Chicago Bulls' Matas Buzelis Joins Elite 100/100 Club with Victor Wembanyama

Walter Clayton Jr. briefly lost Matas Buzelis as he drove toward the baseline in the second quarter. The forward quickly recovered, leaving his feet at the perfect time to swat the side-step mid-range jumper out of bounds.

He was now one away.

The Chicago Bulls' 2024 lottery pick entered the game with 98 blocks on the board. Reaching 100 would put him among some of the NBA's top defenders this season – let alone become the first Bulls player to crack that threshold in nearly a decade.

Fast forward to the third quarter, and it was Clayton Jr. with the ball in his hands again. The former Florida standout drove past Jalen Smith and attempted to finish through Buzelis at the rim. To little surprise, he failed. While Buzelis and Smith practically combined for the block, it was the 21-year-old who got his hands on it first and joined franchise history.

Buzelis is only the 18th member of the Bulls to reach 100 blocks in a single season, per Stathead. Equally as notable, he is the first player to do so since Robin Lopez during the 2016-17 campaign. Only eight players total have accomplished this feat since the turn of the century, and one has to imagine it will not be Buzelis' last time doing so.

As for the league leaderboards, Buzelis is now one of only eight players to have reached 100 blocks this season. While more will eventually join the fold, doing so this quickly has put him alongside some of the most impressive rim protectors in the sport.

NBA Leaders in Blocks (As of March 17)

Victor Wembanyama – 161
Jay Huff – 131
Chet Holmgren – 109
Scottie Barnes – 102
Donovan Clingan – 101
Matas Buzelis – 101
Rudy Gobert – 101
Evan Mobley – 100

All things considered, this is a remarkably impressive cast of characters for Buzelis to join in only his second year of NBA action. The only players who are not former DPOYs or All-Stars to make the cut are Buzelis, Huff, and Clingan. And the former two have the advantage of standing over seven feet tall and manning the five!

Indeed, this might as well be the most impressive thing about Buzelis' accomplishment. He spends the majority of his time along the perimeter, especially in recent weeks as he's shifts to playing at small forward more consistently. In other words, he isn't parked under the basket and ready to contest shots. Buzelis is instead racking up blocks after being put on an island or flying over from the weak side for assistance. It's a true testament of his versatility, as well as his potential to turn into a genuinely elite multi-positional defender.

If there is any stat that speaks to his incredibly high ceiling, though, it may be the one that includes his offensive production. Many have been quick to point out that Buzelis is one of only two players in the NBA to have 100+ blocked shots and 100+ made threes thus far. Can you guess the other?

Hint: He's an Alien from France.

That's right, Buzelis and Wembanyama stand alone in this department. Does this mean that Buzelis should be viewed as the next face of the NBA? Probably not! But it does speak to his incredibly rare two-way skillset.

In many ways, this is exactly what the hope was for Buzelis when he was being discussed as a potential No. 1 overall pick. He combined top-tier length with excellent athleticism and well-rounded scoring. Glaring deficiencies were always hard to find, and this has remained the case as he wraps up two full seasons of NBA action. The Chicago Bulls may not have much to be excited about, but Matas Buzelis is doing his best to change that narrative.

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