Buzelis was the No. 11 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft by the Bulls. In Summer League, Buzelis posted 16.4 points and 1.2 threes on 34/21/74 shooting, 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 2.0 steals, 0.8 assists with 2.4 turnovers in 29.7 minutes. It was clear during Summer League that Buzelis' shooting is still a work in progress, but he was constantly making highlight plays and often looked like the best athlete on the court. Buzelis slipping to No. 11 was a surprise, as he was often mocked in the Top 5. Teams may have gotten scared off by his poor shooting for the G League Ignite - a team so bad the NBA just quietly dissolved it. Buzelis didn't waste any time racking up highlight plays in Summer League. He's dunking on people, crossing people over, euro-step bumping guys out of the way. Buzelis is fast, twitchy and can jump, and he plays with the aggression that every athlete of his caliber should. And while his efficiency wasn't great, he got hacked plenty, averaging 5.4 free-throw attempts per game. NBA teams will dare him to shoot, and we'll see how he fares athletically against the real competition. Aside from that, he needs to do a better job of finding open teammates when he creates advantages. He doesn't necessarily play with tunnel vision, but his awareness is a work in progress. Defensively, he can certainly make plays with his length and athleticism, but he's not a great one-on-one container yet. As it stands, Buzelis should be a staple of the second unit, and a relatively weak second unit at that. There could be a lot of opportunities for him to be the go-to option in those situations. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a two-year, $10.65 million contract with the Bulls in July of 2024. Contract includes $5.72 million team option for 2026-27.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Buzelis is a Lithuanian-American who grew up in Chicago. However, his basketball career has given him many homes. As a junior, Buzelis won 2021-22 New Hampshire Player of the Year. He then transferred to Sunrise Christian Academy for his senior campaign where he was the 2022-23 Kansas Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Buzelis was named to the 2023 McDonald's All-American Boys Game and participated in the Basketball Without Borders camp during the 2023 NBA All-Star weekend, collecting MVP honors there. He played in the 2022 Nike Hoop Summit and the 2023 Jordan Brand Classic, too. Buzelis was a consensus five-star recruit before opting to play for the G League Ignite in 2023-24. He averaged 14.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.1 blocks and 0.9 steals during his first professional campaign and finished with 44.5/27.3/67.9 shooting splits. At 6-foot-10, Buzelis is an excellent ballhander for his size and can finish with authority, but he also has solid touch on his floaters and stepbacks. He looks more comfortable as a catch-and-shoot 3-point option in the corners, but overall, his jumper needs to be more consistent (though his inefficiency for the Ignite was likely a byproduct of a bad team). Buzelis has elite defensive instincts, displaying fantastic patience and timing when contesting shots. He's also agile enough to be a solid perimeter defender. Buzelis turns 20 in October and already has a year of professional ball under his belt, but he still has plenty of room to grow and likely fits best with a rebuilding team. Franz Wagner has carved out a leading role for himself in Orlando, and Buzelis could do the same for a team in the lottery. However, if Buzelis hits another growth spurt and improves his jumper, his elite defensive instincts could put him in a world with Chet Holmgren.
ANALYSIS Buzelis will return Saturday from a one-game absence due to an illness. The rookie first-round pick has seen his minutes off the bench increase over his last 15 games, during which he has averaged 7.5 points and 3.3 rebounds over 17.5 minutes per contest.
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
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Advanced Stats
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2024
Stat Review
How does Matas Buzelis compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
49.3%
Effective Field Goal %
45.8%
3-Point Attempt Rate
51.7%
Free Throw Rate
19.6%
Offensive Rebound %
4.2%
Defensive Rebound %
16.7%
Total Rebound %
10.5%
Assist %
5.9%
Steal %
0.9%
Block %
5.0%
Turnover %
9.4%
Usage %
19.0%
Fantasy Points Per Game
11.8
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.9
Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Bulls Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Matas Buzelis was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
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Yahoo
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Sorare
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More Fantasy News
Iffy to face Milwaukee
FChicago Bulls
Illness
December 27, 2024
Buzelis (illness) is questionable to face the Bucks on Saturday.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Might not see steady minutes
FChicago Bulls
October 5, 2024
Buzelis might not have a clear path toward seeing regular minutes with the Bulls in the 2024-25 season, Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune speculates.
ANALYSIS Buzelis has impressed teammates with his athleticism in training camp, but he may not have a clear path to playing time, at least in the early stages of the campaign. Even in that scenario, Buzelis is likely to remain on the NBA roster, as the only scenario in which he'd be sent to the G League would be if he needs steady minutes on a game-to-game basis. Buzelis stated he's okay with any decision the organization takes. "I'm always going to listen to the organization," he said. "So if they tell me I got to be in the G League, I'm gonna be in the G League. That's fine with me. But I'm gonna work my way up to the top team." Buzelis was the Bulls' first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.