If anyone is worried about Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine getting in enough basketball this summer you can stop. After coming off his first All-Star appearance LaVine will head to Tokyo this summer. He isn’t headed there for a vacation. He’s headed there to represent the US in the Olympics.
Chicago Bulls All-Star guard Zach LaVine has committed to join the 12-man Team USA roster for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, his agent Nima Namakian tells @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2021
After a lot of speculation on whether LaVine will be joining the team, it has finally been made official. LaVine had the best season of his career this past year. He played at a very high level and was the 7th leading scorer in the league at 27.4 PPG. He had the second-highest field goal percentage among shooting guards at 50.7%. As if that wasn’t good enough he had the 4th highest assists among shooting guards with 4.9 per game. LaVine was unstoppable last season and he will now get to display his talent for all the world to see.
LaVine can shoot
Bulls fans already know that Zach LaVine can shoot the basketball. He finds so many different ways to score the ball and has an attacking mindset when on the court. LaVine will get an opportunity to showcase to everyone what Bulls fans have seen for years.
One of the best scorers in the WORLD.@ZachLaVine pic.twitter.com/c17WFtlp9x
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) June 23, 2021
LaVine can now take this summer to continue to hone his skills. He will go up against some tough international competition in the Olympics. This gives him more opportunity to work on his game defensively. That’s one of the few areas where LaVine struggles. This summer gives him a great opportunity to focus on defense. His teammates for the Olympics are mainly high-powered offensive players. LaVine certainly won’t be expected to shoot lights out each game.
Team USA's 12-man roster for the Tokyo Olympics:
Kevin Durant
Damian Lillard
Bradley Beal
Jayson Tatum
Devin Booker
Zach LaVine
Kevin Love
Bam Adebayo
Draymond Green
Jrue Holiday
Khris Middleton
Jerami Grant— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2021
The offense of Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, & Jayson Tatum is already enough to win games. LaVine will be the extra fuel to blow teams out of the water. This may also be a good moment for LaVine to do some recruiting.
LaVine needs to be the Bulls best recruiter
In case you didn’t know, the Bulls need to make some big moves this offseason. After an up and down season, the Bulls missed the playoffs. This past season showed a few problem areas for the Bulls. One good thing about LaVine playing with so many big stars is that he can try and convince some of those guys to look Chicago’s way. Particularly Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal. Both of which could be on the move this offseason.
I’m not saying anything will happen but you never know. But they both are coming off frustrating years and have been with their teams a while. With no major changes in sight, they may want out of their current situation. LaVine can spend his time in Tokyo telling these guys just how great the Bulls are in hopes of recruiting one of them to ask for a trade to Chicago. You can 100% believe that if LaVine could make that happen the front office would do whatever it takes to make it work.
Beyond LaVine doing some recruiting this is a great chance for him to show everyone what he can do. A lot of basketball fans sleep on LaVine and don’t recognize him for the talent he is. Showing up at the Olympics will silence all the doubters.
Best of luck LaVine
Regardless of how things turn out all Bulls fans just want LaVine to succeed. Seeing him ball out in Tokyo will be great. As long as he comes back healthy that’s all that matters. It would be nice for him to try and convince a major star to look Chicago’s way. At the end of the day, we just want to see the Bulls All-Star do well. Here’s to LaVine representing the Chicago Bulls on the big stage. First up Olympic gold medal, next an NBA title.
