DETROIT – When he was selected by the Bulls in the second round of the NBA Draft, it was a special moment for Chicago basketball.
A star at Morgan Park High School and then an All-American at Illinois, Ayo Dosunmu was coming home to start his professional basketball career. The guard would be among the many additions to a new-look Bulls team under second-year head coach Billy Donovan.
The question immediately was just how much playing time Dosunmu would get in his rookie season and what his role might end up being on what became a more veteran team. Fans of the Chicago native got a positive answer on the regular season’s opening night when the guard saw his fair share of playing time in Detroit.
Dosunmu played 11 minutes against the Pistons in a 94-88 victory on Wednesday night and was able to make an impact in his time on the floor. He scored seven points on 3-of-8 shooting while grabbing two defensive rebounds and blocking a shot.
He had a plus/minus of +7 when he was on the floor, doing his part to help the Bulls to their first opening night win since 2016.
For head coach Billy Donovan, the performance is a reflection of Dosunmu’s work in the preseason, in which he caught the coaching staff’s eye with his workouts and exhibition contests.
“He’s played really, really well in practice, he’s played really, really well in some of the preseason games. I think if you look at what he did, and I know just a preseason game, at Cleveland, coming down the stretch he made some big shots,” said Donovan. “He’s not afraid. He’s got a great competitive spirit, he’s a tough kid.”
Possibly influencing the decision was Troy Brown Jr., who got three fouls in four minutes of action while also dealing with a mouth issue that kept him from eating for a few days. Instead of him heading out there for a few more minutes, it was Dosunmu who got to have a little more lengthy of a debut on Wednesday.
“Troy to me, and he may say he was totally fine, just to me I just felt like he just didn’t seem like he was himself,” said Donovan. “He didn’t do anything wrong, I just…you know what, let me just throw Ayo out there because if we needed to use him I just wanted to get his feet wet in the first half and then that third quarter I just decided to go back with him.”
Dosunmu took advantage of that time to make an impact in his first professional game.