After a gut-wrenching end to the 2024-25 season that saw the Chicago Bulls fall short in the Play-In Tournament, the Windy City franchise entered the new year with a chip on its shoulder. Determined to flip the script, the Bulls had an aggressive offseason, and so far, the results speak for themselves. Chicago has started the 2025-26 regular season red-hot, winning its first two games against Detroit and Orlando.
While veterans have done their part, the team’s rising star, Matas Buzelis, has captured everyone’s attention. Averaging 12 points per game, the sophomore forward shows flashes of stardom. He has revealed which NBA legend helped shape his game growing up.
Who Inspired Matas Buzelis’s Breakout Start?
In a recent exclusive with “RG,” Buzelis didn’t hesitate when asked which player he modeled his game after, naming the long, fluid scorer with a similar frame: Tracy McGrady.
“I was a guy who watched a lot of players. I like Tracy McGrady. I never was attached to a certain team. I think the younger generation now are fans of our fans of certain players, not teams specifically,” Buzelis told RG.
“I was a guy who watched everyone, and I would steal stuff from everyone. I would try to put everything into the box, I would shake it up and see what I can create. I wasn’t really attached to any certain player,” he added.
Buzelis’s path to this moment is a Chicago story. The Lithuanian-American forward, born in the city he now represents, entered the NBA when the Bulls selected him 11th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Why Is Tracy McGrady the Perfect Model for Buzelis?
The comparison starts with McGrady’s impressive résumé. A Hall of Famer and seven-time All-Star, T-Mac dominated as a 6-foot-8 creator long before the three-point boom, peaking at 32.1 points per game in 2002-03. His game fused explosive elevation with effortless shot-making, hesitation pull-ups, hang-time finishes, and a unique glide into space that turned tough shots into high art. This is exactly the blend of style and power that Buzelis is chasing.
The similarities began to emerge during Buzelis’s rookie year. In the 2024-25 season, he appeared in 80 games and averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 18.9 minutes. He also led the Bulls in blocks per game at 1.0.
One night in particular felt like a McGrady homage. On February 4, 2025, in a game against Miami, Buzelis went a spotless 10-for-10 from the field for 24 points. He drilled a cold-blooded pull-up three that echoed T-Mac’s tough shot-making and became the first Bulls rookie to shoot 100% on 10 or more attempts.
Now comes the next checkpoint. Carrying a 2-0 start and the swagger of a team rewriting its narrative, Buzelis and the Bulls are gearing up for a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks on October 27.
