Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu embraces opportunities in his 2nd Rising Stars selection: ‘It’s a blessing’

Ayo Dosunmu was just grateful he hadn’t made plans for the All-Star Weekend.

Before he received a second invitation to the Rising Stars game, the second-year Chicago Bulls guard had opted to “go with the flow” and soak in some much-needed rest before the hectic final push for the playoffs.

“I wasn’t thinking about somebody dropping out,” Dosunmu said. “That just wasn’t on my mind.”

But when Dosunmu got the call Thursday to replace Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green, he was ready to drop everything to make it to Utah to play in the game Friday night.

“Anytime you get acknowledged to be able to do that, it’s a blessing,” Dosunmu said. “If you go on down the list of the players that play in these games, it’s a lot of great talent. Of course I’m a competitor, but I’m blessed at the same time. So I’m going to try to win of course, that’s the main goal, you always want to try to win. But I’m also going to have fun and just be grateful to have the opportunity to be there.”

The Rising Stars game highlights a selection of the top talent from first-year, second-year and G-League players. Dosunmu was assigned to the team of former Illinois star Deron Williams — a fact that earned an immediate grin when he learned it in the locker room before Thursday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Williams was a key mentor for Dosunmu ahead of the 2021 NBA draft — preparing the young guard for the draft process and the adjustment to the NBA — and the pair still speak regularly.

“He’s going to play me all the minutes,” Dosunmu joked.

Dosunmu enters his second All-Star weekend with the same goal as his first: picking as many brains as possible.

Last season, Dosunmu approached the weekend in Cleveland planning to act like a “sponge” to soak up information from every player and coach who came across his path. He took every opportunity to talk in depth with his Rising Stars coach, former Seattle SuperSonics point guard Gary Payton.

Dosunmu will join teammate DeMar DeRozan, who was selected as a reserve for his fifth All-Star game. After being snubbed from the Rising Star game as a rookie, DeRozan emphasized the importance of the honor to Dosunmu.

As a second-round draft pick, Dosunmu’s selection last season offered vindication as he rose to an interim starting point guard.

“Around this time last year, I was pretty much — I wouldn’t say under the radar — but a lot of teams didn’t really have me on their scouting report,” Dosunmu said. “I was shocking a lot of people and then this year, I think that it’s the opposite.”

It has been a challenging season for the Bulls and Dosunmu, who once again shouldered the burden of the starting point guard role — this time against teams who had a full reel of film on him.

But Dosunmu has grown on both ends of the ball, averaging 9.6 points on 51% shooting and 2.9 assists per game in his sophomore season. For Dosunmu, the selection to the Rising Stars group is less of a vindication and more of a confirmation of his status in the NBA.

“Sometimes when you get better, you may not be able to see it right away,” Dosunmu said. “But watching film, talking to my coaches, through the results, I just feel stronger and feel more comfortable out there.”