On the night of Jan. 7, second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls came up with a big-time performance to extend their winning streak to a season-best nine games. Donovan and the Bulls topped the Washington Wizards and star shooting guard Bradley Beal at home at the United Center on Jan. 7, thanks to a big night from the bench unit.
I’ve already talked on the matter of the Bulls getting a huge outing from the guard duo of rookie Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White in this win over the Wizards. But that was more focused on what Coby is doing for the Bulls in the last few weeks to help push this winning streak as far as it has gone thus far.
But it’s also worth noting how good the former Illinois Fighting Illini star junior point guard Dosunmu played for the Bulls at points of his rookie campaign. He’s providing tremendous value for the Bulls as one of the best-value second-round picks from the 2021 NBA Draft.
He’s giving the Bulls’ clear first-round value coming off the bench this season. This impact he’s making for the Bulls during his rookie campaign is most similar to what the team saw when big man Daniel Gafford was playing some key minutes off the bench for this squad a couple of seasons ago.
A big night for Ayo Dosunmu in a win for the Chicago Bulls over the Wizards puts him in a rookie class of his own
Dosunmu is having a big rookie campaign in general for the Bulls. He’s averaged around six points per game, three rebounds, one assist, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks so far this season while shooting an impressive 54 percent from the field, 44 percent from beyond the arc, and 58 percent from the free-throw line. His stat line is solid so far. And his efficiency this early on in his career is being put on full display.
The way Dosunmu played in this win over the Wizards entering the weekend, though, was the main reason why Bulls’ fans are fawning over the rookie at the moment. In this win over the Wizards, Dosunmu and White were a driving force in the eight-point win at home.
Dosunmu registered an impressive 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. He also came up with five rebounds, four assists, three steals, no blocks, and two turnovers.
This type of performance from Dosunmu in the first half of his rookie season is really something special. And it’s something that we have to talk about in a little bit more detail.
Ayo Dosunmu is now the only rookie this season to have a game with at least 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals, while shooting at least 70% from the field and 50% from 3. pic.twitter.com/ucBcexywYG
— Pippen Ain't Easy (@BullsBeatBlog) January 8, 2022
Not only was this an outing that helped the Bulls to get a win over the Wizards in the same 48-hour span where Dosunmu’s jersey was retired at Illinois, but it also put him in a class of his own. Dosunmu is the first rookie this season to register at least 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals while shooting at least 70 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc in a single game.
The only other rookie that came close to touching this type of stat line this season is the Oklahoma City Thunder first-year point guard Josh Giddey. In an Oct. 24 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Giddey registered 19 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four steals, no blocks, and two turnovers while shooting 61.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc for the Thunder.
What really separated this performance from the rest of the field for rookies this season was the fact that Dosunmu hit on 75 percent of his three-point attempts and racked up three steals. His two-way performance in this win over the Wizards also proves why he should be a key part of this bench unit from here on out.
Following this win over the Wizards, Dosunmu and the Bulls still sit atop the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 26-10. Next up for the Bulls is a meeting with the Dallas Mavericks on the road on Jan. 9.