Sunrise star Matas Buzelis, projected 2024 No. 1 draft pick, takes in NBA Summer League
It’s not often when Matas Buzelis can walk into a basketball gym and fly under the radar.
With all eyes in the Thomas & Mack Center fixated on Victor Wembanyama in his second NBA Summer League game in Las Vegas, the 6-foot-10 point-forward who spent this past season playing at Sunrise Christian Academy was able to blend into the crowd as just another spectator.
That’s actually how Buzelis prefers things, although his skills on the basketball court might not afford him that luxury much longer. After all, he is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and will likely be the center of attention in this very same arena next summer.
“It’s exciting to watch thinking I can be here someday,” Buzelis told The Eagle. “Just thinking about playing against the best competition, it’s exciting.”
The thirst for playing top competition is what brought Buzelis to Sunrise in the first place. The tiny prep school located in Bel Aire granted him relative anonymity, as he was able to focus completely on improving his game under the tutelage of coach Luke Barnwell, who turned the program into a national powerhouse assembling some of the best high school players in the country.
Buzelis delivered on his promise, averaging 15.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.6 blocks per game in the ultra-competitive National Interscholastic Basketball Conference, winning Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year and being named a finalist for National Gatorade Player of the Year.
“Matas was extremely talented walking in the door, but where I think we helped him the most was making him a two-way player,” Barnwell said. “He was top-10 in steals and top-three in blocks and our team’s leading rebounder, so he was producing at a really high level. And then we let him have the freedom to push and play and create, instead of making him just a 3-and-D wing.”
The spotlight will only grow brighter on Buzelis, but Barnwell said the 18-year-old has handled the attention well so far.
When ESPN tabbed him as the No. 1 pick for the 2024 draft, Buzelis was asked for a quote from the NIBC to help publicize the news — he passed on the opportunity.
“He told them, ‘I don’t have anything to say. Until it actually happens, I’m just going to keep working,’” Barnwell said.
Buzelis, who was born in Chicago to Lithuanian parents, was a consensus five-star prospect and courted by many of the top college basketball programs in the country before ultimately committing to play for G-League Ignite.
His season playing for Barnwell, who has since accepted an assistant coach position with Texas Tech, was a memorable experience, Buzelis said.
“Sunrise is a family and I’m always going to remember those moments for the rest of my life,” Buzelis said. “The coaching staff was amazing. Coach Luke always told me to not over-complicate things, just one-dribble pull-ups because I can shoot over anybody. Going to school was fun with all of the guys and the whole thing was just a great experience.”
This story was originally published July 11, 2023 at 8:30 AM.
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