Ayo Dosunmu just wants to get better.
That has been a consistent message throughout the guard’s five years with the Chicago Bulls. When he was a rookie, Dosunmu often fell back on the same mantra — “brick by brick” — when explaining his approach to his learning curve.
Dosunmu isn’t big on New Year’s resolutions. He doesn’t want to limit his expectations or parameters for growth to the start of a year — especially as he approaches the midway point of one of the most pivotal seasons of his young career.
“You can always find ways to get better and you can always find ways to evolve as a player,” Dosunmu told the Tribune. “You just have to put the work in.”
Dosunmu always has taken an egoless approach to his role with the Bulls. He was thrown into the deep end as an unexpected starting point guard in his rookie season after Lonzo Ball’s injury, then bounced around from the end of the bench to the top of the depth chart over the next three years.
His current position as an anchoring sixth man is a more accurate representation of his stabilized role with the Bulls. Dosunmu started seven games out of necessity when the Bulls were hit with a series of injuries in late November and early December. But when the roster is closer to whole, Dosunmu is typically the first man off the bench, averaging 26.2 minutes.
That represents his lowest playing time since his second season. Although he maintains a goal of ascending to a consistent starting role, Dosunmu isn’t one to fuss over rotations.
“I’m a solution guy,” he said. “I’m always looking for solutions.”
And the reduced minutes have stoked Dosunmu’s efficiency. He’s shooting 45% behind the 3-point arc on 4.1 attempts per game — both career-best numbers — and accomplishing that higher volume in significantly fewer minutes.
He credits the improved accuracy partially to his shot selection, which has improved by taking fewer midrange jumpers, lining up shots behind screens and pulling up off the dribble. But if he’s being honest, Dosunmu has to concede another source for his improved shooting: His shoulder finally works again.
Dosunmu missed the second half of the 2024-25 season to undergo surgery to repair his left shoulder, in which a fracture had caused repeated dislocations for nearly two years. While the injury wasn’t to his shooting shoulder, it still affected the overall carriage of his upper body, hampering his accuracy on the days when he couldn’t raise his left arm more than 90 degrees.
Now coach Billy Donovan has just one request for Dosunmu’s shots: Take more of them.
Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu makes a 3-pointer against the 76ers on Dec. 26, 2025, at the United Center. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
“He’s very, very good in the open court, but I also think there’s opportunities — with the way he’s shooting the ball — where he can’t be turning down shots,” Donovan said. “He needs to take those. So the decision-making on when to shoot, when to pass, when to drive — all of that stuff needs to continue to get better.”
Shooting is crucial for Dosunmu, but if he wants to continue his growth, it can’t be the centerpiece of his game.
With Josh Giddey sidelined indefinitely by a hamstring injury, the Bulls need playmaking more than ever. Coby White and Tre Jones are providing the bulk of that creation in the starting lineup — with some help from Matas Buzelis — but in the second unit, the burden falls mainly on Dosunmu.
Dosunmu doesn’t need to provide the same dynamism as Giddey, but he needs to offer stability with the ball in his hands, marshaling the offense and controlling the spacing and flow of action. Donovan believes Dosunmu is a natural playmaker in the open court. Now he aims to prove he can handle a greater responsibility in the half-court offense.
“I’ve been a playmaker my whole life,” Dosunmu said. “That’s what I’ve always hung my hat on. I’m a playmaker, a competitor, a two-way player.”
The better Dosunmu plays, the more one question grows: Is he more valuable to the Bulls on the roster or on the trade market?
Dosunmu is one of seven Bulls on an expiring contract this season. He’s extension-eligible, which means the Bulls could add four years and $87 million to his current contract anytime before July. But for a team hammering the importance of “flexibility” this summer, every role player is potentially on the market at the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
The problem with shopping Dosunmu is that no other team values him as highly as the Bulls do. It’s a common misconception outside Chicago. Executives, pundits and fans often will label a Bulls player as a potential “steal” leading up to the deadline. Dosunmu is only the latest example.
But it’s nearly impossible to fleece the Bulls for players whom they value so highly. Although his $7.5 million annual salary might not show it, Dosunmu, who turns 26 next week, still is seen as a crucial part of the “young core” around which Artūras Karnišovas plans to build.
Bears President Kevin Warren hugs Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu before the Bears-Vikings game Sept. 8, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
And the Bulls never have lost sight of the value that Dosunmu — as a born-and-raised Chicagoan who will serve as the face of the team’s charity foundation or don a cheese grater hat at a Bears-Packers game with equal enthusiasm — brings to the organization as a whole.
Teams aren’t wrong to seek out Dosunmu. But while the Bulls are open to hearing offers, their internal valuation of him could make it difficult to get a deal over the line. (Think back to last February, when they failed to move center Nikola Vučević.)
The Bulls aren’t wrong about Dosunmu either. He’s a valuable two-way guard who could bolster the second-unit backcourt for any number of teams. But prizing their assets too highly could be another recipe for inaction as the deadline creeps closer.