The No. 11 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Buzelis wasn't afforded many opportunities to begin his rookie season. In total, he averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.9 blocks and 1.2 three-pointers in 18.9 minutes per contest across 80 regular-season games. The Bulls struggled as a team, and the franchise grew frustrated with Patrick Williams. Buzelis would eventually earn a larger role in the offense, and across Buzelis' 31 regular-season starts, he averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 26.8 minutes on 47.3/34.9/80.6 shooting splits. As for 2025-26, the Bulls will look pretty similar. The club was quiet in free agency, and the team has continued to shop Williams with no success. The Bulls did select forward Noa Essengue with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, though they envision him as a fit alongside Buzelis in the future. Buzelis looked very polished in the Summer League, and he has to be considered the heavy favorite to open the season as the starting power forward. With the flashes he showed at the end of his rookie season, Buzelis offers plenty of intrigue as a late-round pick with upside. 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. Team option for 2026-27 was picked up in October of 2025.
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 is in danger of missing a second consecutive contest due to a right ankle sprain. If the second-year forward is ultimately ruled out, Leonard Miller and Guerschon Yabusele would be candidates to see an uptick in minutes, especially if Patrick Williams (quadriceps) is downgraded from questionable to out.
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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Advanced Stats
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2025
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 %
59.3%
Effective Field Goal %
56.1%
3-Point Attempt Rate
49.9%
Free Throw Rate
25.2%
Offensive Rebound %
3.8%
Defensive Rebound %
16.6%
Total Rebound %
10.3%
Assist %
10.8%
Steal %
1.0%
Block %
4.4%
Turnover %
11.7%
Usage %
22.1%
Fantasy Points Per Game
29.4
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.0
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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
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More Fantasy News
Won't go Thursday
FChicago Bulls
Ankle
March 5, 2026
Buzelis (ankle) is out for Thursday's game against the Suns.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Listed as questionable
FChicago Bulls
Ankle
March 4, 2026
Buzelis (ankle) is questionable for Thursday's game against the Suns.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Fails to return Tuesday
FChicago Bulls
Ankle
March 3, 2026
Buzelis didn't return to Tuesday's game against Oklahoma City due to an ankle sprain, K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network reports. He ended with 11 points (3-9 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 3-4 FT), five rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Hits for 20 in big win
FChicago Bulls
March 1, 2026
Buzelis amassed 20 points (7-15 FG, 4-9 3Pt, 2-2 FT), seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks across 32 minutes during Sunday's 120-97 victory over the Bucks.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Bulls won't move him
FChicago Bulls
January 8, 2026
The Bulls will not be making Buzelis available ahead of the trade deadline, Evan Sidery of Forbes.com reports.
ANALYSIS Sidery also notes that Josh Giddey and Noa Essengue also appear to be unavailable. The Bulls are 17-20 on the season and may be sellers at the deadline with so many expiring contracts on the roster, but Buzelis is likely to be a staple of this team for many years to come. The second-year forward holds regular-season averages of 14.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.4 blocks and 1.8 three-pointers.