Matas Buzelis

Buzelis arrived as a project: a 6-foot-9 Lithuanian-American wing who skipped college for the G League Ignite before Chicago took him 11th in 2024. The sophomore leap answered the big question of whether the tools could become a game. In 2025-26 he averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks over 77 games, a real jump from a quiet rookie year that earned All-Rookie Second Team honors. The number that tells the story isn't the scoring, though; it's the shot diet. His improving threes (34.9% from deep) turned him from a straight-line finisher and Slam Dunk Contest entrant into a floor-spacer defenses have to track, which frees up the shot-blocking, transition-running weakside game where he's most dangerous. The handle and passing still lag the athletic ceiling, and that's the next unlock, but Chicago finally has a two-way wing to build around.