Chicago Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis is having an impressive rookie campaign. The No. 11 pick in the 2024 draft has earned extra minutes as the season has progressed, especially following the trade deadline when the Bulls sent Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings.
ChiCitySports spoke with former Bulls center Will Perdue about Matas Buzelis as a part of Michelob ULTRA’s 2025 “Play Like A Pro” Program. Perdue likes the attitude of the young Bulls’ star.
Former Chicago Bulls center Will Perdue on Matas Buzelis
“I love the fact he plays with the chip on his shoulder,” Perdue said about Buzelis. “I love that. That is probably the biggest thing that I love about him is, they talk to him after the game, and you look at the statistics, and he’s had a good game where he’s had like, 16 points and eight rebounds. But the thing he talks about consistently, and a lot of rookies don’t have this foresight, he talks about the mistakes he made.
“He talks about the things he needs to continually work on in order to get better. He doesn’t say, ‘Hey, this is one of my better games. I was able to knock down some shots.’ He’ll start talking about how he made some mistakes on defense, he didn’t rotate properly, or he should have made an extra pass on one of the threes that he took that he didn’t make.”
Buzelis is averaging 7.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and .08 assists per game with a 43.6% on field goals. He averaged 11.9 points per game in his last 10 outings.
Buzelis isn’t intimidated
Perdue likes how the 20-year-old isn’t afraid to attack the rim.
“Just the aggression which he plays with. He attacks the rim, he’s not intimidated, and that’s that says a lot,” Perdue said. “I mean, as young as he is, to step into the league, and some of these guys are (that Buzelis is playing against), quite honestly, his idols, but he doesn’t back down.
“But yet, I like how he walks that line of confidence, but he doesn’t cross over into arrogance. You see, a lot of players do that because they don’t understand the difference of the two, and I think he’s got a true grasp of that.”
Michelob ULTRA’s 2025 “Play Like A Pro” Program
The deadline to enter to win the Michelob ULTRA’s 2025 “Play Like A Pro” Program is March 14. The Bulls’ activation is set for Friday, April 11. Five winners (and their plus ones) will be selected to enjoy this exclusive experience at the United Center.
The ultimate basketball experience will include:
- The opportunity to play on the United Center court
- A chance to meet a Bulls legend during the experience and hear his Chalk Talk
- Tickets to a Chicago Bulls game
- A customized Chicago Bulls jersey
••A happy hour at the United Center complete with refreshing, ice-cold Michelob ULTRAs
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