Ayo Dosunmu steps up for shorthanded Chicago Bulls

Ayo Dosunmu finally had a chance to shine for the Chicago Bulls, and he took advantage of the moment.

Leading up to the game on Sunday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, Ayo wasn’t looking his best. He just had a performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves where he dropped just two points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field. He failed to covert on a three-pointer as well.

Sunday night was a different animal, though. Ayo was the star of the show as Patrick Williams and Devon Dotson both sat. With those two sitting, Ayo received the most minutes for the Bulls at 30 minutes and 37 seconds.

Ayo was Chicago’s best player against Memphis. He ended the game with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 11-of-21 from the field. He was perfect from the charity stripe going 3-of-3 as well.

This is the Ayo Dosunmu that every Illinois basketball fan knows.

Team chemistry matters greatly. I think that is what I take away from the past two games for the Bulls. While Ayo can take a backseat and do what the team needs him to do, he is more of a star player than a role player.

Ayo has the ability to put up big numbers on a nightly basis. He is a true Swiss Army Knife in the sense that he can score, dish, and rebound the ball well. On Sunday night, Chicago needed Ayo to step up and be the star and score the basketball. That is exactly what he did.

The Bulls’ summer league team played much better with Ayo being the lead man as well. Despite the team falling just short to the Grizzlies, I think it is clear that Ayo is able to guide a team to be competitive.

Ayo is going to be a really good player at the NBA level. It might take him a year or two to be a mainstay with the Bulls, but it will happen. When it does, the league better be on watch. This kid is the real deal.