Chicago Bulls player reviews: Denzel Valentine

In this player review, we’ll take a look at the Bulls’ first-round pick from the 2016 NBA Draft: Denzel Valentine.

In a year that can be described as “below average” for the Chicago Bulls, rookie Denzel Valentine pretty much fell under the same category.

If you check out his stat line from his rookie campaign, you see what I mean. While only averaging 5.6 points per game and shooting only 35.4 percent from the floor in doing so, Valentine definitely took his share of shooting woes throughout the season.

Combine that with only averaging almost three rebounds and a single assist per game, and you can see that Valentine had minimal success in his first season for the Bulls.

However, when you take a deeper look into his season, you begin to see why Valentine’s numbers suffered. While Valentine only appeared in 57 of the Bulls 82 regular season games, he also played less than 10 minutes in 14 of those games. This makes it incredibly difficult to be productive. While that doesn’t combat the fact he shot below average, it does show why his per game stats were so low.

Add all of that with playing behind the stars of the team on the perimeter in Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade on the wing and you tell me how Valentine was supposed to be consistent all season.

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While still struggling in first half of the season regardless of playing time, Valentine was able to put together a few really good games in the back half. When you take a look at the games where Valentine did get to play a substantial amount of minutes, you begin to see the threat Valentine could potentially be from behind the arc in the future.

On January 10th in a matchup with the Washington Wizards, Valentine banged home five 3-pointers in the loss and ended the game with his season-high of 19 points. This was the first game where Valentine played 30+ minutes and he would go on to show how he could contribute when given more of an opportunity.

Later in the season, Valentine would prove to be a strong asset for the Bulls. He recorded his first double-double on March 18th in a win over the Utah Jazz, showing Valentine’s ability on the glass as well.

In April, the month where Valentine played the most by far, he would have six games where he would record at least three 3-pointers. While Valentine may have not played anywhere near great, he proved he can be a solid player for this Bulls team, as well as a threat from behind the arc.

Looking back on Denzel Valentine’s season, it leaves you with a lot to look forward to. While he did not post great numbers in terms of per game or shooting percentage, he definitely showed he has the ability to put up big numbers when given the opportunity.