Nikola Vucevic turns 35 years old this Friday, but you couldn’t tell on Wednesday night.
The veteran big man looked like his prime self in the Chicago Bulls’ first game of the 2025-26 regular season. Matching up against a physical and explosive Detroit Pistons frontcourt, it was Vucevic’s steady demeanor that stood out most. He cruised to 12 points and 7 rebounds in under 9 minutes of action, propelling the Bulls toward a shocking 35-19 lead heading into the second quarter.
As the game went on, so did Vucevic’s hot hand. Each time the Pistons put together a run, the starting center did his part to slow it down. We first saw this at the beginning of the third quarter. Detroit suddenly strung together an 8-0 run that had them back within single digits. After a pair of Tre Jones buckets, Vucevic confidently drained his fourth triple of the game. A few scoreless possessions later for both teams, he finished an alley-oop layup in the fastbreak. I know, I didn’t know he could do that either!
Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls – © David Banks-Imagn ImagesAnother opportunity to play hero arrived later in the fourth quarter. The Bulls had officially lost hold of a 23-point lead when Ron Holland drained a three to tie things up at 105 apiece. Less than 20 seconds later, Vucevic drained an 8-foot push shot off the pick-and-roll to reclaim the lead. He did something similar less than a minute later with the score knotted up 109-109. As Giddey drove to the rim, Vucevic perfectly filled the lane alongside him to set up the dump off and score.
He finished the 115-111 win with a team-high 28 points and 14 rebounds on 11-18 shooting from the field. He also continued to flash the efficient long-range shooting (4-6 from three) that helped him have a career year in 2024-25. To be sure, I can understand why some might argue that Vucevic winning games for Chicago doesn’t mean a lot in the grand scheme of things. But it’s not as if the young talent on this team didn’t play their own important role in the victory.
Likewise, last night was a perfect example of why having some veteran assistance matters. Not only is winning great for morale, but it also teaches valuable lessons. To his an opposing sports metaphor, Vucevic was the adult on the mound throwing the pitches. He gave the Bulls something to hit, but it was still up to guys like Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey to make contact. That’s how the big man can help this season.
But, Wait, Nikola Vucevic Did More!
On a more individualistic note, Nikola Vucevic deserves some recognition for the history he made as he enters Year 1. When the big man splashed his second three-pointer of the first quarter, Chicago Sports Network shared quite the stat.
Nikola Vucevic is the only center in NBA history to record 7,000+ made field goals and 800+ made threes. His 900 career threes also put him on a short list of centers who have reached that mark: Brook Lopez (1080), Al Horford (977), and Karl-Anthony Towns (922), per Stathead.
Chicago Sports Network also noted that he now has the second-most career double-doubles among all active players at 560. Can you guess the one man who has more? Hint: He is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Vucevic has fielded plenty of criticism over the last year-plus and has become a mainstay in trade rumors. To be sure, the latter still makes sense considering Vucevic’s contract situation and the new era the Chicago Bulls organization has entered. The criticism, however, has long felt misguided. While he may have his shortcomings defensively, all Vucevic has done is remain a healthy double-double machine who buys into whichever role the Bulls ask of him. He deserves a lot of credit for the career he continues to put together, and last night speaks to precisely why.
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