The Chicago Bulls rallied to a 118-117 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their 2025-26 preseason opener, but like all exhibition games, it's not the result that matters. Several intriguing storylines emerged from the victory, though none popped more than what Matas Buzelis did in his 18 minutes.
The Bulls will need a leap from their sophomore forward if they have any shot at making the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. With all the "it's only preseason" caveats acknowledged, Buzelis was wildly impressive and showed some mouthwatering flashes of superstar potential that should have the organization and fans excited.
Here are four observations from the 21-year-old's night in Cleveland.
Matas Buzelis is a special athlete
This isn't a new observation, but it's worth mentioning: Buzelis is 6-foot-10 and added some muscle during the offseason, but he glides around the court so effortlessly and explosively that he looks bigger. He's obviously not Giannis Antetokounmpo, but he has a similar aesthetic quality to his game, and it's a joy to watch.
Buzelis played harder than anyone on the floor
The Chicago native pulled down a game-high eight rebounds (teammate Jalen Smith also had eight boards in mop-up time), and he worked hard for each one. He was either boxing out hard near the basket or flying in from the perimeter to snatch the ball out of the air before anyone else could reach it.
He was sliding his feet on defense, fighting through screens and hedging out to the 3-point line. Offensively, he wasn't settling for jumpers -- he was continuously attacking the basket. It seemed helter-skelter at times, but there's no better time to work out the kinks than during preseason.
There was a clear emphasis on on-ball creation
The Bulls want to see more of Buzelis' playmaking chops this year, and they're evidently going to let him experiment with it heavily during the preseason. He led the team with 11 field-goal attempts and trailed only Patrick Williams in free-throw attempts. (He also scored a game-high 19 points).
Buzelis had the ball in his hands. A lot. And even more so after Josh Giddey's night ended after the first quarter. There was too much dribbling without a destination, but he only had two turnovers and didn't launch any terribly ill-advised shots. It was a promising start.
Buzelis was aggressive and efficient
The No. 11 pick in the 2024 draft finished his night 7-for-11 from the field. Digging deeper into his shot chart, it's obvious that the plan was to attack the basket early and often.
Of his 11 shot attempts, six came at the rim. Not in the paint -- at the rim. He converted on five of those six.
With his rare combination of size, athleticism and explosiveness, Buzelis will always have an advantage over bigger forwards and centers when he can drag them away from the basket. It only takes one quick step for him to put a defender on his hip, and once he does that, the play is destined to end with a layup, dunk or foul. If he can consistently shoot around 40 percent from three like he did against the Cavs, he's going to moonwalk into this year's Most Improved Player Award.