Ayo Dosunmu casually dribbled the ball past the half-court line with 7:40 left against the Washington Wizards. While Johnny Davis followed the third-year guard with the same casualness, Dosunmu did it again.
The third-year guard has stepped up a gear (literally) and left his shadow behind him. Beautifully placed on the corner, the ball would hit the back of the net and give Dosunmu the first 30-point game of his career. By the time the final buzzer sounded, it would reach 34 points.
With only 15 games left in the year, we certainly didn’t feel like we’d see Dosunmu hit that mark again this season. As good as he played, Coby White’s absence opened the door for a volume shooting night. THE Chicago Bulls Most Improved Player Candidate was only expected to miss a few games at most. Not to mention – although no one denies that the performance was impressive – the Wizards have the worst defensive rating in the NBA. Someone had to face the 12-win team.
Ayo Dosunmu needed less than a week to prove that performance had nothing to do with circumstances and everything to do with his growth. Facing the Houston Rockets on the road, Dosunmu surpassed his career high two games ago. And he did it with fewer shot attempts. The 24-year-old finished the game with 35 points on 13-18 shooting from the field and a 5-6 performance from downtown.
While the Bulls would lose their opportunity to get back to .500 with the 127-117 loss, Dosunmu was the only reason they remained within striking distance. His newfound confidence as a goalscorer was on full display. The Rockets’ 8th-ranked defense couldn’t find an answer to the downhill speed and smart off-the-ball moves. The game was just a perfect example of how Dosunmu’s offensive IQ has increased. Not only does he know what he is capable of as a goal threat, but he now understands when and who to attack.
We’ve talked about it ad nauseum, but Dosumu’s electric driving ability has completely opened up his game. We constantly see him explode on the first line of defense and use his length to finish strong at the rim. Perimeter defenders also have to play guard for the drive, which sometimes can only give him more room to stop for 3. Dosunmu is shooting a career-best 40.3 percent from downtown this season.
Indeed, Dosunmu has become one of the most efficient drivers in the league this season, which we discussed in much more detail earlier this month. However, one new stat I’ll add to your plate is his overall FG percentage since January 13th. In total, 64 players have scored at least 480 points since that date. Among these players, Ayo Dosunmu ranks 16th in FG% (52.2).
Look at (data via NBA Stats):
Giannis Antetokounmpo (837 PTS) – 62.0 FG%
Domantas Sabonis (614 PT) – 61.7%
Jarrett Allen (573 PT) – 60.1%
Nikola Jokic (777 PT) – 58.7%
Zion Williamson (611 PT) – 58.1%
Jonathan Kuminga (614 PT) – 55.1%
LeBron James (614 PT) – 54.8%
Pascal Siakam (618 pts) – 54.3%
Anthony Davis (650 PT) – 54.2%
Jimmy Butler (534 PT) – 54.1%
Kawhi Leonard (662 PT) – 53.2%
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (942 PTS) – 53.0%
Jalen Williams (551) – 53.0%
Alperen Sengun (526 PT) – 52.8%
Bam Adebayo (535 PT) – 52.3%
Ayo Dosunmu (496 PTS) – 52.2%
The only true guard ahead of Dosunmu on this list is MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Think about how crazy this is!
Overall, Ayo Dosumu’s effective completion percentage is 57.9 percent, which places Cleaning the Glass in the 87th percentile in the league. Not bad for a young person.
Ayo Dosunmu’s last three matches
While Dosunmu undoubtedly moved up a level from the Jan. 13 date noted above, he took an even bigger step forward during this recent three-game stretch.
Dosunmu scored a total of 92 PTS on 62.3% shooting against the Wizards, Trail Blazers and Rockets. This means he has the 5th most points in the NBA over the last three contests!
| SPT | AST | CER | FG | 3PT | |
| against WAS | 34 | 9 | 3 | 14-22 | 4-7 |
| against POR | 23 | ten | 1 | 9-17 | 2-6 |
| @HOU | 35 | 2 | 2 | 13-18 | 5-6 |
Not surprisingly, this is the first time in Dosunmu’s career that he has scored 20 points in three consecutive games. Although it will be a daunting task to continue this streak against the top-ranked Boston Celtics, I don’t foresee Dosunmu taking his foot off the gas anytime soon.
