MAGDEBURG, Germany — A 9-year-old was among five people killed when a Saudi doctor drove into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers in the German city of Magdeburg, an official said Saturday, as people mourned the victims and their shaken sense of security.
City official Ronni Krug said he didn’t have further information on the adults who were killed on Friday night. He said 200 people were injured, of whom 41 in serious or very serious condition.
Prosecutor Horst Nopens said the suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor, is under investigation on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and bodily harm. He is currently being questioned. He has lived in Germany since 2006, practicing medicine in Bernburg, about 25 miles south of Magdeburg, officials said.
“There is no more peaceful and cheerful place than a Christmas market,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. “What a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people there with such brutality.”
Neurosurgeon Mahmoud Elenbaby said some 80 patients were brought to Magdeburg’s university hospital on Friday night.
“We managed to stabilize most of them, but many are still in intensive care, and some are also in critical condition,” Elenbaby told The Associated Press as he dashed into the hospital cafeteria to buy himself a cola.
Several German media outlets identified the suspect as Taleb A., withholding his last name in line with privacy laws, and reported that he was a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy.
Mourners lit candles and placed flowers outside a church near the market on the cold and gloomy day. Several people stopped and cried. A Berlin church choir whose members witnessed a previous Christmas market attack in 2016 sang Amazing Grace, a hymn about God’s mercy, offering their prayers and solidarity with the victims.
The man behind the attack
There were still no answers Saturday as to what motivated the man to drive his black BMW into a crowd in the eastern German city.
Describing himself as a former Muslim, the suspect shared dozens of tweets and retweets daily focusing on anti-Islam themes, criticizing the religion and congratulating Muslims who left the faith.
He also accused German authorities of failing to do enough to combat what he said was the “Islamism of Europe.”
Nopens, the prosecutor, said the motive may have been “dissatisfaction with the treatment of Saudi refugees in Germany” but investigators are still trying to get to the bottom of what was behind the attack.
“He has at least talked about the motive,” Nopens said. “And we have to clear up how much of that is true.”
Investigators have to analyze computers, mobile devices and other evidence, “and at the end of the day we will know, or at least hope to know, what drove him to this act.”
“We have talked about an attack,” he said. “Whether it was a terror attack, we don’t know yet.”
Magdeburg is shaken
The violence shocked Germany and the city, bringing its mayor to the verge of tears and marring a festive event that’s part of a centuries-old German tradition. It prompted several other German towns to cancel their weekend Christmas markets as a precaution and out of solidarity with Magdeburg’s loss. Berlin kept its markets open but has increased its police presence at them.
Germany has suffered a string of extremist attacks in recent years, including a knife attack that killed three people and wounded eight at a festival in the western city of Solingen in August.
Those attacks have led cities to beef up security at Christmas markets and other events.
On Friday the suspect used a special escape and rescue route to enter the market, according to Tom-Oliver Langhans, director of the Magdeburg police.
Magdeburg is a city of about 240,000 people, west of Berlin, that serves as Saxony-Anhalt’s capital. Friday’s attack came eight years after an Islamic extremist drove a truck into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 people and injuring many others. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Italy.
Chancellor Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser traveled to Magdeburg on Saturday, and a memorial service is to take place in the city cathedral in the evening. Faeser ordered flags lowered to half-staff at federal buildings across the country.
A recount of the horrifying attack
Verified bystander footage distributed by the German news agency dpa showed the suspect’s arrest at a tram stop in the middle of the road. A nearby police officer pointing a handgun at the man shouted at him as he lay prone, his head arched up slightly. Other officers swarmed around the suspect and took him into custody.
Thi Linh Chi Nguyen, a 34-year-old manicurist from Vietnam whose salon is located in a mall across from the Christmas market, was on the phone during a break when she heard loud bangs and thought at first they were fireworks. She then saw a car drive through the market at high speed. People screamed and a child was thrown into the air by the car.
Shaking as she described the horror of what she witnessed, she recalled seeing the car bursting out of the market and turning right onto Ernst-Reuter-Allee street and then coming to a standstill at the tram stop where the suspect was arrested.
The number of injured people was overwhelming.
“My husband and I helped them for two hours. He ran back home and grabbed as many blankets as he could find because they didn’t have enough to cover the injured people. And it was so cold,” she said.
The market itself was still cordoned off Saturday with red-and-white tape and police vans every 50 yards. Police with machine pistols guarded every entry to the market. Some thermal security blankets still lay on the street.
Christmas markets are a German holiday tradition cherished since the Middle Ages, now successfully exported to much of the Western world.
Moulson reported from Berlin and Gera from Warsaw, Poland.
The Aurora City Council has approved preliminary plans for a new 340-unit apartment complex planned along North Orchard Road in the city.
The council approved the plans on Dec. 17.
The complex, proposed by national real estate developer Continental Properties, would be called Springs at Aurora and have 17 two-story apartment buildings, a clubhouse and both attached and detached garages, according to a city staff report.
Of the apartment complex’s 340 units, 34 are expected to be studio apartments, 136 are expected to be one-bedroom apartments, 136 are expected to be two-bedroom and 34 are expected to be three-bedroom units.
Springs at Aurora would be constructed on the currently empty land between the Home Depot at 1250 N. Orchard Road and the Holiday Inn at 2424 W. Sullivan Road, site plans show.
Each of the 17 apartment buildings would hold 20 apartments, all of which would have a patio or deck and eight of which would have its own one-car garage. The complex would also have five detached garages with a total of 49 parking spaces along with 365 outdoor parking spaces and other parking spots on driveways in front of the attached garages.
The 4,300-square-foot clubhouse would have its own 13 parking spaces and feature a leasing office, a 24-hour fitness center and an in-ground swimming pool, the staff report said. The clubhouse would also have Wi-Fi, a demonstration- style kitchen and an outdoor patio and grill area, according to a presentation given to the Aurora City Council Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee on Dec. 11.
Other amenities included in the apartment complex would be a coffee bar, pergolas with outdoor grilling areas, courtyard walkways, a car care center, a pet wash station, pet parks and handyman services, the presentation said.
The apartments are set to be between 650 and 1,400 square feet, depending on the number of bedrooms, according to the presentation.
The main entrance to the apartment complex would be at an existing traffic light on Orchard Road between West Indian Trail and Sullivan Road, and a secondary entrance would be located near the Holiday Inn.
Russ Whitaker, a Naperville-based attorney representing Continental Properties, said at a recent City Council Committee of the Whole meeting that Continental has built 11 of these Springs apartment complexes in the Chicago area over the past several years. What sets Springs apart from other apartment complexes is the price point, which would be “coming in at a premium” compared to others in the region, he said.
The site has been owned by Meijer for at least the past 24 years, and during that time, plans to build a Meijer store and gas station on the site have been fully approved twice, the city staff report said. Instead of moving forward with that development, Meijer recently decided to sell the property instead, officials said.
Along with approving preliminary plans for the Springs at Aurora apartment complex, the Aurora City Council also voted to approve the subdivision of the site into five plots, one of which will hold Springs at Aurora, and also to make changes to the roughly 500-acre USAA Planned Development District, which the site sits in, to accommodate the project.
In addition to the roughly 18-acre plot where Springs at Aurora will be located, the other four plots on the site will include a site for future commercial development, an access road and two plots for stormwater management, according to the staff report.
The changes to the USAA Planned Development District changed the land-use designation on the property where Springs at Aurora is set to be located from office, research, light industrial or commercial use to multi-family residential use with similar standards to the city’s existing R-5 Multi-Family Dwelling District zoning, but with some differences, the staff report said.
The development will be allowed to be on a single lot with a reduced lot size and floor area ratio, but it is required to be completely owned by a single company. It also requires a certain number of parking spaces, with a certain number of those spaces to be enclosed, lowers setbacks within the development, sets higher minimum floor areas for each type of apartment, requires patios or balconies for all apartments, and requires an amenity center with a pool.
The Aurora City Council voted 11-1 to approve all three items, which included the preliminary plan, the resubdivision and the change to the development district. Voting against was Ald. John Laesch, at-large, who said at the earlier Committee of the Whole meeting that the city already has enough apartments, and that he would rather see single-family homes built.
Laesch said he was also against lowering the parking requirements from what is typically allowed.
“I think the cost of $1,500 per a single-bedroom is probably going to encourage overcrowding in that space and is probably going to require more parking,” he said.
Aurora Senior Planner Tracey Vacek said the parking was lowered because residents can also park in the driveway in front of their attached garages, which were not formally counted as parking spaces. If those were counted, it would be near the level of parking typically required by the city, she said.
She also disagreed with Laesch that there are enough apartments, as did Mayor Richard Irvin.
“The reality is, we wouldn’t be building this apartment development unless there is demand for it, and demand means people want to live in them,” Irvin said.
Based on demographic data from other Continental apartment complexes, Springs at Aurora is also going to attract young professionals to the city, which is an important demographic to attract because they will then “move up through” other types of housing, according to Whitaker.
The Indiana Association of School Principals honored four administrators from Northwest Indiana schools, including three from the School Town of Munster, at its annual celebration on Nov. 24.
The event recognized exemplary school leaders across 12 regions in the state.
For District 1, which covers Northwest Indiana, River Forest High School Principal Gaelyn Mlynarcik was named High School Principal of the Year.
At Wilbur Wright Middle School in Munster, Bojan Jovanovic and Nicole Laird were named Middle School Principal of the Year and Assistant Principal of the Year, respectively.
Kelly Boersma, principal of Frank H. Hammond Elementary School in Munster, was named Elementary School Principal of the Year.
“These awards are a testament to the dedication, vision, and impact that Ms. Boersma, Mr. Jovanovic, and Mrs. Laird bring to our students and staff every day,” said Dr. Bret Heller, Superintendent of the School Town of Munster. “This recognition not only highlights their individual accomplishments but also underscores the strength of the entire School Town of Munster community. We are incredibly proud to have such remarkable leaders in our district, and this recognition is well-deserved.”
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton issued a joint statement with two Pennsylvania mayors regarding the United Steelworkers’ position on the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel.
“USW leadership is putting jobs at risk with its actions, plain and simple,” said the joint statement from Melton, North Braddock Mayor Cletus Lee and West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly. “During the course of our discussions with Nippon Steel, we urged the company to come to the table with an agreement that addressed each of the concerns that USW leadership raised with us. Nippon Steel delivered, but USW leaders refused to engage in good faith.”
USW International President David McCall and Mike Millsap, director of District 7 and chairman of the negotiating committee, on Thursday released a statement saying the union must continue to resist Nippon Steel’s purchase of the American steel company.
Nippon Steel vice president and executive director Takahiro Mori, on right, gestures to Gary mayor Eddie Melton during a press conference at the Gary City Hall concerning the planned acquisition of U.S. Steel by the Japanese company, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
On Dec. 10, Bloomberg reported that U.S. President Joe Biden plans to block Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States panel is expected to refer its decision to Biden on Sunday.
An August letter from the Treasury Department on behalf of CFIUS offered justification for blocking the deal by arguing the deal is a threat to an industry critical not just for the production of military equipment, but also for infrastructure, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 10.
USW leadership met with the Pennsylvania mayors on Monday to discuss lingering concerns. On Wednesday, they met with Melton and Nippon Steel representatives, the statement said.
Nippon leaders made it clear it has no intention of addressing problems the union has with the sale, the union’s statement said.
In the meetings, Nippon conceded that its pledged $1 billion for a hot strip mill in Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley is only half the cost required, the statement said, which leads union leaders to question the company’s commitment to the long-term success of facilities.
Union leaders also said they’re concerned that Nippon will transfer production from other facilities to Big River in Arkansas, which they argue hurts union workers and undercuts long-term job security.
“It became obvious over the course of the meeting that Nippon intends to spend some money in the communities surrounding our facilities if the sale happens, such as funding the construction of community centers,” USW’s statement said. “But it would not commit to keeping production in our current facilities. And without our facilities and the good, family-supporting jobs they sustain, our communities will ultimately suffer.”
In December 2023, it was announced that Nippon aimed to acquire the American company, according to U.S. Steel’s website. U.S. Steel employs about 4,500 steelworkers at both Gary Works and its Midwest plant in Portage.
U.S. Steel has repeatedly said that the transaction should be approved.
“The benefits are overwhelmingly clear,” a U.S. Steel statement said. “Our communities, customers, investors and employees strongly support this transaction, and we will continue to advocate for them and adherence to the rule of law.”
Nippon announced in August that if the deal is approved, it would invest about $300 million into the local Gary Works facility, specifically the blast furnace. With the investment, the Gary Works’ furnace would have its life extended by up to 20 years.
Since the announcement, Melton has continually expressed his support for the deal.
“When I first heard about this deal, like many, I say this respectfully, I was skeptical as well,” Melton said Dec. 12. “I wasn’t sure what fate was going to look like for the city of Gary. … But for the city, this partnership would mean so much.”
Northwest Indiana environmental groups have said they oppose the steel deal because they worry the deal will further permit the use of blast furnaces, calling the technology outdated. Just Transition Northwest Indiana and Gary Advocates for Responsible Development both prefer direct reduction furnaces for steelmaking.
During a Dec. 12 Gary press conference, Nippon Steel’s Representative Director and Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori said the company plans to invest $1 billion into Gary Works.
If the deal is approved, Nippon plans to invest nearly $3 billion into its union-represented facilities. The Japanese company is committed to serving steelworkers in the region, Mori said Dec. 12.
In a statement after USW meetings, Nippon executives thanked the Pennsylvania mayors and Melton for their support of the deal. Nippon’s statement said McCall refuses to engage with the Japanese company.
“This is now the second time in a matter of weeks that President McCall walked away from discussions — putting at risk the necessary capital and technological improvements that Nippon Steel will bring to U.S. Steel so it can produce stronger, cleaner and more advanced steel for its customers in the U.S.,” the statement said. “We were particularly disappointed that the USW put out its recent statement denouncing the meeting while it was still taking place, and while President McCall was still in the room.”
Nippon plans to continue pursuing USW’s approval and agreement, the statement said.
Lee, Kelly and Melton said in their statement that USW’s statement was “a slap in the face.”
“We have been through a lot of struggle in our communities, but the USW’s behavior is a new low,” the statement said. “We know that the members would be disappointed if they were in the room to hear what we heard.”
National Weather Service officials are expecting temperatures in the high 20s with windchills below zero.
Current conditions at O’Hare International Airport is a few clouds at 15 degrees with a windchill of negative 9 degrees. At Midway Airport conditions are partly cloudy at 18 degrees with a windchill of negative 8 degrees, officials reported.
Officials expected temperatures in the high 20s with a northwest wind between 5 to 10 mph. Saturday night, officials expect temperatures in the high teens with a calm wind.
Sunday, highs are expected in the low 30s with winds between 10 to 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph.
The latest victim of defunding the arts is New Trier High School’s beloved 85-year tradition, Lagniappe-Potpourri, the school’s student-written musical variety show, styled as a parody of the school. Over strong objection, the administration recently said the production would be canceled.
Lagniappe is a core part of what makes New Trier, New Trier. Canceling it is a mistake that speaks to a broader trend in society.
As a current student and Lagniappe cast member for the past two years, I recently circulated a petition
to save the show, which already has over 1,800 signatures. The comments are incredible, describing how the Lagniappe experience changed lives, teaching critical lessons that cannot be taught in the classroom. New Trier alumna, renowned film critic Nell Minow, explains: “These shows are a vital part of the culture and education at New Trier — the only student-written and composed shows, an enormous opportunity to think critically and wittily about current events at school, in the community, and in the world. The friendships there are made for life.”
New Trier has noted various challenges with Lagniappe. For one, it is difficult to write satire today that is funny yet doesn’t offend. Even SNL sometimes falls flat, and care needs to be taken not to bully. But satire serves an important purpose, using humor to draw attention to important issues. And Lagniappe has always built community, particularly in divided times. Involving upperclassmen in running the underclassmen musical, New Trier’s current proposal, does not accomplish the same goal.
There are also resource challenges. But this is how the arts slowly die off–when schools don’t commit to continuing them in the face of challenges. In Chicago, in the aftermath of the pandemic, funding for the performing arts dropped by 22% between 2019 and 2022. New Trier has an opportunity to lead by example in supporting the arts.
The school has also noted that students aren’t likely to work in sketch comedy. But even so, students are not likely to become professional athletes, yet we aren’t canceling sports.
Additional concerns are reduced student participation (although more than 70 students participated last year) and declining audience attendance. But schools should teach students to fight for what we love, rather than give up when times get tough. New Trier has an opportunity, still, to do the right thing—to signal that the arts are an integral part of who we are as a society.
One person was in custody after Chicago police officers saw them shoot someone else early Saturday morning in the North Austin neighborhood on the city’s West Side, according to police.
The officers were also shot at when they responded to the incident — described by the police department as “a person with a gun/shots fired call” — in the 5700 block of West North Avenue around 12:45 a.m., but they were not struck by gunfire. One officer returned fire during the confrontation, but the department didn’t specify whether that resulted in any injuries.
The person suspected of shooting the other person, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds, tried to get away but was apprehended a short time later, police said, adding that three guns were confiscated by officers.
Officers provided first aid to the wounded person who was later transported to an area hospital, police said. The department did not know that person’s condition.
There’s no word yet on whether the person arrested has been charged in the shooting of the other person.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability will be investigating the circumstances of the shooting since an officer discharged their weapon during the confrontation. That officer will be placed on routine administrative duties for at least 30 days.
A person was arrested early Saturday morning following a fatal shooting that happened overnight in the South Chicago neighborhood, Chicago police said.
Shortly after 4:30 a.m., a 24-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach in the 8400 block of South Kingston Avenue, and was taken to UChicago Medicine where he was pronounced dead.
A person was taken into custody and charges were pending, police said.
Officers responded overnight to a call of a person shot inside a residence in the Jackson Park neighborhood and found two people wounded, one fatally, Chicago police said.
Shortly after 12:30 a.m. Saturday, officers were called to a residence in the 1700 block of East 67th Street and found a 23-year-old woman with gunshot wounds to the face and neck. She was taken in critical condition to UChicago Medicine.
Another victim, also 23, was found with gunshot wounds to the abdomen and chest, and was taken to the same hospital where he was pronounced dead.
No one was in custody for the shootings, and detectives were investigating.
Matas Buzelis isn’t big on setting individual goals.
It’s just not quite his style. Buzelis tries not to get bogged down by the big picture. He likes to keep things day to day. Make a simple to-do list. Focus on the granular work. Let everything else come in time.
But when the Chicago Bulls drafted him
this summer, Buzelis allowed himself two goals. Nothing too extensive. Just a two-step plan for the best version of his rookie season.
Step 1: Win as many games as possible.
Step 2: Win Rookie of the Year.
If that seems like a high bar — well, you just haven’t met the kid.
Buzelis isn’t easily intimidated
. He never carried himself with the deference of a rookie. Buzelis isn’t necessarily the loudest guy in the locker room, but he can’t be backed down from a challenge — an argument, a bet, a one-on-one competition.
And that irreverence extends to the court, where Buzelis refuses to show any hesitation. Kristaps Porziņģis? Joel Embiid? Giannis Antetokounmpo? Buzelis shrugs them all off. It doesn’t matter who’s under the basket. If Buzelis can see a path to the rim, he’s getting there.
It’s not a lack of respect. It’s a mantra Buzelis repeats any time he’s asked about an opponent: “I’m not afraid of anyone.”
Nobody?
“Nobody.”
Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, right, points skyward during the national anthem before a game against the Timberwolves on Nov. 7, 2024, at the United Center. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
It might be easy to pass this off as the overconfidence of a first-round pick who just turned 20 last month. Or even as the arrogance of an unproven rookie trying to self-talk his way into success. But that’s not Buzelis.
He doesn’t want any of this to come off the wrong way. He just knows who he is, who he wants to become. And there’s never been a doubt in his mind — not as a top NBA prospect, not before his debut and certainly not now — that he could be the best player to come out of the 2024 draft.
“I’m just a basketball player who loves the game,” Buzelis told the Tribune. “I’m not doing any of this for anything else. I just love it.”
Growing up fast
Matas Buzelis, right, of the G League Ignite, shoots over the Hornets’ Brandon Miller during the NBA Rising Stars game on Feb. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Michael Conroy/AP)
For Buzelis, the path to the NBA seemed simple.
After earning national attention at Hinsdale Central
, he spent the final two years of high school playing for two of the top prep academies in the country — first Brewster Academy, then Sunrise Christian Academy. Then he joined a wave of fresh talent foregoing college to head straight to the pros, signing with the G League Ignite team with the sole goal of sidestepping to the NBA.
And then, of course, nothing went quite to plan.
Buzelis missed the start of the season with an ankle injury. He tried to shoulder that absence as a “blessing in disguise” that allowed him to learn the game from a different vantage point, but in reality it just meant a delayed debut. By the time he was cleared to play, the Ignite team was floundering.
Long before boosters pulled funding to shut the program down, the Ignite seemed doomed to fail. Buzelis and his team won only two games in the 2023-24 season. Injuries exposed the inexperience of the teenagers attempting to keep up against seasoned professionals. And although Buzelis felt players stayed close-knit as a group, their intention wasn’t always visible on the court.
“Sometimes it was like we weren’t really trying to win games all the time,” Buzelis said. “Guys were just worrying about getting to the league.”
It wasn’t anyone’s fault, Buzelis said. And he understood it. Ignite was a development program. Its primary goal was to develop players for the NBA, an objective the program accomplished by producing seven first-round draft picks in a four-year span. And Buzelis was a true success story, immediately elevating himself into a top-15 pick after impressing in only 26 games with Ignite.
Still, the way things ended with Ignite will always sting. For Buzelis, it was a lesson in losing — one that he didn’t want to repeat in Chicago.
Making a splash
Bulls forward Matas Buzelis dunks against the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo during a preseason game on Oct. 14, 2024, at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. (Stacy Revere/Getty)
Every Bulls practice ends the same way for Buzelis — find the most creative way to get the ball into the basket.
It’s an experiment in resisting gravity. Buzelis cradles the ball behind his head, tucks it under his knee, skips it behind his back before throwing it down through the rim. Sometimes, a teammate will try to meet him at the rim. Normally, they just stand to the side and watch, arms tucked across their chest, grins wide as the rookie goes flying again.
This part of the game has always come naturally to Buzelis. He loves to dunk — and he loves to dunk on someone even more, seeking a body in the air and the awkward fall that follows, taking that extra second to flex and pose and stare.
Buzelis typically doesn’t attempt tricky finishes in a live game — the best he can ever remember landing was a windmill — but he already is visualizing his first truly spectacular dunk in the NBA.
“If I’m getting out on a fast break and we’re up some points — I’m going to do something,” Buzelis promised.
He still isn’t sure what that signature finish will look like. Double-clutch? A 360 spin? Reverse?
“I’ll do anything,” Buzelis said. “Trust me. I will do anything.”
Now that the dunks are out of the way, coach Billy Donovan would like to talk about some basketball.
It’s not that Donovan doesn’t like the dunking. He loves it, actually. When Buzelis flashes to the rim with decisive brutality, Donovan sees glimpses of the long-term success he believes the rookie can build for himself.
But since the first day he met the rookie, Donovan has tried to make one thing clear — dunking can’t be the foundation of a player’s identity in the NBA.
“Everybody gets wowed by the dunks, right?” Donovan said. “And he will have some incredible, athletic highlight plays. But you’re probably at the end of the year going to count those on one or two hands out of all the possessions he plays. So yes, he’s got to attack, he’s got to use his athleticism in every way possible — but he has to have a game outside of that.”
Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) takes a shot over Magic guard Jett Howard on Oct. 30, 2024, at the United Center. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Buzelis wasn’t a strong 3-point shooter when the Bulls drafted him. That had to change this season — and quickly — to fit into a new high-volume-shooting style.
Like every other Bulls player, Buzelis quickly became an attentive student of shooting specialist Peter Patton. The pair spent hours together in the gym, perfecting the way that his pointer finger traced the ball on the downward swipe of his follow-through, analyzing and correcting the way he held his hand aloft as he watched the ball sink through the net.
Buzelis quickly learned that no shot was ever truly perfect. There was always something to fix — the proximity of his hand to his right eye, the positioning of his feet in correlation to his hips, the weight of the breath he inhaled before releasing his shot.
“The attention to detail here — you don’t even realize how different it can be,” Buzelis said.
The payoff has been nearly immediate. Donovan maximizes the shot-making potential of his youngest players such as Buzelis and Julian Phillips by creating their 3-point opportunities in the corner, leaving above-the-break 3s to sharpshooters Zach LaVine and Coby White. And as a result, Buzelis is shooting 34.3% on 3-pointers, averaging at least one made 3 in the last 10-game stretch.
Bulls forward Matas Buzelis makes a pass around Thunder guard Alex Caruso on Oct. 26, 2024, at the United Center. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Shooting isn’t the solution for Buzelis. The Bulls drafted him for his decisiveness, his willingness to charge headfirst to the rim. But in the early weeks of the season, this part of his game mostly stalled out. Buzelis couldn’t figure out how to get around or shoot over or fight through NBA defenders, who were bigger and stronger and faster than any competition he had ever faced.
“It sounds obvious but, like, everyone in the NBA is so good,” Buzelis said.
Part of the challenge is bulking up. Buzelis is no pushover, but he weighed in at only 209 pounds (on a 6-foot-10 frame) when he entered the NBA. That’s a fairly standard challenge for a teenager — and one that only can be fixed in the kitchen. The Bulls didn’t put Buzelis on a diet, but they instructed the rookie to consume as many calories as possible, packing snacks and endless protein shakes into his daily routine.
But the issue is also tactical. For a while, Buzelis couldn’t get on the court because he couldn’t keep up mentally. He couldn’t create anything off the dribble, got lost in defensive rotations. Donovan would insert him into a rotation, then yank him when he clearly was flailing underwater.
Fans began to grow impatient after Buzelis went down to the G League to play in the season opener for Windy City. But Buzelis wasn’t worried. He knew what was coming — he just needed a little time.
“You can always grow,” Buzelis said. “You don’t have to be on the court. You can watch the whole game and learn. Of course you can learn a lot more when being on the court — but every opportunity, you can learn something.”
Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) rises for a layup against Hornets forward Brandon Miller on Dec. 13, 2024, at the United Center. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
After the Dec. 13 win over the Charlotte Hornets, Donovan couldn’t help but crack a wry smile. Buzelis was frustrated. He had shot 1-for-11 from the floor. But to Donovan, it was the best 9.1%-shooting game he could have envisioned for the rookie.
Buzelis never stopped trying to get to the rim. He threw himself straight into the brick wall of Mark Williams’ chest, tried and failed to dodge through traffic in the lane. None of it worked. And that was OK. All that mattered to Donovan was the trying and what came of it — five rebounds, three blocks, three assists — even in the face of frustration.
“At 19 years old, he’s going to get hit — and he’s going to get hit in a way he’s never been hit before,” Donovan said. “It’s not quite finding a new identity, but it’s finding a new way to do things. And I’m not worried about him finding it.”
Making his name
There’s a third step, of course, to Buzelis’ plan: Become a star.
Buzelis doesn’t talk much about this part of the equation. It’s still early, after all. He’s still trying to figure out who he wants to be in the NBA — as a person and a public figure, not just a basketball player. But that doesn’t detract from how seriously Buzelis takes the business of being an NBA player.
Bulls forward Matas Buzelis signs autographs before a game against the Timberwolves on Nov. 7, 2024, at the United Center. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, left, and Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis cheer from the sideline before a Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever game on Aug. 30, 2024, at Wintrust Arena. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Earlier this year, he connected with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal while filming a documentary after his draft process. O’Neal immediately bought into Buzelis as a player. Within months, O’Neal had brought Buzelis on board with Reebok, a brand attempting to reenter the basketball shoe industry after years of detachment from the game.
Reebok doesn’t have much of a foothold in the NBA yet — in fact, Buzelis is the only Reebok athlete in the league. But that’s perfect for Buzelis. He doesn’t want to blend in.
“I’m trying to start a new trend,” Buzelis said. “I’m not trying to be like everyone else.”
At his core, Buzelis wants to stay the same person he always has been — which is why he doesn’t mind keeping close to home.
A small sliver of ink wraps around Buzelis’ left wrist, an intricate outline of a rosary detailed with the names of his father, mother, brother and sister — Aidas, Kristina, Vincas and Sophia. The tattoo was a new addition for Buzelis before his rookie season, a reflection of the crucial role his family played in his development on and off the court.
His father and mother — both former basketball players in Lithuania — operated as part of his management team ahead of the draft, preparing him for interviews and workouts alike. His little brother was the first to hear his decision to try for an NBA roster, a plan that started as a dream wished up on their hoop at home.
Now, Buzelis is living that dream — but he’s quick to remind that this is just the beginning.
The Bulls are in a transitional period as they consider a future without star Zach LaVine. And that future will most likely be centered around young talent like Buzelis. The rookie understands the potential underlying this moment — both for himself and for the Bulls as a franchise.
“We’re building something,” Buzelis said. “People just gotta watch.”
