There are two versions of Matas Buzelis.
The first is the one shown in the at his first few days back in his home city of Chicago. Cracking jokes and taking pictures at every turn, Buzelis comes off as a teenager who’s simply living the dream.
The second Buzelis is the one on the hardwood. The smile fades and the eyes lock-in. There is nothing Buzelis finds funny about picking up a basketball. But don’t take my word for it. On the most recent episode of the Bulls Talk Podcast, . Asking him about his growing reputation as a trash talker, Buzelis gave us a better idea of his on-court mentality.
“Pretty accurate. I try to limit it because all the technical fouls they give out. But I’m sneaky with it,” Buzelis said of his trash talk. “When I’m on the court, there are no games. It’s dead serious with me. When I’m off the court, I’m a happy person. Smiling all the time. But when I’m on the court, I want to kill you.”
With some players, quotes like these are all talk.ꦿ With Buzelis, i𒁏t feels real.
The former G-League Ignite standout turned heads with aggressive dunks and constant two-way activity. He plays with a strong feel for the game on both ends, and he surely isn’t afraid to let somebody else know it. Likewise, Buzelis hasn’t hesitated to let the world know where he believes he ranks among the 2025 draft class.
The young forward during the pre-draft process, insisting he could take the Frenchman one-onܫ-one. Buzelis only oozed more of this confidence during his discussion with Johnson:
“I know what player I am. I work extremely hard. I don’t think anyone in the draft works harder than me,” Buzelis said on the Bulls Talk Podcast. “It doesn’t matter. Right now, it’s 0-0. It doesn’t matter where you got picked, you’re going to go out there and play against them.”
Another telling moment in Buzelis’ nearly 20-minute-long interview came when he was asked about his goals for Year 1. Pushed by Johnson to elaborate, Buzelis latched onto one word – “win.”
Unfortunately, I don’t suspect winning will come the rookie’s way this season. But I also don’t suspect that will change his attitude. The Chicago Bulls have been waiting for someone with Buzelis’ edgy on-court demeanor and loud confidence. Whether it be the quiet approach of Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu or the more respectful approach of Coby White, every team needs an alpha. To be sure, Buzelis still has a long way to go before he can prove to be that figure, but there is no denying he wants to be.
Bulls fans will get their first look at Matas Buzelis on Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas. In the meantime, check out Johnson’s full interview with the . Also, if you haven’t had a chance yet, I interviewed Buzelis earlier this season to talk about his hometown roots and G-League experience.
