Chicago Bulls’ Matas Buzelis Wants To Win Most Improved Player Of The Year Award This Season
During an interview with DJ Siddiqi of RG.org, Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis said he wants to win the Most Improved Player of the Year Award this season.
The last Bulls player to win the Most Improved Player of the Year Award was Jimmy Butler during the 2014-15 season.
“Individually, I want to win Most Improved Player,” Buzelis said. “As a team, I want to win a championship — plain and simple. You should be going for that every year. I don’t care what kind of team you have. You should be striving and having big dreams for every year that you’re in the NBA. That’s what our team is striving for.”
The Bulls haven’t made the playoffs since 2022. They traded Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2017, Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks in 2016, Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2024, Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings last season, DeMar DeRozan to the Kings in 2024 and Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason.
Buzelis appeared in 80 games for the Bulls last season. He averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists while shooting 45.4% from the field, 36.1% from beyond the arc and 81.5% from the free-throw line.
One of Buzelis’ favorite teammates is Josh Giddey, who signed a four-year, $100 million contract with the Bulls this offseason.
Chicago acquired Giddey from OKC in the Caruso trade.
“Josh’s IQ is off the charts,” Buzelis said. “He’s amazingly skillful at his height. I can’t compare him to any player. Josh is a 6-foot-8 point guard. You don’t ever see that back in the day. Honestly to have him as a teammate is really special. He’s an amazing player, he works extremely hard, he finds everyone. He includes everyone into the game. Honestly, to compare him to somebody I guess in the past, Magic Johnson.
“He’s an amazing guy. Honestly, he’s so skillful, he works so hard. That’s always something you can respect — when a guy works on his craft every day. Even if it might not show up on the stat book, he’s going to make plays that impact the game.”
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