Overlooked on Draft Night, Ayo Dosunmu Helping Bulls on Both Ends
The Barclays Center cleared out as the 2021 NBA draft progressed from lottery picks to late first-round selections to the second round. With most of the notable players team bound, ESPN began playing commercials as opposed to league officials reading names. At Ayo Dosunmu’s Chicago draft party, the room grew restless.
The man of the hour remained unselected.
We know the rest; after precipitously plummeting into the second round, the Chicago native’s local team nabbed him with the 38th overall pick. Jubilance jolted through the fan base. A team infamous for selling second-round selections made noise as ESPN rolled on fast food commercials.
Pundits pigeonholed Dosunmu as an all-around talent without an elite skill, owning no discernible specialty coveted by NBA executives. But they all overlooked an important, singular quality (no, it’s not “fearlessness”) that’s helped Dosunmu become the only rookie excelling on a first-place team in either NBA conference.
We’ll get to that in a bit.
Dosunmu finds himself with heavy, reserve minutes because he contributes in three key ways. First, he’s a superb defender. So much so that Billy Donovan trusts him to guard the league’s top talent, allowing his star wings to focus on offense.
Against the Dallas Mavericks, Dosunmu daringly defended Luka Doncic. He blocked Trae Young three times in two games before slowing down one the craftiest wings we’ve seen since Reggie Miller, Bradley Beal, when the Bulls battled the Washington Wizards.
Dosunmu owns more defensive win shares (.5) than most of the highest drafted rookie guards: Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, Davion Mitchell, Joshua Primo and Moses Moody. And he’s not far off from Cade Cunningham and Josh Giddy despite playing far fewer minutes per game. His defensive plus/minus — albeit with help from teammates- is better than Cunningham’s and essentially on par with Rookie of the Year front-runner Scottie Barnes.
It’s defense that earns young players on-court time in the NBA. At least that’s the adage. But Dosunmu’s surprisingly sparkling shooting likely helps keep him there. The rookie’s 54.1 shooting percentage, and eye-popping 45.3 percent from deep, might be Chicago’s under-the-radar storyline this season.
The common counterpoint is to chide Dosunmu’s shooting volume. At just 4.8 field goal attempts per game, it’s no wonder the rookie shoots so well. He’s only taking easy shots! Counter to your devil’s advocate; if you calculate his makes and misses in the 14 games he took at least six shots this season, the guard is 55 for 100. In other words, even when Ayo seeks his shot, he knocks them down at a high clip.
Finally, Ayo discovered a comfort level playing off the ball. In Summer League, the former All-American looked lost without his hands on the steering wheel. He hated being caged in the corner, often cutting at inappropriate times and cluttering the court.
Now, he waits like a dog anticipating a bone on the perimeter as Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan or Lonzo Ball orchestrate the offense. His 50-plus shooting percentage is insanely reliable for a third or fourth perimeter option. Still, he’s improved his composure when he does work the rock, whether it be in the half court or fast break.
Dosunmu carved himself playing time with staunch defense, shot making and role acceptance. But he’s aided by an unsung elite trait that’s helped him adjust to NBA life. It’s a trait that scouts and pundits downplayed, preferring less successful three-and-D specialists- first rounders Quentin Grimes and Trey Murphy III to name a few.
Dosunmu possesses elite quickness that gives him an edge on both ends of the flood. At Illinois, Dosunmnu played in a different gear, effortlessly blowing by defenders, forcing turnovers and finding his spot on the floor. It led to (extremely) nice, round box scores, but no eye popping solo stat- like 11 3s or five blocks in game- allowing NBA scouts to pitch him as a plug-and-play specialist.
But it’s his lateral quickness and smooth hip turns help him stick with the NBA’s craftiest offensive stars. He comfortably skies for rebounds, knowing his turbo button will zip him to the other end before his opponents. It’s his one trait that already exceeds most in the NBA. Simply put, he increases the pulse of any game the moment he enters.
While NFL scouts drool over three-cone-drill times, quickness is a more challenging trait to quantify in basketball. If it were, scouts would have clamored for Dosunmu’s special skill like they did for the draft’s rim runners and 3-point-shooters. Thankfully, they didn’t. And now the Bulls have a first-round talent.
