The Chicago Bulls are in a transitional phase for the franchise, having traded away stars like DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine in recent years while trading for Josh Giddey, drafting Matas Buzelis, and Noa Essengue in recent drafts.

Now entering his season, Buzelis is looking to take a jump.

Bulls’ Matas Buzelis looking to take leap after up-and-down rookie season

Matas Buzelis had a strong close to the 2024-25 season and was named to one of the All-Rookie Teams. The forward started the final 31 games of the season for Chicago after coming off the bench for his first 49 appearances.

It was a roller coaster of a year for the 20-year old Lithuanian-American, but one that he was quickly able to figure out as the season progressed.

“It was it was tough at first,” Matas Buzelis told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview in June. “It was tough at first not playing, gaining the trust of coach [Billy Donovan]. As the season moved forward, I gained the trust with the coach and I earned the spot and I stayed ready in practice. I stayed ready, I kept working and once the opportunity opens, you have to be ready and you can’t shy away.

“So it was tough at first, but then when I started to play, I had to figure out what I had to do on the court and the adjustment of playing against more physical guys, more elite players, so it was it was a blessing and it was fun. It was fun, so I’m looking forward to year two.”

The Bulls forward finished the season averaging 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.9 blocks per game in 18.9 minutes per game across his 80 appearances.

Over the final 31 games, however, Buzelis averaged 13 points, 4.5 rebounds 1.9 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from three.

In the span of a week, Matas Buzelis recorded a 31-point game on 12-of-18 shooting from the field and 5-of-10 from three against the Los Angeles Lakers as well as a 28-point, nine-rebound, six-assist game against the Dallas Mavericks.

The end of the season provided a strong point for Buzelis to continue building off of heading into his sophomore season with the Bulls.

“Getting stronger is definitely one of my goals,” Matas Buzelis added to ClutchPoints. “Getting stronger, just working on my three ball. I like to work on my overall game, honestly. I feel like I could do everything on the court so I don’t limit myself. It’s gonna be exciting how I put everything together.”

Matas Buzelis was one of the four players that the NBA invited to the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers last month to be player correspondents. Along with Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain, Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Atlanta Hawks’ guard Dyson Daniels, Buzelis got to experience an NBA Finals game while taking over as a media member to experience being on the other side of the microphone.

Buzelis will be a focal point for the Bulls heading into his second season. Chicago surprisingly added him to their 2025 NBA Summer League roster for the Las Vegas tournament, but it remains to be seen whether Chicago will let him play as much as possible to continue to develop or only a couple of games before shutting him down.