potential to do much more</a> than expected this year.</p><p>During the Bulls’ Media Day on Monday, Buzelis <a href="https://x.com/DravesZachary/status/1972735914905620756" rel="noopener">declared his intention</a> to achieve a coveted prize: the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year. When asked about his benchmark for success as an individual and as a team, Buzelis didn’t hesitate.</p><p>“The benchmark for success as a team is to win a championship,” he said. That’s the benchmark for me, at least. I want to win Most Improved Player this year. That’s what I am striving for. This is a team sport. The individual stuff will come once you win, so I’m worried about winning.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Matas Buzelis wants to win The Most Improved Player of the Year <a href="https://t.co/eVe3xjkQB7">pic.twitter.com/eVe3xjkQB7</a></p><p>— Zachary Draves (@DravesZachary) <a href="https://twitter.com/DravesZachary/status/1972735914905620756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>That confidence is something <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-confident-best-player-ever-mindset" rel="noopener">Burelis is looking to sustain</a> based on the work he has put in during the off-season. In July, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/exclusive-bulls-matas-buzelis-leap-nba-summer-league" rel="noopener">Burelis had an outstanding performance during the NBA Summer League</a>. Altogether, he averaged 22.5 points and five rebounds per game throughout his time in Las Vegas. Additionally, Burleis scored 28 points in a Bulls 114-105 victory over the Indiana Pacers.</p><p>He shot 8-of-14 from the field, 2-of-4 from the three-point line, and 10-of-13 from the free-throw line. Last year, Burelis averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, playing in 80 games and averaging 18 minutes per game.</p><p>In the end, Burelis finished the season <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-instant-mood-after-all-rookie-honor" rel="noopener">joining the NBA All-Rookie second team</a>.</p><h2><b>Matas Burelis is a focal point of the Bulls’ confidence</b>.</h2><p>Despite some of the naysayers, the Bulls players are looking to utilize their youthfulness to their advantage. Yes, they are objectively not a playoff-caliber team on paper, and it will be a while before that can be discussed.</p><p>Nevertheless, they have potential with their young guys, particularly with Burelis. In terms of skill, Burelis possesses great athleticism and can score from all areas of the floor. Additionally, he has emerged as an effective shot blocker and overall leader at the tender age of 20.</p><p>If he can remain versatile, stay intact, and feed off the confidence, there is no telling what he can accomplish. Virtually, the Most Improved Player Award could be within his grasp.</p><p>Dyson Daniels, watch out!</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Matas Buzelis sets Most Improved Player goal for Year 2

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-instant-reaction-josh-giddey-signing');   ga('set', 'title', 'Matas Buzelis’ instant reaction to Josh Giddey signing');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Matas-Buzelis-Josh-Giddey.jpg"><figcaption>© David Banks-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Matas Buzelis’ instant reaction to Josh Giddey signing</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-09T13:42:58-07:00">September 9th, 1:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-09T13:42:58-07:00">September 9th, 1:42pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White serves as ClutchPoints' Chicago Bulls and Michigan Football reporter, in addition to covering NCAA Football and Basketball as a Senior Editor. Scotty is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-josh-giddey-bonkers-100-million-contract-free-agency">Chicago Bulls and Josh Giddey finally reached an agreement</a> on a contract extension Tuesday as the guard signed a new four-year, $120 million deal. This deal has been in the works for the entire offseason, and Giddey ended up getting a nice pay day. Reports initially stated that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-rumors-josh-giddey-contract-chicago">Giddey was hoping to receive $30 million annually</a>, and then it was noted that he might have to settle for $20M. Instead, Giddey got $25M, and Matas Buzelis is happy for his teammate.</p><p>Matas Buzelis took to Instagram shortly after the news broke as he wanted to celebrate Josh Giddey and his new deal. Buzelis <a href="https://x.com/Will_Gottlieb/status/1965496575389827379" rel="noopener">reacted to the news</a> with this photo:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Giddey posts confirming the deal on IG</p><p>Matas also chimes in with his thoughts 😂 <a href="https://t.co/ajn4sZMq7K">pic.twitter.com/ajn4sZMq7K</a></p><p>— Will Gottlieb (@Will_Gottlieb) <a href="https://twitter.com/Will_Gottlieb/status/1965496575389827379?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Buzelis and Giddey are the future of the Bulls. Buzelis was taken in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, and he really came into his own during his rookie season last year. After starting on the bench, Buzelis ended up earning a spot in the starting lineup for the final stretch of the season.</p><p>Giddey has also only been in Chicago for one season. He was traded to the Bulls by the Oklahoma City Thunder prior to last season, and he emerged as one of the best players on the team after the All-Star break. Giddey’s play down the stretch is what earned him this big contract extension.</p><p>For a good chunk of the season, Giddey didn’t do anything special for the Bulls. He only averaged 12.2 points per game before the All-Star break. However, he averaged over 21 PPG after the All-Star break. Not only was Giddey performing well, but his play elevated the entire team. The Bulls played their best basketball down the stretch, and while it didn’t translate to postseason success, it was still good to see a glimpse of competitive basketball.</p><p>It is a bit of a risk for the Bulls to be shelling out this kind of money after just a couple of months of strong play, but it is clear that they believe in Josh Giddey. If he can consistently play like he did down the stretch with guys like Matas Buzelis continuing to develop, this Chicago team could be fun down the road.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Matas Buzelis’ instant reaction to Josh Giddey signing

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-why-nikola-vucevic-made-eurobasket-request-to-matas-buzelis');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Nikola Vucevic made EuroBasket request to Matas Buzelis');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Why-Nikola-Vucevic-made-EuroBasket-request-to-Matas-Buzelis.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Nikola Vucevic made EuroBasket request to Matas Buzelis</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-28T13:31:56-07:00">August 28th, 1:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-28T13:43:13-07:00">August 28th, 1:43pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic has been a fixture in international basketball for more than a decade. Ahead of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/eurobasket-news-franz-wagners-magic-teammate-helps-upset-spain">EuroBasket 2025</a>, he revealed that he attempted to persuade rookie teammate Matas Buzelis to join Lithuania for the tournament.</p><p>Speaking to Lukas Katilius of BasketNews, Vucevic <a href="https://basketnews.com/news-230182-nba-all-star-reveals-he-tried-to-convince-bulls-rising-star-to-play-in-eurobasket.html" rel="noopener">explained that his request</a> came from a belief that Buzelis would benefit from the unique experience of FIBA competition.</p><p>“I was trying to convince him to play,” Vucevic said. “I thought it would have been really good for him to get some FIBA basketball experience, to play in EuroBasket, and to practice against all the other players from Lithuania every day. It would have been great for him.”</p><p>Vucevic highlighted the differences between international and NBA play as an important developmental step for younger players.</p><p>“The NBA and FIBA are very different games, and I think it is especially good for young players to experience both and learn from them,” he said.</p><h2><b>Nikola Vucevic sees EuroBasket as missed growth opportunity for Bulls’ Matas Buzelis</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Matas-Buzelis.jpg"><figcaption>Matt Marton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>For Vucevic, the chance to compete in a medal hunt would have added significant value for Buzelis in his early career.</p><p>“I think it would have helped him a lot, and it would also have been valuable just to play in big games,” Vucevic said. “Obviously, Lithuania is going to try to compete for a medal — that is their goal — so for him, it would have been huge. But he decided not to play this summer. Hopefully, he will play in the future.”</p><p>“I think he has a very bright future in the NBA and, hopefully, also with the Lithuanian national team. For whatever reason, though, he decided not to play this summer,” Vucevic added.</p><p>The veteran noted that Buzelis, who was born in Chicago, approaches the game with a mentality shaped more by his American background.</p><p>“Yeah, he is probably a little more American,” Vucevic said. “But he was born and grew up there, so that is normal. He is a good guy — a very good guy.”</p><h2><b>Buzelis opts out, Vucevic shines despite Germany overpowering Montenegro</b></h2><p>The 20-year-old forward completed his rookie season with the Bulls averaging 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and one assist per game. He shot 45.4% from the field and 36.1% from three while averaging 18.9 minutes across 80 contests. Despite encouragement from his veteran teammate, Buzelis chose not to participate in EuroBasket this summer. Lithuania still opened with a 94-80 win over Great Britain on Wednesday without his presence.</p><p>While Buzelis sat out, Vucevic carried Montenegro in their Group A opener against Germany. The 34-year-old center produced a strong performance with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in 31 minutes. He shot 10-for-13 from the field and 2-for-3 from deep, finishing with an efficiency rating of 30.</p><p>Despite his individual production, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/eurobasket-news-how-franz-wagner-dominated-in-germany-30-point-opening-win">Montenegro fell 106-76 to Germany, led by Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner</a> and Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder. The loss highlighted the challenge ahead for Vucevic’s national team as they aim to rebound in group play.</p><p>For Chicago, Vucevic’s guidance reflects his role as a mentor for the franchise’s young core, with Buzelis expected to play an expanded role in his sophomore season. His push for Buzelis to embrace international competition underscores his belief in the forward’s long-term potential.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Nikola Vucevic made EuroBasket request to Matas Buzelis

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-posts-cryptic-josh-giddey-message-amid-free-agency-saga');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bulls’ Matas Buzelis posts cryptic Josh Giddey message amid free agency saga');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Matas-Buzelis-Josh-Giddey.jpg"><figcaption>© David Banks-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Bulls’ Matas Buzelis posts cryptic Josh Giddey message amid free agency saga</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-14T07:58:53-07:00">August 14th, 7:58am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-14T07:58:53-07:00">August 14th, 7:58am</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Josh Giddey still hasn’t reached a deal with the Chicago Bulls this offseason, but an <a href="https://x.com/BN_Bulls/status/1955808442339483947?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1955808442339483947%7Ctwgr%5Eca2e7471465b08d7cd81724773a9ea4d4513bb35%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpippenainteasy.com%2Fcryptic-matas-buzelis-post-hints-bulls-finally-have-josh-giddey-resolution" rel="noopener">interesting post</a> from Matas Buzelis on Wednesday has people thinking that a deal might be done soon. After ending the season on a surge, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/siegels-scoop-josh-giddey-jonathan-kuminga-rfa-market-unchanged">Giddey positioned himself to earn a nice new contract</a> with the Bulls this offseason. There has reportedly been some disagreement on the number that Giddey wants, but the expectation is for the two parties to eventually meet in the middle. It might be happening soon:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ummmm is Matas Buzelis tipping us off that the Josh Giddey deal is almost signed?</p><p>He posted this to his second Instagram account … </p><p>(📸 via notmfourteen | IG) <a href="https://t.co/bEvX7eyzg3">pic.twitter.com/bEvX7eyzg3</a></p><p>— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) <a href="https://twitter.com/BN_Bulls/status/1955808442339483947?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Josh Giddey came to the Bulls last offseason in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Chicago sent Alex Caruso to OKC, and Giddey went to the Windy City. Giddey wasn’t anything special for much of the season, but he was a different player post All-Star break.</p><p>Giddey averaged 12.2 points per game before the All-Star break, but after the All-Star break, he averaged 21.2. His three-point shooting was phenomenal down the stretch, and that is a big reason why he was scoring a lot more. Giddey also played with a new sense of confidence and was great at getting to the rim and creating shots for himself. All in all, he played some terrific basketball down the stretch and really gave the Bulls a lot to think about.</p><p>Coming into the offseason, Josh Giddey was hoping to sign a new contract with the Bulls that pays him $30 million a year. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-rumors-the-80-million-contract-chicago-offered-josh-giddey-start-free-agency">Bulls are reportedly looking to pay him</a> closer to the $20 million mark, and Giddey is expected to settle. He played at an elite level down the stretch and showed that he is worthy of a big contract, but at the same time, it wasn’t a huge sample size. The Bulls don’t want to put all of their eggs in one basket for a couple of months of good basketball.</p><p>At this point, nothing has been signed, but that post from Matas Buzelis has a lot of people wondering. It would be an odd thing to post if something isn’t happening.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bulls’ Matas Buzelis posts cryptic Josh Giddey message amid free agency saga

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/exclusive-bulls-matas-buzelis-leap-nba-summer-league');   ga('set', 'title', 'Exclusive: Bulls’ Matas Buzelis ‘ready’ for 2nd-year leap after explosive Summer League');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Exclusive-Matas-Buzelis-fuels-Bulls-second-year-leap-in-NBA-Summer-League.jpg"></figure><h1>Exclusive: Bulls’ Matas Buzelis ‘ready’ for 2nd-year leap after explosive Summer League</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-15T07:12:59-07:00">July 15th, 7:12am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-15T07:12:59-07:00">July 15th, 7:12am</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>LAS VEGAS — When the Chicago Bulls were on the clock with the 11th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, there was one player their fans were begging the organization to take: Matas Buzelis, the hometown kid. Fortunately for Bulls fans, the front office loved Buzelis’ potential, and he was selected to become the next face of the franchise.</p><p>Although he may not have stuffed the stat sheets like Stephon Castle, Jaylen Wells, or Zaccharie Risacher (the three Rookie of the Year finalists), Buzelis was a bright spot in Chicago and a beacon on hope for the future. The fact of the matter is that the Bulls have been rebuilding for years and seeking one player who can provide them with a clear identity.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-insider-new-face-franchise">Buzelis proved to be that talent</a> in his rookie season, and he is already building momentum for a huge second season in the NBA.</p><p>“When we first got Matas, he was still figuring out what type of player he could be entering the next level,” one Bulls team source told ClutchPoints at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. “As he found his comfort zone, everyone started to see the offensive weapon he could become. By the end of the year, it’s not crazy to say he was our best offensive player.</p><p>“This year, it’s all about consistency and understanding what it means to lead an offense. He’s proved that he can do so here at Summer League.”</p><p>In the Bulls’ first Summer League game on Friday, Buzelis recorded 17 points on 4-of-14 shooting and five rebounds. His four turnovers stuck out, yet his struggles didn’t impact the young forward’s mindset entering his second game in Las Vegas.</p><p>After sitting out the team’s second game on Saturday, a decision made by the front office, Buzelis came back in full force on Monday afternoon in Cox Pavilion on the campus of UNLV. The 20-year-old scored a <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1944917869721993590" rel="noopener">game-high 28 points</a> on 8-of-14 shooting, including two made shots from the perimeter. He also finished this game with five rebounds, like he did in his other Summer League performance.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Matas Buzelis (28 PTS) put on a SHOW in the <a href="https://twitter.com/chicagobulls?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@chicagobulls</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA2KSummerLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA2KSummerLeague</a> win 🤩 <a href="https://t.co/1S5xcqhDoY">pic.twitter.com/1S5xcqhDoY</a></p><p>— NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1944917869721993590?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Buzelis went 17-of-20 from the free-throw line in his two games with the Bulls’ Summer League squad, proving that he is ready to become an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-summer-league-slam-dunk">aggressive player who hunts his shots</a> entering Year 2 in the NBA. More importantly, Buzelis recognizes that he has gone from a young rookie looking to find his footing to becoming a player many are taking notice of.</p><p>When asked about the difference between being in Las Vegas last year before his rookie season and now, Buzelis sent a clear message.</p><p>“This year, guys are actually trying to kill me every time I step on the court,” Buzelis told ClutchPoints on Monday. “I’m ready for the challenge. It’s not about me, though. I am just happy we won this game.”</p><p>The Bulls came out victorious on Monday, defeating the Indiana Pacers 114-105 in large part because of Buzelis’ offensive contributions.</p><p>Now, the 2025-26 season begins for the young Bulls forward, as he confirmed that his time at his second Summer League is over. Buzelis will be shut down and won’t play in the team’s remaining games this offseason.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-confident-best-player-ever-mindset">Confidence oozes from Buzelis</a>, and he understands the assignment ahead. It’s not an easy task to have the spotlight on you in Chicago, especially since the idea of a <i>franchise player</i> in the minds of Bulls fans is Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose.</p><p>While he still has plenty of room to grow and will continue to forge his identity at the Bulls’ training camp before the start of the new season, Buzelis isn’t afraid of the moment. The Bulls have not won a title since Jordan led them to their sixth championship in 1998, but this is what Buzelis envisions.</p><p>Despite being so young, Buzelis has high expectations for himself and his organization.</p><p>“I was born and raised in Chicago. This city means a lot to me,” Buzelis said after Monday’s game. “Our fans are amazing. We need to bring them a championship. Plain and simple.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Exclusive: Bulls’ Matas Buzelis ‘ready’ for 2nd-year leap after explosive Summer League

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-summer-league-slam-dunk');   ga('set', 'title', 'Matas Buzelis dazzles fans with Summer League slam dunk');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG_0052.jpeg"></figure><h1>Matas Buzelis dazzles fans with Summer League slam dunk</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-14T16:37:04-07:00">July 14th, 4:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-14T16:37:04-07:00">July 14th, 4:37pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>During the first week of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, one of the top human highlight reels has been Chicago Bulls’ second-year wing Matas Buzelis and his dazzling dunks. Over the weekend, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-slam-nba-summer-league">Matas Buzelis threw down a smooth slam</a> after shooting out on the break during one of the Bulls’ early summer league games.</p><p>On Monday, Buzelis was at it again <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1944885125025825212" rel="noopener">with another big slam</a> dunk that wowed the fans in attendance. This time, Buzelis cut to the basket, grabbed a pass from Bulls rookie big man Lachlan Olbrich, and soared to the basket without any dribbles for the dunk.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">MATAS BUZELIS THROWS IT DOWN WITH AUTHORITY 😤</p><p> <a href="https://t.co/kQFhEYzYI0">pic.twitter.com/kQFhEYzYI0</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1944885125025825212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>NBA fans aren’t new to Buzelis’ high flying exploits. As a rookie, he selected to participate in the NBA’s Dunk Contest over All-Star Weekend, but he failed to advance to the final round. Buzelis was selected due to his penchant for dunking that had been on display during the regular season.</p><p>As the Bulls continue to be a team that’s stuck in ‘no-man’s land,’ essentially not good enough to be a serious playoff threat but not bad enough to tank, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-looking-to-take-leap-after-slow-start-to-rookie-season">Buzelis represents a bright spot</a> for the organization. For the time being, the Bulls seem like a team locked in to the play-in range, but Buzelis’ development will be something to watch for fans.</p><p>This past season he appeared in 80 games as a rookie, including 31 starts, at a little over 18 minutes per game. He averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists with splits of 45.4 percent shooting from the field, 36.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line. He was also selected to the All-Rookie Second Team and finished seventh in the Rookie of the Year voting.</p><p>Buzelis was among the final group of players from the G League Ignite before the NBA decided to do away with the program. He was selected by the Bulls with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Matas Buzelis dazzles fans with Summer League slam dunk

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-confident-best-player-ever-mindset');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reveals confident ‘best player ever’ mindset');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Buzelis-vs-the-Heat.jpg"><figcaption>David Banks-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reveals confident ‘best player ever’ mindset</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-13T13:24:21-07:00">July 13th, 1:24pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-13T13:24:21-07:00">July 13th, 1:24pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-slam-nba-summer-league">Chicago Bulls have had</a> an interesting offseason, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-chicago-posts-lonzo-ball-tribute-video-cavs-trade">trading Lonzo Ball</a> to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Isaac Okoro, among some other transactions. The Bulls are looking to get past the play-in game barrier that has ended their season in each of the last three years.</p><p>One beacon of hope for the Bulls moving forward is rising second-year wing Matas Buzelis, who put together an impressive second half of his rookie season in 2024-25 and is a key building block for Chicago moving forward.</p><p>Buzelis has been in Las Vegas this week as a member of the Bulls’ 2025 NBA Summer League squad, and recently, he gave an interview to Bulls on CHSN and was asked what he believes his NBA <a href="https://x.com/CHSN_Bulls/status/1944166472013467989" rel="noopener">ceiling can be.</a></p><p>“I don’t know. I think I can be the best,” said Buzelis. “That’s just how I think. I always believe, I always think I can be the best, so I never put a limit on anything for me. That’s just how I was raised. I think I can be the best player ever. That’s just how I think. If you don’t think like that, this is not the sport for you.”</p><p>Bulls fans will be happy to hear the confidence out of arguably their team’s most important piece moving forward.</p><h2><b>Can the Bulls improve this year?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Matas-Buzelis.jpg"><figcaption>Matt Marton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Bulls fans are still waiting to see what kind of contract guard Josh Giddey will end up with this offseason after he too put together an impressive end to the 2024-25 campaign.</p><p>Giddey, Buzelis, and Coby White make up a young core for the Bulls that has given the fans something to be optimistic about, even as the team faced a familiar result to end last season, falling in the play-in round to the Miami Heat for a third straight year.</p><p>If those players can continue to develop in 2025-26, the Bulls may finally be able to return to the real postseason for the first time since the 2022 campaign.</p><p>In any case, the Bulls are slated to get their 2025-26 season underway in late October.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reveals confident ‘best player ever’ mindset

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-slam-nba-summer-league');   ga('set', 'title', 'Matas Buzelis glides for windmill slam at NBA Summer League');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bulls-rookie-Matas-Buzelis-dunking-the-ball.jpg"><figcaption>Matt Marton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Matas Buzelis glides for windmill slam at NBA Summer League</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-11T19:43:00-07:00">July 11th, 7:43pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-11T19:43:00-07:00">July 11th, 7:43pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Over the past couple of seasons, the Chicago Bulls have been a team that can’t quite seem to pick a direction in terms of whether they want to tank or make the playoffs. They’ve been a team stuck in the play-in. But the Bulls have some <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-looking-to-take-leap-after-slow-start-to-rookie-season">intriguing young players on the team such as Matas Buzelis</a> whose windmill dunk on Friday was <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1943843382289478097" rel="noopener">one of the early highlights</a> of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.</p><p>The highlight came in the second quarter of the Bulls’ summer league game against the Toronto Raptors as they came up with a turnover, Matas Buzelis grabbed control of the ball and shot out on the break for the dunk. Buzelis’ high-flying exploits were well-documented during his rookie season, and he was selected as a participant in the NBA Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend.</p><p>The No. 11 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft by the Bulls, Buzelis was among the final group of the G League Ignite before the NBA dissolved the team. A native of Chicago, the hometown hero put up a solid rookie season and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.</p><p>Buzelis appeared in 80 games as a rookie, including 31 starts, at a little over 18 minutes per game. He averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists with splits of 45.4 percent shooting from the field, 36.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>Buzelis is among five players on the Bulls’ summer league roster that figure to be on the roster when the regular season begins. The other four players are the No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Noa Essengue, and two-way contract players Jahmir Young, Lachlan Olbrich and Emanuel Miller. Young and Miller were on two-way contracts last season while Olbrich was the No. 55 overall pick in this past draft.</p><p>Whatever direction the Bulls end up choosing, they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-insider-new-face-franchise">have a potential franchise building block in Buzelis</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Matas Buzelis glides for windmill slam at NBA Summer League

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-looking-to-take-leap-after-slow-start-to-rookie-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bulls exclusive: Matas Buzelis looking to take leap after slow start to rookie season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bulls-news-Billy-Donovan-gets-brutally-honest-on-Matas-Buzelis-decreased-playing-time.jpg"></figure><h1>Bulls exclusive: Matas Buzelis looking to take leap after slow start to rookie season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-07T17:09:12-07:00">July 7th, 5:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-07T19:53:44-07:00">July 7th, 7:53pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Chicago Bulls are in a transitional phase for the franchise, having traded away stars like DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine in recent years while trading for Josh Giddey, drafting Matas Buzelis, and Noa Essengue in recent drafts.</p><p>Now entering his season, <a href="https://x.com/CHSN_Bulls/status/1942320915208921343" rel="noopener">Buzelis is looking to</a> take a jump.</p><h2><b>Bulls’ Matas Buzelis looking to take leap after up-and-down rookie season</b></h2><p>Matas Buzelis had a strong close to the 2024-25 season and was named to one of the All-Rookie Teams. The forward started the final 31 games of the season for Chicago after coming off the bench for his first 49 appearances.</p><p>It was a roller coaster of a year for the 20-year old Lithuanian-American, but one that he was quickly able to figure out as the season progressed.</p><p>“It was it was tough at first,” Matas Buzelis told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview in June. “It was tough at first not playing, gaining the trust of coach [Billy Donovan]. As the season moved forward, I gained the trust with the coach and I earned the spot and I stayed ready in practice. I stayed ready, I kept working and once the opportunity opens, you have to be ready and you can’t shy away.</p><p>“So it was tough at first, but then when I started to play, I had to figure out what I had to do on the court and the adjustment of playing against more physical guys, more elite players, so it was it was a blessing and it was fun. It was fun, so I’m looking forward to year two.”</p><p>The Bulls forward finished the season averaging 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.9 blocks per game in 18.9 minutes per game across his 80 appearances.</p><p>Over the final 31 games, however, Buzelis averaged 13 points, 4.5 rebounds 1.9 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from three.</p><p>In the span of a week, Matas Buzelis recorded a 31-point game on 12-of-18 shooting from the field and 5-of-10 from three against the Los Angeles Lakers as well as a 28-point, nine-rebound, six-assist game against the Dallas Mavericks.</p><p>The end of the season provided a strong point for Buzelis to continue building off of heading into his sophomore season with the Bulls.</p><p>“Getting stronger is definitely one of my goals,” Matas Buzelis added to ClutchPoints. “Getting stronger, just working on my three ball. I like to work on my overall game, honestly. I feel like I could do everything on the court so I don’t limit myself. It’s gonna be exciting how I put everything together.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/nba-finals-news-bulls-matas-buzelis-reacts-to-thunder-pacers-nba-finals">Matas Buzelis was one of the four players</a> that the NBA invited to the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers last month to be player correspondents. Along with Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain, Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Atlanta Hawks’ guard Dyson Daniels, Buzelis got to experience an NBA Finals game while taking over as a media member to experience being on the other side of the microphone.</p><p>Buzelis will be a focal point for the Bulls heading into his second season. Chicago surprisingly added him to their 2025 NBA Summer League roster for the Las Vegas tournament, but it remains to be seen whether Chicago will let him play as much as possible to continue to develop or only a couple of games before shutting him down.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bulls exclusive: Matas Buzelis looking to take leap after slow start to rookie season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/nba-finals-news-bulls-matas-buzelis-reacts-to-thunder-pacers-nba-finals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reacts to Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Matas-Buzelis-Chicago-Bulls-Tyrese-Haliburton-Indiana-Pacers-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-Oklahoma-City-Thunder-NBA-FInals.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reacts to Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-15T10:31:21-07:00">June 15th, 10:31am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-15T10:41:01-07:00">June 15th, 10:41am</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The 2025 NBA Finals are knotted up at 2-2 heading back to Oklahoma City where the Thunder <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-charles-barkley-makes-bold-declaration-nba-finals-game-4">will host Game 5</a> against the Indiana Pacers. NBA Finals Correspondent Matas Buzelis of the Chicago Bulls is excited to see what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton do to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-nba-finals-history-not-seen-jerry-west">lead their teams</a> to the finish line.</p><p>Neither team has won back-to-back games in this series, with each team exchanging wins throughout the first four games of the series.</p><h2><b>NBA Finals Correspondent Matas Buzelis reacts to Thunder-Pacers series</b></h2><p>Every NBA Finals, the league brings on young players to act as Correspondents for the championship round. The players, usually four splitting up the first four practice and games of the series, take turns asking players questions they’re interested about while getting a feel for the big stage that is the NBA Finals.</p><p>For Game 4, the NBA brought on forward Matas Buzelis, fresh off his All-Rookie season with the Chicago Bulls.</p><p>Buzelis checked in and spoke with ClutchPoints during the series, giving his take on his new job and the series at hand.</p><p>“I think someone texted me and he’s like you’re gonna be a correspondent,” Matas Buzelis told ClutchPoints at the NBA Finals. “I’m like, ‘oh, okay! I don’t even know what that is!’ But once I got the invite, anything that the NBA invites you to, you want to participate in. If you have the opportunity, you should take it.</p><p>“I’m looking forward to asking players the questions. Also, just getting to watch a Finals game. I think there’s a lot of talent, the best teams in the world right now in Indiana and Oklahoma City. So it’s exciting. And they’re small market teams and it means a lot to the fans, so it’s pretty cool to see the atmosphere and see how hard they compete.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Sat right behind Matas Buzelis last night! <a href="https://t.co/UFwyAkLjJP">pic.twitter.com/UFwyAkLjJP</a></p><p>— Andrea (@queenandi412) <a href="https://twitter.com/queenandi412/status/1933963100467945636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder won 68 games during the regular season and 14 here in the postseason, making them one of the rare teams to eclipse 100 total wins in a season. Now just two games away from the franchise’s first NBA Championship, Buzelis is intrigued by the Thunder’s camaraderie and togetherness throughout their journey.</p><p>“Man, I mean it’s honestly been incredible what they do there,” the Bulls rookie told ClutchPoints of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder. “They’re so close together as a team. They’re like all family and they all play well together. I think they all know their role. They have Shai of course who is the head of the snake, and then J-Dub [Jalen Williams] is right there, so it’s just like their team is built very organically if you know what I mean. It’s exciting to see what they can do and we’ll see if they pull it out.”</p><p>On the other end, the Indiana Pacers have had a postseason run that no one outside of the Hoosier State believed was even possible. As a Central Division rival, Buzelis and his Bulls saw a lot of Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers throughout the NBA season.</p><p>“I knew they were tough from playing them this year,” Buzelis told ClutchPoints of the Pacers. “Their pace, the speed they play at, the physicality, the defensive intensity. Their coach, Rick Carlisle, of course is a very smart guy. They just know how to play together, as a team, and they don’t press anything. They don’t take tough shots. They’re all on the same page and it’s cool to see that.”</p><p>During NBA Finals Media Day, <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1933563765821485282">Buzelis was able to ask players</a> questions for the first time as a member of the media. It’s a role he’s definitely not ruling himself out of now that he’s been able to experience it.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">What's the most "T.J. McConnell play" each of the Pacers has seen? </p><p>Player correspondent Matas Buzelis got to the bottom of it 😂 <a href="https://t.co/nLcTbIo2r0">https://t.co/nLcTbIo2r0</a> <a href="https://t.co/MU16lHgkaV">pic.twitter.com/MU16lHgkaV</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1933563765821485282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Oh, yeah, I don’t close any doors!” Buzelis added of his post-NBA playing career plans. “I’m looking for all opportunities. And, you know, whatever happens, happens. I’d definitely like to be a reporter. But you know, if there’s other jobs — maybe coaching — I’ll do that. So, we’ll see in the future.”</p><p>The 2025 NBA Finals will continue on Monday night when the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers play Game 5 of the championship round. The winner of Game 5 will take a 3-2 series lead and be just one win away from securing their respective franchise’s first NBA Championship.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
16.8	4.8	1.5	1.0	0.8

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
16.8	4.8	1.5	1.0	0.8

Matas Buzelis news

Matas
Buzelis news