Matas Buzelis Found His Place Without Trying to be Cooper Flagg

Two young players, two roles, and one night that told a bigger story than any box score ever could.

In the matchup between the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks, the story wasn’t about who was better between Matas Buzelis and Cooper Flagg. It was about how each was used — and how quickly each had been handed responsibility.

Buzelis has been asked to thrive in structure. Flagg has been asked to shape it.

That contrast made Buzelis’s growth in Chicago impossible to ignore.

He turned design into production, running lanes, finding space, finishing with quiet efficiency. Every cut, screen, and pass fit neatly within a team-first system. 

Flagg, even when execution faltered, dictated how his team moved, subtly bending the floor to his will. 

Buzelis didn’t outplay Flagg by pretending to be him. He did it by playing within himself — cutting decisively, defending with intent, and impacting the game without demanding it bend around him. 

That growth mattered more than any single matchup. 

The Bulls may still be searching for direction, but nights like this show they have something real to build from.

The difference isn’t raw talent. It’s context.

Buzelis is learning the subtleties of a team built on shared responsibility. Flagg is Dallas’s fulcrum, creating opportunities even when the outcome isn’t perfect. Mistakes come with responsibility — and that’s the point. 

But the Bulls’ system allows Buzelis to translate lessons into growth and consistent production.

The last six games have shown what the 21-year-old can do with more responsibility, He's scoring consistently, making smart reads and producing in the paint while also stretching the floor when opportunities arise. It's growth that's quiet but dependable.

A season ago, both franchises finished 39–43, with a coin flip ultimately giving the Mavericks the edge for the first-overall pick. That razor-thin margin serves as a reminder that opportunity is shaped as much by roster construction and circumstance as by talent itself. 

For Chicago, it underscores how Buzelis’s development is unfolding within a system built on shared responsibility.

Flagg is already reaching milestones at a pace few rookies ever do. Buzelis, meanwhile, has evolved from promising prospect into a dependable building block — a player whose growth is measured not in flashes, but in understanding his place within a team that relies on him.

The 125–107 result was incidental; the story was the contrast: Buzelis delivering results in a system built to support him, Flagg hinting at influence that could define a franchise’s future.

Buzelis provided a blueprint for what the Bulls hope he will become — reliable, impactful, and perfectly in sync with the system. 

And for a Bulls team still finding its way, that contrast and the lessons Buzelis is already providing could be the foundation they’ve been waiting for.