Matas Buzelis is headed to All-Star Weekend!

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Chicago Bulls’ rookie has committed to participating in this season’s Slam Dunk Contest! The No. 11 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, he is expected to join Spurs lottery selection Stephon Castle in the iconic competition.

This will mark the second straight year that Buzelis is part of the NBA’s All-Star festivities. He competed in the Rising Stars challenge last season as part of the G League Ignite, even hitting a game-winner!

Matas Buzelis is in the Dunk Contest!

Matas Buzelis built up a reputation for his emphatic jams during his G League Ignite career. The wirey six-foot-ten forward possesses impressive body control and verticality. And Buzelis knows how to use it. In an interview with Bleacher Nation back in May of 2024, he made that clear: “I’m going to try to go dunk everything.”

Bulls fans have already grown used to seeing the 20-year-old attack the basket. He’s tied for the second-most slams on the roster with 18 despite playing only the 9th-most minutes on the team. Nikola Vucevic leads the way with 41 dunks, while backup big man Jalen Smith also has 18.

Buzelis will now be the first Chicago Bulls player to compete in the dunk contest since Tyrus Thomas in 2007. As we wait to find out who else he will match up against, I recommend rewatching some of his best slams from the season!

GO WIN THAT THING, MATAS!

.@BuzelisMatas can get 🆙

The best dunks from his rookie season so far 🍿 pic.twitter.com/COKWEbAqtT

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 18, 2024