All-Star Weekend is finally here, bringing a week of rest for all but one Chicago Bulls player: Matas Buzelis.
Buzelis will compete in the dunk contest on Saturday and the Rising Stars event on Friday. He aims to become the second player to win the Dunk contest as a Bull. Michael Jordan was the first.
ALL-STAR WEEKEND
Buzelis currently has the third-best odds to win the dunk contest according to FanDuel.
He will compete against the two-time reigning champion Mac McClung, rookie-of-the-year favorite Stephon Castle, and Milwaukee Bucks’ Andre Jackson Jr. Buzelis competed against Castle in the 2023 McDonald’s All-American dunk contest, making the finals while Castle did not.
Buzelis isn’t taking the contest lightly. He has been training with Zach LaVine, who is a two-time dunk contest champion.
“Zach (LaVine) was a guy who has been helping me with my dunks,” said Buzelis. “We used to go late night to the Advocate Center (Bulls practice facility) to work on dunks. I think I got a lot of special ones Imma come out with.”
Buzelis won Dunk of the Week earlier this month, but his best dunk by far was against the Nuggets in January.
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This isn’t Matas Buzelis’ first All-Star Weekend, nor is it his first Rising Stars appearance. He was part of the NBA G League team that won the event in 2024.
Buzelis wasn’t just part of the team— he hit the game-winning shot.
The event is a four-team tournament, where the winners advance to the finals. The winner of the tournament will be the fourth team competing in the new All-Star tournament format. Buzelis will compete with Castle and McClung in this event as well. If Buzelis’ team wins, he will compete on all three days of the weekend.
NOT JUST A DUNKER
If you haven’t heard about Buzelis before All-Star Weekend, you are not alone.
Buzelis was the fifth-ranked player in the 2023 class, according to ESPN. He decided to go to the G League for a year instead of college. Buzelis was a consensus top-five pick in 2024 mock drafts before sliding to the Bulls at No. 11.
Another reason Buzelis goes under the radar is that he hasn’t played many minutes. He currently ranks 27th in minutes per game among rookies. But Buzelis has had a larger role since the Bulls traded away Zach LaVine and has over doubled his offensive production.
Since the trade, Buzelis averages 15.4 points on 61.2% shooting and 40% from three while playing 26.9 minutes per game. He ranks fourth in points per game and blocks per game among rookies since the trade. Buzelis has scored double-digit points in eight straight games, including a 24-point performance in which he shot a perfect 10-for-10.
Expect Matas Buzelis to put NBA fans on notice during the dunk contest and rise up the rookie rankings following the All-Star break. Buzelis’ breakout is one of the few things Bulls fans can look forward to until the draft lottery.
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