Expectations for Matas Buzelis—from both the Chicago Bulls and their fans—are lofty. The 21-year-old forward has just one year of NBA experience, and his rookie-year statistics didn’t exactly signal future All-NBA potential.
Buzelis averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.9 blocks per game last season. He appeared in 80 games, making 31 starts, and logged an average of 18.9 minutes per contest. Yet, the former 11th overall pick didn’t emerge as a starter until late in the season; he didn’t even start his first game until February.
Still, not every MVP or All-NBA player dominated in their rookie season. Four of the last five MVPs averaged 10.8 points per game or fewer as rookies. The lone exception is Joel Embiid, who didn’t debut until two years after being drafted.
Matas Buzelis' path to stardom didn't start now
Moreover, Buzelis wasn’t your typical rookie. Despite being selected in the late lottery, the 6-foot-10 wing entered the NBA with a notable pedigree. He was ranked fifth in ESPN’s and 247Sports’ top 100 for the class of 2022, and before the 2023–24 season, he was considered a potential top-two draft pick. That is, until he opted to suit up for the now-defunct G-League Ignite instead of an NCAA squad.
Buzelis struggled as a 19-year-old on the Ignite. He averaged 14.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game, but shot just 45.5 percent from the field, 26.1 percent from three, and committed 2.2 turnovers per game for the 2–32 Ignite squad.
Yet, throughout Buzelis’s up-and-down journey from Hinsdale Central High in the Chicago suburbs to the Bulls, he has consistently passed the eye test, showing the makings of a future star..
On The Ringer’s The Mismatch podcast, Chris Vernon shared a story highlighting Buzelis’s sky-high potential. During the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Vernon recounted that a group of high schoolers attended to meet scouts and GMs. Among them was Buzelis, who, one scout told Vernon, stood out so far above the rest that it was "Buzelis and everybody else. There’s nobody even close… [Buzelis] is just way better than [the rest of the group of attendees]."
Later, Vernon recounted watching Buzelis for the first time in a G-League matchup against the Memphis Hustle. He said, "I was going to see this kid, and I was ready to hate him… And I watched him, and I'm like… 'I kinda like this guy. He's in the mix… He's playing in the G-League against men, against people trying to make the NBA… He can move, he can shoot, he's athletic, he's kind of [Andrei] Kirilenko-y.'" In the said game Vernon attended, Buzelis dropped 16 points, hauled in 13 rebounds, dished out three assists, and went 8-of-18 from the floor.
Following the recount, Vernon shared, "When Michael Porter Jr. became good, it was like, 'well, Michael Porter Jr. was always supposed to be awesome.' Buzelis was the No.1 overall pick in last year's draft, for a long time, on mock drafts, and then he ended up getting drafted 11th. If we look up in five years, Buzelis is the best player from [the 2024 NBA Draft class], it wouldn't be all that shocking."
Vernon’s account shows that, despite the heavy expectations and doubts about his ceiling, Buzelis has always had the runway. Predicting him to reach All-NBA status someday isn’t all that bold. He has the makings of a future star—and, frankly, he always has