Marta Lavandier/AP
Matas Buzelis knew Rookie of the Year honors were out of reach by the end of the regular season.
All-Rookie Team, however? The Bulls rook wasn’t shy about putting an individual achievement in the trophy case.
“Any type of award in the NBA, I’d like,” Buzelis said very matter-of-factly last month. “Yeah, I think I belong on that All-Rookie team, for sure. It would be an honor to grab something like that.”
Honor grabbed.
The league announced on Tuesday the first and second All-Rookie teams, and while Buzelis played like a first teamer after the All-Star Break, he’d have to settle for Second Team, joining Miami’s Kel’el Ware, New Orleans’ Yves Missi, Portland’s Donovan Clingan and Washington’s Bub Carrington.