The evolution of the NBA has been a beautiful thing to watch throughout the decades. Still, the game has never changed more drastically throughout the history of the illustrious game of basketball than in the last decade in large part due to Golden State Warriors megastar Stephen Curry breaking the boundaries of the sport many never thought were possible.
Since he broke onto the scene to a national audience a decade ago now it’s shifted the paradigm and course of where the game/league was headed forever. He forced bigs to have to become more skilled on the perimeter from ball handling, passing, and shooting, while also having to be able to guard out on the perimeter and be switchable.
We also have to give credit to legends such as Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, and Kevin Durant. Nowitzki forever changed the game as the first 7-footer with a two-guard skillset who came from Germany and took a lot of heat for the ones that came after him by being a perimeter-oriented big man who revolutionized the game and made tall guys reimagine what they could do offensively… Durant took what Dirk did and raised it up a notch with more athletic ability than his predecessor.
Webber was one of the best passing bigs of all time with an elite handle who showed bigs they can initiate and have an offense run through them as he did for the Sacramento Kings in the late 90s and early 2000s. Garnett helped take versatility to a new level by guarding all five positions defensively, handling the ball like a guard, and being a tenacious competitor.
So who’s next after those guys after we’ve had Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and just recently Victor Wembanayma help reimagine and redefine what bigs can do?
Meet the 6-foot-10 Lithuanian forward set to play for the NBA G-League Ignite next season, Matas Buzelis.
Buzelis is a 6-10 point forward from Sunrise Christian with the skills of a guard seven inches shorter than him. The 2022-23 Kansas Boys Basketball Player of the Year averaged 15.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game, displaying his all-around ability on the basketball court.
He can take the ball full court off the glass and push it in transition, hit the three-ball, and hit shots off the bounce. Buzelis is also very mobile and fluid for someone his size who can guard multiple positions.
He bypassed college to play for the NBA G-League Ignite which has a history now of producing high draft picks from Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Scoot Henderson, and more over recent years.
Buzelis showed his hunger to learn and get better by even attending this year’s Draft Combine to work out and witnessing the NBA Summer League to get a taste of what he’ll be going through this time next year. Something NBA GMs should be raising an eyebrow on which shows his desire to improve.
Buzelis will be joining other top 2024 Draft Prospects such as Ron Holland and Thierry Darlan, to name a few, in what’s looking like the most loaded Ignite team yet as the program has grown year after year.
Buzelis will need to gain muscle and continue developing his shot in order to reach his high ceiling. The man has been nicknamed “The Praying Mantis” so you can only imagine how good he can be once he tweaks the weaknesses in his game and frame.
Buzelis is the next in line in the continued beautiful evolution of the game of basketball that we’ve seen over the last decade, from Giannis to Jokic to Wembanyama. He brings another potential international star to the game in a sport that is growing in front of our eyes more and more each year.
It continues to produce top-notch talent, especially overseas, as the top players are now international guys for the foreseeable future. Can Buzelis join that group in the coming years? Only time will tell, but playing under Ignite will surely help catapult the process.
The game continues to evolve as the years go on. Who would’ve ever thought 30 years ago we’d see players this tall, coordinated, athletic, and skilled as Durant, Giannis, Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Wembanyama?
Buzelis is not the only intriguing international prospect next season as a 7-foot-4 center from Spain. Aday Mara, who’ll be attending UCLA, has been getting Pau Gasol-Jokic-type comparisons as well as the 7-foot-2 unicorn Kentucky commit Zvonimir Ivisic, a highly skilled Croatian forward. The game continues to get more global as the years and decades go by. And it’s a sight to behold.