The Chicago Bulls are Kevin Huerter's third NBA franchise in eight seasons. The former Maryland Terrapins star has always been admired as a three-point shooter, but he's been more than that through the first four games of 2025-26.
While Huerter waits for his shot to come around -- he's connected on only 6 of his 18 attempts from deep -- he's been a critical cog in the Bulls' offensive machine.
Perhaps most surprisingly, he's been a plus on defense for a group that's been (even more surprisingly) one of the stingiest in the league.
Matas Buzelis is deservedly stealing headlines. Tre Jones is making an early push for this year's Most Improved Player Award. Nikola Vucevic looks better than ever in his 15th NBA season. Josh Giddey is well on his way to proving last year's triple-double barrage was no fluke. But, quietly, Huerter has been nearly as important to a team that's been one of this year's most pleasant surprises.
Chicago Bulls guard Kevin Huerter proving he's more than just a shooter
The easy thing to look for when taking a peek at Huerter's stat line is that three-point shooting percentage, which sits at 33.3 heading into a Halloween night matchup with the New York Knicks. The 27-year-old was having a down 2024-25 campaign before he arrived in the Windy City as part of the Zach LaVine trade; he was shooting only 30.2 percent from three on 4.8 attempts per game across 43 contests with the Sacramento Kings.
That number skyrocketed to 37.6 percent on 7.2 attempts in his 26 games with the Bulls. Based on his track record, it's fair to assume Huerter's current lull in marksmanship will recover toward the mean, and that he'll end up hitting closer to his career average of 37.5 percent by the end of the season.
But while that works itself out, he has been a connective piece in Chicago's balanced offense as a ball mover and playmaker.
Huerter has been Billy Donovan's most-used reserve, averaging 25.5 minutes per night, which is the fifth-most on the team. He's outpacing Issac Okoro, the Bulls' "starting" small forward.
He's scoring 14.8 points per game, fourth-best on the team behind Giddey, Vucevic and Buzelis. What he's so far lacking in three-point accuracy, he's more than making up for inside the arc: Huerter is shooting a team-leading 73.7 percent on two-point attempts on a healthy diet of 4.8 per game.
He ranks second on the Bulls in total free-throw attempts (15) while hitting them at an 86.7 percent clip, third-best behind Vucevic and Okoro (who's 1-for-1). He's second in offensive rating (132.0). He's averaging 4.0 rebounds, which, if it holds up over 82 games, would be his highest since his second year in the league.
Maybe most shockingly: His defensive rating of 110.0 is the Bulls' fifth-best, ahead of Buzelis, and would blow by his career-best of 115.
So while Huerter "struggles" to get his shot going, he's proving that he can affect games -- and winning -- in multiple ways.