Photo caption: Chicago Bulls Guard Ayo Dosunmu
For a second straight season, Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu was selected to the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars as part of NBA All-Star Weekend on Friday, February 17, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dosunmu received his second-straight Rising Stars honor, becoming the eighth player in Bulls history to take part in Rising Stars twice. He suited up for Team Deron in last Friday night’s game.
As a Bulls starter, Dosunmu is averaging 9.6 points per game, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 28.3 minutes over 56 games (48 starts).
Dosunmu is also shooting .509 from the field and .806 from the free-throw line, marking the highest field goal percentage by any second-year guard in Bulls history, as well as any sophomore guard in the NBA in 2022-23 (minimum of 10 games played).
He is one of three NBA guards (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and T.J. McConnell) to shoot at least .500 from the floor and .800 from the charity stripe this season.
The Chicago native ranks seventh among all second-year players in assists (160) and eighth in points (536) and is one of two sophomore guards (Josh Giddey) with at least 130 fast break points (133) and 300 points scored in the paint (316) in 2022-23.
Dosunmu has scored in double figures in 25 games on the year and tied his career-long streak with five-straight games of double-digit scoring from January 31 to February 7.
He was drafted 38th overall by the Bulls in the 2021 NBA Draft, following a three-year career at the University of Illinois. He joins Elton Brand, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotić and Lauri Markkanen as the eight Bulls players who have garnered two invites to the Rising Stars game, and is one of 18 former Bulls to participate at least once.
The 2023 Jordan Rising Stars, an annual showcase of premier young talent, took place February 17 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. The event featured a mini-tournament with four teams and three games. It aired live on TNT.
The player pool consists of NBA rookies, 10 second-year NBA players and seven NBA G League players. The 21 players were selected by NBA assistant coaches and were drafted onto seven three-player teams, with the fourth team consisting of the seven NBA G League players.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
