Zach LaVine has been the best player on the Chicago Bulls in the past few seasons and he's their de facto leader in the locker room. Following his debut against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, LaVine discussed the advice he gave rookie Patrick Williams.

“I told him like, man, there are going to be some ups and downs,’’ LaVine said of the relationship he’s built with the Bulls forward, via Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I told him what I did wrong. I used to go to the gym after every bad game I played. I’d be in the gym until like 1, 2 AM. I don’t know about that but I’d be there late. Next day I’d go to practice and I’d be wearing my body down. I said, ‘Just don’t hang your hat on every game. We have so many games. You’re used to playing 32 in college. You’re able to make up for your mistakes really, really soon because you play somebody really good the next day. Just ride the rollercoaster essentially.”

In the Bulls' season-opener against the Hawks, Williams posted 16 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. He also made five of his 11 field-goal attempts, including one of his three-pointers.

Williams was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft out of Florida State. Despite Otto Porter Jr. being the starting small forward to begin the offseason, it was Williams who drew the start in Chicago's first game of the year.

Even though he had a strong showing in his debut, Williams is inevitably going to have games where he struggles for the Bulls. And when those games happen, LaVine wants Williams to know that he can't get too low or too high after games in the NBA.