Chicago Bulls’ Matas Buzelis Backed To Have ‘Long’ NBA Career By Teammate Nikola Vucevic

Nikola Vucevic has backed Chicago Bulls team-mate Matas Buzelis to enjoy a successful career in the NBA after his maiden season in the competition. 

Buzelis was drafted 11th overall by the Bulls in the 2024 NBA Draft, and he enjoyed a productive debut campaign for Chicago, who finished ninth in the Eastern Conference. 

The 20-year-old averaged 8.6 points per game in the regular season, as well as 3.5 rebounds and one assist across the 80 matches he played for the Bulls.

He put up a career-high 31 points in a 146-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers back in March, and created more history a week later against the Dallas Mavericks. 

Buzelis scored 28 points as well as registering nine rebounds and six assists, becoming the third rookie to play for Chicago to achieve such game statistics, the other two being Michael Jordan and Charles Oakley. 

The Lithuanian star then put up his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds in a 118-113 triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers. 

And Vucevic, who is preparing for his 16th season in the NBA, has predicted Buzelis to build on the foundations laid during his first campaign in the competition. 

"[Matas] Buzelis is a very talented player. I think he's going to be very good for a long time in his career. A very good pick for us," Vucevic exclusively told Stats Perform. 

"He's very tall, he can play with the ball, he can defend well. He's very young, so he still needs to work on his body, which is normal.

"And even now, he's shown that he belongs in the NBA and that he can have a very good career. He's a player who has a lot of confidence in himself.

"That's what I like about young players: They need to have that, they need to believe in themselves. He knows exactly where he is and what he can do.

"He's someone I really like as a player. I think he can really progress and become a very good player."

Vucevic was also on hand to discuss the arrival of hot prospect Noa Essengue, who was the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. 

Essengue joined the Bulls following two seasons with Ratiopharm Ulm in the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). 

He averaged 9.7 points (.474 FG%), 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.7 steals in 23.2 minutes through 30 games with Ulm in the 2024-25 regular season.

The 18-year-old was the second-youngest player in this year's NBA Draft, while Chicago's selection of Essengue marked their second pick in team history in the number 12 slot, joining Kevin Kunnert, who was selected by the Bulls in 1973. 

"When he got drafted, I texted him and we talked a bit. We haven't met yet. I haven't seen him play live yet," Vucevic added. 

"I saw a little bit of what he did in the Summer League, and I saw a few things when he was playing in Germany. But it's a bit hard to judge based on that.

"But from what I've heard, he's a great talent. Pretty tall and athletic. He knows how to play with a good IQ. I can't wait to see how it goes when he gets there.

"Plus, it's nice to have someone French and to speak French. It's great for me, and it'll help him settle in there too. It's not always easy, especially as a young player."