Why Matas Bouzelis reminds Nikola Vucevic of NBA greats
The Chicago Bulls are in a rebuilding phase in 2025-26, but that didn’t stop them from getting into the win column on night one. In front of a packed crowd at the United Center, the Bulls picked up a Detroit Pistons win 115-111 let’s get going in the right direction this season.
Nikola Vucevic played for the Bulls, finishing with 28 points and 14 rebounds to lead all scorers. However, second-year teammate Matas Bouzelis provided him with a big assist, adding 21 points and six boards in the win. After the game, Vucevic strongly supported Buzelis and claimed that he was reminds of some of the greatsvia Cody Westerlund of 670 The Score.
“What I really like about him is that he has a bit of sass in him, but not in a bad way,” Vucevic said. “He just has the faith that all the greats have. Obviously he’s still got work to do, but I think he’s made big strides from last season.”
Bouzelis has versatile skills and great potential after the Bulls took him in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, so it’s good to see him off to a good start this season. If he can emerge as a true franchise center for this Bulls team moving forward, this season can be viewed as a success regardless of the final win-loss record.
However, after this showing in the first game of the year against a team that went to the playoffs last season, the Bulls will have their eyes on a playoff spot this year. They have other promising young pieces around Buzelis, too played without point guard Kobe White on Wednesday night while returning from a calf injury.
On top of that, Vucevic can still carry the load offensively at times with his ability to score on all three levels of the floor. If Bouzelis can become another top guy Chicago can rely on every night, this could be a sneaky contender team in the Eastern Conference.
2025-10-23 05:06:00
