Ayo Dosunmu was simply grateful he hadn’t made plans for the All-Star Weekend.
Before he acquired a second invitation to the Rising Stars recreation, the second-year Chicago Bulls guard had opted to “go with the flow” and soak in some much-needed relaxation earlier than the hectic ultimate push for the playoffs.
“I wasn’t thinking about somebody dropping out,” Dosunmu mentioned. “That just wasn’t on my mind.”
But when Dosunmu bought the decision Thursday to switch Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green, he was able to drop all the things to make it to Utah to play within the recreation Friday night time.
“Anytime you get acknowledged to be able to do that, it’s a blessing,” Dosunmu mentioned. “If you go on down the list of the players that play in these games, it’s a lot of great talent. Of course I’m a competitor, but I’m blessed at the same time. So I’m going to try to win of course, that’s the main goal, you always want to try to win. But I’m also going to have fun and just be grateful to have the opportunity to be there.”
The Rising Stars recreation highlights a choice of the highest expertise from first-year, second-year and G-League gamers. Dosunmu was assigned to the workforce of former Illinois star Deron Williams — a proven fact that earned an instantaneous grin when he discovered it within the locker room earlier than Thursday’s recreation in opposition to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Williams was a key mentor for Dosunmu forward of the 2021 NBA draft — making ready the younger guard for the draft course of and the adjustment to the NBA — and the pair nonetheless converse often.
“He’s going to play me all the minutes,” Dosunmu joked.
Dosunmu enters his second All-Star weekend with the identical aim as his first: selecting as many brains as doable.
Last season, Dosunmu approached the weekend in Cleveland planning to behave like a “sponge” to take in data from each participant and coach who got here throughout his path. He took each alternative to speak in depth along with his Rising Stars coach, former Seattle TremendousSonics level guard Gary Payton.
Dosunmu will be part of teammate DeMar DeRozan, who was chosen as a reserve for his fifth All-Star recreation. After being snubbed from the Rising Star recreation as a rookie, DeRozan emphasised the significance of the dignity to Dosunmu.
As a second-round draft decide, Dosunmu’s choice final season supplied vindication as he rose to an interim place to begin guard.
“Around this time last year, I was pretty much — I wouldn’t say under the radar — but a lot of teams didn’t really have me on their scouting report,” Dosunmu mentioned. “I was shocking a lot of people and then this year, I think that it’s the opposite.”
It has been a difficult season for the Bulls and Dosunmu, who as soon as once more shouldered the burden of the start line guard position — this time in opposition to groups who had a full reel of movie on him.
But Dosunmu has grown on each ends of the ball, averaging 9.6 factors on 51% capturing and a pair of.9 assists per recreation in his sophomore season. For Dosunmu, the choice to the Rising Stars group is much less of a vindication and extra of a affirmation of his standing within the NBA.
“Sometimes when you get better, you may not be able to see it right away,” Dosunmu mentioned. “But watching film, talking to my coaches, through the results, I just feel stronger and feel more comfortable out there.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com