Could Nikola Vučević be an All-Star? First, the Bulls have to keep him at the heart of the offense.

Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune on Dec 11, 2024

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CHICAGO — In the celebration after Nikola Vučević’s 39-point eruption in the Chicago Bulls’ beatdown of the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, teammate Ayo Dosunmu had a message ready: “Start the Vooch All-Star campaign.”

In the early weeks of the season, the idea was something of a joke. Vučević was on a tear, going 21 for 44 from 3-point range in the first 10 games. But coming off the worst long-range shooting season of his career in 2023-24, it was hard to believe his hot streak could be sustainable.

A month later, Vučević still is shooting lights out. And while the Bulls don’t have much to celebrate so far this season — a 10-15 record, only three home wins — Vučević’s transformation has been a rare source of joy.

Vučević hasn’t just returned to his All-Star form — he has elevated far beyond it. His shooting this season eclipses the efficiency of his two All-Star seasons with the Orlando Magic.

While he averaged more points (23.4) in 2020-21 and slightly more assists in 2018-19 and 2020-21 (3.8 both seasons) than this season’s averages of 21 and 3.2, Vučević’s effective field-goal percentage of 66.4% is the highest of his career by more than 10 percentage points. He’s making 47.4% of his 3-point attempts, nearly seven percentage points higher than his previous best season.

And his consistency has rewritten the way the Bulls offense can run around and through their starting center.

“This dude’s going 8 for 11 some games,” guard Zach LaVine said. “There’s certain games where I’m like, ‘Well, we might as well let Vooch just shoot the ball 25 times, see how many he makes.’ I appreciate his hard work and how much he dedicates himself to the game.”

But will that translate into an invitation to San Francisco in February? All-Star selections are about the competition across the league, so Vučević isn’t guaranteed to earn the honor just because he’s matching or exceeding his old statistics.

The NBA has yet to announce details of this season’s All-Star Game format and selection process, but ESPN reported last month that the league is considering a “pickup-style” tournament with three eight-player teams of All-Stars plus the winning team from the Rising Stars game.

Vučević ranks seventh among NBA centers in scoring and has the second-most 3-pointers (55) for a center behind the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama (59). While he isn’t the most prolific rebounder among his peers — averaging just under a double-double with 9.8 rebounds per game — Vučević’s high assist rate makes him the central cog of the Bulls offense.

The star power of centers such as Nikola Jokić, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns and Wembanyama makes it nearly impossible to break into that group. But the fact Vučević even is garnering conversation ahead of voting — which opens later this month — reflects his resurgence this season.

“I don’t think people understand how hard he works,” LaVine said. “We all made sacrifices — me, DeMar (DeRozan), Vooch — we all came together and we all took a little bit less of our game and tried to do better for the team. But I think Vooch took the biggest back seat for years. And he still worked his ass off.”

As the Bulls reach the midseason grind, however, coaches and teammates have recognized the importance of not reverting to old patterns. The two games that followed Vučević’s 39-point performance showed how quickly the Bulls can stop looking to the post for success.

Against the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers, the Bulls fell back on a reliance on perimeter shooting while struggling to create penetration in the lane. Vučević took only 18 shots over those two games while tallying five assists. And the Bulls lost both games as the offense notably stalled out midgame.

Coach Billy Donovan said the Bulls will reevaluate their entry passes during a long layoff between games this week, emphasizing the importance of keeping Vučević active even in games that require him to take fewer shots.

“That’s the versatility of Vooch,” Donovan said. “It’s OK if he’s not necessarily getting threes, but he can do other things finding the ball in the pocket. He’s so unselfish. We’ve just got to be better executing passes to him.”

An All-Star berth might be a long shot this season. But the Bulls’ success depends on sustained consistency from Vučević, whose patience is finally paying off.

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