Matas Buzelis Celebrated by Hometown Chicago Bulls Fans During 2024 NBA Draft
June 27, 2024
Matas Buzelis is heading home.
The Chicago Bulls have selected the Chicago native with the No. 11 pick in the 2024 NBA draft. He becomes the latest addition to a Bulls team that has just acquired Josh Giddey and could see a lot of roster turnover this offseason.
Buzelis grew up in Hinsdale, Il, a suburb southwest of Chicago. He shared a message with his future fanbase shortly after being selected.
Fans took to social media to praise Chicago for taking the local player and projected a bright future for him in a Bulls uniform.
gm_collectibles @gm_collectiblesMatas Buzelis to the Bulls! That is an absolute dream that he fell to us at 11 in my opinion<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bulls?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bulls</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBADraft?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBADraft</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nba?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nba</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBADraft2024?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBADraft2024</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/buzelis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#buzelis</a>
Julia Poe @byjuliapoeThe Chicago Bulls select Matas Buzelis with the No. 11 pick in the draft.<br><br>A 19 y/o, 6-foot-10 power forward who averaged 14.3 points and 6.9 rebounds for G-League Ignite last year.<br><br>Buzelis is a Chicago native who played one year of high school ball at Hinsdale Central.
Rep. Sean Casten @RepCastenCongrats to the 6th District's very own Matas Buzelis on becoming a Chicago Bull!<br><br>Welcome home, <a href="https://twitter.com/BuzelisMatas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BuzelisMatas</a>! <a href="https://t.co/Br0JkNtlkA">https://t.co/Br0JkNtlkA</a>
He spent the 2023-24 season with the G-League Ignite, averaging 11.8 points, five rebounds and 1.7 assists in nine games. He fell slightly, as he was projected as the No. 8 pick by Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman in his final mock draft.
He joins a Bulls team that went 39-43 in 2023-24 and fell in the play-in tournament. This was the second consecutive season that the Bulls missed out on the postseason, and it has not reached the second round of the playoffs since the 2014-15 season.
The first move of the offseason was acquiring Giddey, who Chicago received from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Alex Caruso June 20. The Bulls will now look towards a potential trade for Zach LaVine, who has been involved in trade rumors since last offseason.
