Illinois Basketball: Ayo Dosunmu continues to rack up accolades

When Ayo Dosunmu was coming out of the Illinois basketball program, many people undervalued him.

Where is the proof that people undervalued the Illini star? Well, there were 37 players selected ahead of Ayo in the 2021 NBA Draft. He went with the No. 38 pick, also known as the eighth pick in the second round. For one reason or another, NBA scouts didn’t think highly of Ayo.

The fact so many teams passed up on Ayo is astonishing. In his final season at Illinois, he averaged 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. For his career, he was a consensus All-American, 2x All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Freshman, and a Big Ten Tournament MVP.

Ayo was selected with pick No. 38 by the Chicago Bulls, and now that a season is in the books, he can add to the list of career accolades that I mentioned above. On Thursday, it was announced that Ayo had made the NBA All-Rookie second team. This is a huge accomplishment and is something only 25 other Chicago Bulls rookies have ever done.

The Chicago Bulls are set up well for the future with former Illinois basketball legend Ayo Dosunmu.

It isn’t easy to make an NBA All-Rookie team. As mentioned above, there were 37 other rookies drafted ahead of Ayo in this 2021 NBA Draft. That means there were 37 other players who NBA teams thought were better than Ayo.

Only 10 total rookies make the NBA All-Rookie first and second team. This is an impressive accomplishment, and I am sure it won’t be Ayo’s last accolades he racks up during his career.

The Bulls are set up well for the future with Ayo as well. Chicago has now had three-straight seasons with a player making the NBA All-Rookie team. Patrick Williams made the second team last season and Coby White made it the year before. That is a great young foundation of players on a team that was good enough this season to be the No. 6 seed in the playoffs.

Ayo making an NBA All-Rookie team is also a rarity for a former Illinois basketball player. The last time an Illini player made an NBA All-Rookie team was back in 2006 when Deron Williams cracked the first team.

It should be clear to everyone now that Ayo is a really good player and someone who you can build a team with. At every level, he has shown he can win and put up big numbers. Don’t be shocked if there is an All-Star game in his future.