Despite logging the fewest minutes of his professional career, Ayo Dosunmu is delivering his most impressive performance yet. The Chicago Bulls guard, known for his opportunistic scoring and playmaking skills, has embraced a more offensively-driven role this season. He is averaging 15.7 points per game while spending just 25.5 minutes on the court.
A key factor in Dosunmu’s remarkable transformation is his newfound aggressiveness. Although he plays five minutes less per game than last season, he is attempting more shots, with an average of 10.2 per game, showcasing his willingness to score from all areas of the court.
Dosunmu’s shot distribution makes him an unpredictable threat. He takes over a third of his shots near the rim, 38.4% from beyond the three-point arc, and the remainder from mid-range, keeping defenders on their toes.
More aggressive
While his current shooting efficiency is impressive, it might be unsustainable. Dosunmu is hitting 55.4% of his field goals and 46.5% of his three-point attempts. Historically an efficient player, his current true shooting percentage exceeds 68%, a level that may be difficult to maintain over the season.
Dosunmu is taking just over a third of his shots near the rim, 38.4% of his shots from behind the three-point line, and the rest in the in-between areas, making him a fairly unpredictable scorer.
Yes, it should be noted that he’s currently sporting efficiency that’s probably bound to come back down to Earth at some point, as he’s currently hitting 55.4% of his shots, including 46.5% of his three three-pointers.
While he’s historically been efficient, he’s currently displaying a true shooting percentage of over 68%, which seems unreasonable to expect to continue.
That said, he has gotten better, even if his percentages will eventually even out. He’s attacking angles in a far more calculated manner, and instead of reacting to opposing defenses, he’s forcing those same defenses to react to him, by simply making quicker decisions with the ball.
His ability to draw foul shots has been a big addition, especially when you consider that he’s canning them at just over 90% accuracy.
Dosunmu is taking 2.9 freebies per game, compared to 1.7 last year, and is doing so in fewer minutes, which seems to signal a real evolution on his part.
What’s next?
With Dosunmu also being a good defender, he’s obviously attractive on the trade market as a guard who can come in, and play multiple positions, while offering two-way play.
The fact that it takes almost nothing to match salary in a trade (he’s earning just $7.5 million this season), only makes him more interesting to teams.
Should the Bulls consider a trade?
It’s a tough question, as they do run the risk of losing him in free agency next summer. Dosunmu is unrestricted, and the Bulls can only offer him an extension that’s worth 140% of the league average salary.
That’s a deal which starts at $17.7 million.
It’s an offer that should be on the table, but is it enough for Dosunmu to sign on? Given his current season it’s becoming less likely by the day, which means Chicago runs the risk of losing him for nothing in the summer, along with Coby White, who faces a similar contractual situation.
Of course, the Bulls could just ride it out and hope both players re-sign. It’d probably be slightly optimistic, especially if multiple teams out there have interest, and could present more desirable circumstances.
Regardless of what direction the Bulls choose to go in, Dosunmu is likely going to finish out this season by having his best one yet.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
