Matas Buzelis got drafted by his hometown Chicago Bulls, then tearfully thanked his doubters

Buzelis had a lot of people to thank for his journey as a basketball player so far. At the top of that list though? His haters.

Matas Buzelis didn’t have to wait long on Wednesday night to hear NBA commissioner Adam Silver read his name off during the 2024 Draft.

And when Buzelis was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 11th overall pick, he got emotional, and reasonably so considering the 6-foot-10 G-League Ignite product grew up in the Windy City and went to Hinsdale Central – less than 22 miles away from the Bulls’ arena.

Those emotions continued on for Buzelis as a smile grew across his face when he put on a Bulls hat and went to go shake Silver’s hand. And then he let some tears flow as ESPN’s Monica McNutt interviewed him.

Buzelis had a lot of people to thank for his journey as a basketball player so far. At the top of that list though? His haters.

“Thank you to everyone that doubted me, because I wouldn’t be here without y’all. I just use it as fuel.”

Pretty soon, we’ll get to see if Buzelis can continue to prove doubters wrong in a Bulls uniform.

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