Matas Buzelis is heading into his third NBA season with a different body and, he hopes, a different kind of game.
The Bulls forward said he has added about 12 pounds this offseason, a change he believes will help him play through contact more effectively after a sophomore year in which physical defenders could throw him off his spots. Buzelis said the added size is already showing up in the way he attacks the rim.
“Getting stronger, for sure. It was pretty easy for me to figure out what I needed to do," Buzelis said of his offseason focus.
"The main thing is adding in a chef and building that routine with a chef. Honestly, one of the best things that I've ever purchased in my life ...
I put on like 12 pounds, and I feel like I'm playing stronger ...
I think me putting on weight, I could get to the rim, and I could hit guys. I've been driving and hitting dudes, bumping, stuff like that. Just everything more physical because the scouting report was be physical with him.”
That offseason work matters because Buzelis is coming off a season that pushed him firmly onto the Bulls’ long-term radar. The 2024 first-rounder nearly doubled his production across the board in his second year, averaged 16.3 points, shot 46.3 percent from the field, and finished in the NBA’s Top 6 in total blocks. For a 6-foot-10 wing, that kind of two-way growth is exactly the sort of profile Chicago wants to keep building around.
But the numbers only tell part of the story. Buzelis also acknowledged that his frame still has to catch up to the way opponents defended him last season.
Bigger power forwards were able to lean on him, and that affected not just his finishing at the rim but also his rebounding. He said after his rookie year that he had added weight before, only to lose it as the season wore on, which is part of why bringing in a chef became such an important piece of the plan this time.
There’s another layer to the adjustment, too: Buzelis wants fewer jumpers and more punishment at the basket. He said he is looking to cut down on the number of threes he takes after putting up more than 6.0 per game in 2025-26, including one outing in which he launched 15. That shift helped explain why he mentioned Deni Avdija as a player he studied this offseason, pointing to Avdija’s ability to absorb contact and earn trips to the free throw line.
The challenge now is turning added weight into real on-court force. Strength is one thing.
Playing physical possession after possession is another. The Bulls, though, should give him plenty of runway to prove it.
With Chicago focused on development, Tiago Splitter is expected to make Buzelis a major part of the plan early this season.
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He also showed he is not backing away from the spotlight that comes with being outspoken. Buzelis revisited a March game against Luka Doncic, when a back-and-forth with the Dallas star helped turn the night into a showcase for Doncic, who erupted for 51 points. Even after that lesson, Buzelis made it clear he plans to keep testing Doncic the next time their paths cross, which should make their next matchup worth keeping an eye on. [Read more 🡒]