This season did not go to plan for the Chicago Bulls as they had another mediocre year. They finished with a 39-43 record, and they once again ended up in the play-in tournament. The Bulls finished in ninth place in the East, and they beat the Atlanta Hawks in their first play-in game. Chicago would've made the playoffs with a win against the Miami Heat after that, but they got blown out on the road. It was a disappointing season, but one positive take away was the play of Ayo Dosunmu.

Seeing Ayo Dosunmu excel was very cool for a lot of Bulls fans. Dosunmu has been around Chicago for his entire life as he was born there, and then he didn't go far for college as he played for Illinois. Dosunmu was a star for the Fighting Illini, and he ended up getting drafted by the Bulls in 2021. He was picked in the second round by Chicago with the 38th overall pick.

Dosunmu's first two seasons in the NBA were solid, but he really burst onto the scene this past season. In his rookie year, Dosunmu averaged 8.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 3.3 APG. His numbers were very similar during his second season as he averaged 8.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 2.6 APG. This past season saw a bump. Dosunmu emerged as legitimate scoring threat for the Bulls, and he ended up averaging 12.2 PPG. He once again averaged 2.8 RPG, and he averaged 3.2 APG.

Ayo Dosunmu had a great year, and now the next step for him is to continue on this upward trajectory. Here is what he needs to do to make sure that happens.

Next steps for Ayo Dosunmu

Atlanta Hawks guard Wesley Matthews (32) defends Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu (12) during the first quarter during a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at United Center.
© David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The next big step for Ayo Dosunmu is going to be finding a way to play the way he did during the back half of last season for an entire season. He ended up averaging over 12 PPG on the year, but in the months of February, March and April, he averaged over 15 PPG. Dosunmu ended up playing even better than his numbers indicate.

Next season is going to be a big one for Dosunmu. He emerged as one of the better players on the Bulls last season, and he wants to be able to keep that up. Dosunmu needs to be prepared to be defended differently as well. He is one of the better scorers, so he will have better defenders on him. We saw this with Coby White last year, and it did give him some issues, so that will be interesting to keep an eye on.

Ayo Dosunmu was spectacular during this past season, and he is going to be an exciting player to watch on the Bulls next year.