When the Chicago Bulls came on the clock back in June during the NBA Draft, they had to be ecstatic to see Ayo Dosunmu sitting there. After a decorated three-year career at Illinois, Dosunmu found himself as a bit of an enigma to teams in the draft process. Would he be a one or a two? Could he ever shoot well enough to play off of ball-dominant players?
Through 31 games, Dosunmu is averaging 6.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.
The story is still being written, of course, but the Chicago native has shown why many had him as a first-round talent.
Rookie Ayo Dosunmu has impacted the Chicago Bulls on both ends of the floor
Dosunmu has been efficient in attaining his modest stat line, shooting 52.8 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from three-point range. He’s been quiet offensively for the last three games, but prior to that was averaging 8.1 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.9 boards over a seven-game stretch with two starts.
He shot 73.5 percent from the floor in that stretch. More importantly, the Bulls have been able to continue on their eight-game winning streak.
As is the case with most rookies, his plus-minus is negative. Of the 116 rookies to see the floor in the NBA this season entering play on Wednesday, only 43 have positive plus-minuses with 11 of those being first-round picks. And of that group, only three have appeared in at least 30 games.
Of the 13 rookies to have at least 30 appearances, Dosunmu is fourth behind Evan Mobley, Corey Kispert, Chris Duarte, and Herbert Jones.
Dosunmu and Jones are the only second-rounders in that group.
Ayo with the no look 👀😯@RushMedical | #BullsNation pic.twitter.com/ZyvDQADnC0
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 2, 2022
The 38th-overall pick is 10th among rookies with 30 appearances in points per game but first in field goal and three-point percentage. He is third among that group in defensive rating and fifth in net rating. Dosunmu leads this group with a 60.0 true shooting percentage even though he is 11th in usage rate.
He put on a really good defensive performance against Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks too.
Dosunmu hasn’t been great from distance over the aforementioned seven-game span, shooting just 28.6 percent on triples. But we have seen him hit big shots in that same stretch. If there is a true area of concern, it has to be his free-throw shooting.
He’s currently shooting 58.6 percent from the charity stripe; good enough for 229th among all guards.
On Thursday, the University of Illinois will hang his number 11 among their “honored” jerseys. On Friday, he will try to help the Bulls extend their winning streak to nine games and further strengthen their standing atop the Eastern Conference.