Ayo Dosunmu on track to be an All-Rookie Team selection

The play of the Chicago Bulls‘ rookie point guard Ayo Dosunmu is nothing short of special of late during this recent wave of injuries that the team has to deal with. Dosunmu has stepped up in a big way as second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls started to get pretty short-handed in their backcourt unit.

It’s likely that the Bulls are going to miss the likes of point guards Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball for at least the next six or seven weeks. Lonzo is set for surgery this week on a meniscus injury, and Caruso already got a procedure done on a fractured wrist he suffered in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks back on Jan. 21.

In the absence of these two key guards, the Bulls relied more on young guards like Ayo and Coby White. While Coby actually hit a rough patch of late for the Bulls, Ayo is playing some of his best basketball of the season since the turn of the calendar year.

Through 14 games played this month, Dosunmu has averaged around 10 points per game, four rebounds, four assists, one steal, and 0.5 blocks while shooting 54 percent from the field, 46 percent from beyond the arc, and 67 percent from the free-throw line.

Chicago Bulls’ G Ayo Dosunmu cracks the top 10 for the Kia NBA Rookie Ladder after a stellar month of January

Thanks to a really solid run for Dosunmu so far this month, he even made his way onto the Kia NBA Rookie Ladder earlier this week. Dosunmu was even the rookie that was highlighted most in the write-up for this week’s Rookie Ladder. Here’s some of what was said about him this week.

"Now Dosunmu is a vital part of the Bulls’ rotation. The 6-foot-5 wing was helpful enough off the bench as a spot defender and surprisingly reliable shooter in the season’s first half. But after two spot starts in early December, Dosunmu has been thrust by injuries — to Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso and until recently Zach LaVine — into a bigger role, starting the past six games and shouldering some point guard duties."

There was a lot more written up regarding Dosunmu’s play of late and his overall value for the Bulls during his rookie campaign. That just goes to show the impact he’s made on this Bulls team so far during a special season for the former second-round draft pick.

Dosunmu actually cracked the top 10 of the Rookie Ladder this week at No. 8. He fell in line just behind the Indiana Pacers rookie shooting guard Chris Duarte. But if Dosunmu can continue the run he’s been on of late through the second half of the regular season, then he should be able to climb the top 10 of the Rookie Ladder in a short span of time.

It’s worth noting that there was only two second-round draft picks included in the top 10 on the Rookie Ladder this week. The other second-round pick included on here is the former Alabama Crimson Tide big man and Pelicans rookie Herbert Jones.

At this point, Dosunmu has to be considered one of the top candidates to be selected for one of the All-Rookie teams this season. Making it onto the Rookie Ladder more than halfway through the regular season is a good sign that he will be a contender for those honors this season.

Dosunmu and the Bulls are now sporting a record of 30-17 following their Jan. 26 win over the Toronto Raptors. Next up for the Bulls is a meeting with the San Antonio Spurs on the road on Jan. 28.