Currently, the Chicago Bulls are getting ready for the 2024–25 NBA season. After missing the playoffs and finishing below.500 with a 39-43 record the previous season, they are hoping to improve in the upcoming campaign.
Ayo Dosunmu must be one of the main contributors if the Bulls are to see significant progress. However, with an upper-body injury sustained during Saturday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies at United Center, it appears that Dosunmu’s status is in doubt, at least for the Bulls’ upcoming preseason game.
Ayo Dosunmu (left shoulder) will miss the rest of tonight’s game, according to an injury update posted by Chicago on X (previously Twitter).
In his 14 minutes on the court, the former Illinois Fighting Illini star guard scored seven points on 2-for-4 shooting, pulled down two rebounds, and had a steal before leaving the Grizzlies game. At the time of his exit from the game, he had three turnovers but was plus-1. According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network, Dosunmu started against the Grizzlies in place of Coby White, who missed the game due to a groin injury.
Dosunmu, who signed a $21 million, three-year contract with Chicago in the summer of 2023, just finished his greatest season in his early NBA career. During the 2023–24 season, Dosunmu, 24, averaged 12.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 76 games (including 37 starts) for the Bulls. He also shot 50.1 percent from the field and made 40.3% of his 3-point attempts, averaging 3.9 per game.
In addition to Dosunmu and White, the Bulls’ crowded backcourt also includes Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, and rookie Josh Giddey, who was acquired by Chicago in the offseason when trading for Alex Caruso from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Billy Donovan, the head coach of the Bulls, has the responsibility of striking the correct balance when allocating the team’s backcourt weapons’ minutes.
Chicago has three games remaining in the preseason after losing 124-121 to the Grizzlies. The Bulls’ next game is a road trip against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. On Wednesday and Friday, the Bulls will play the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers, both at home, to wrap out their preseason schedules.
The Bulls’ 2024–25 campaign will subsequently begin on the road on October 23 against the New Orleans Pelicans.