Heading into the tail end of the NBA season, the Chicago Bulls have found a reason to smile widely in the towering form of rookie sensation, Matas Buzelis. Once seen as a promising but unproven talent picked 11th in last year’s draft, Buzelis now looks poised to become one of its standout successes — and collectors are cashing in on the excitement.
Standing at an impressive 6 feet 10 inches, Buzelis wowed audiences this past weekend by dropping a scintillating 31 points on the Los Angeles Lakers. It wasn’t just the points that made headlines, but rather how the charismatic rookie accrued them. Bulls fans were sent into raptures when Buzelis tore past the NBA’s perennial thorn, Luka Doncic, for a jaw-dropping one-handed slam that sent social media into a frenzy.
Such explosive moments beg the question of whether Buzelis answered preseason doubts with on-court performances worthy of top draft statuses. Blessed with a tantalizing blend of height, skill, and youthful exuberance, it seems the rookie’s answer has been a resounding yes. Since the All-Star break, Buzelis has transitioned from potential to performance, averaging remarkable figures: 11.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and nearly a block each game. Clearly, the Bulls’ adoption of an uptempo, aggressive style has unlocked this gem’s potential.
It’s not just the fans on their feet; the collectors are clamoring too, as the trading card world adjusts in real-time to Buzelis’s rise. According to Card Ladder, the first 25 days of March saw a whopping 2,731 Matas Buzelis card sales. Notably, 18 of these sales were for over $1,000—a sharp increase post-Panini’s 2024-25 Prizm NBA release.
Take, for instance, a January sale of Buzelis’s 2024 Prizm Draft Picks Black Prizm Auto 1/1, which capped at $700. Fast forward to post-Prizm NBA era, and you see figures that make that price a fraction:
– 2024-25 Panini Prizm Green Shimmer Rookie /5 – $2,150
– 2024-25 Panini Prizm Snakeskin Auto /15 – $2,194.69
Buzelis’s newfound market presence places him squarely amongst his draft class’s top echelon. While the first pick, Zacharie Risacher, had five card sales crossing the thousand-dollar mark, and Stephon Castle – a frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year title – reached 16, Buzelis blew past them all with 18. It’s eye-catching considering he didn’t enter the fray with the same pre-season spotlight.
He may have once been an afterthought, but now the spotlight fixed on Buzelis is too bright to ignore. His performance not only elevates him among rookie peers but also reshapes the Bulls’ identity amid a new era. As Chicago transitions from the DeRozan-LaVine epoch, they find assurance in Buzelis forming a promising trio with Coby White’s furious pace and Josh Giddey’s cerebral playmaking.
No longer content to be perceived as a work-in-progress, Buzelis takes center stage, leading the team in dunks — an effort made even more impressive given the bustling landscape of NBA athleticism. His tight scoring ability and sharp vision for reading defenses signal a matured game sense unexpected for a tender age of merely 20.
Amongst rookie narratives, Buzelis is quickly becoming a shining chapter, one written with poise on the court and pencil-written profits on card value scores. The towering rookie manifests everything scouts drool over: raw potential honed into breathtaking ability, lined by a sky’s-the-limit ceiling. Collectors, take heed because this is only the beginning of a journey with much more in the wings.
For now, Buzelis stands as a glowing example of basketball talent’s unpredictable beauty — a surprise package turning collector’s items into gold as he carves out his mark on both the NBA stage and the world of sports collectibles. As Bulls fans and collectors watch with bated breath, the question remains: just how high can Matas Buzelis fly?
