Ayo Dosunmu is a Nigerian-American actress, singer, and songwriter best known for her role as the deuteragonist on Disney’s Shake It Up. Do you think she was born to be an entertainer?
15th of March, 2022
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ESPN’s Jamal Collier
LESS THAN A MINUTE HAS PASSED inside the United Center, where the Bulls are playing the Cleveland Cavaliers, when a microcosm of Chicago’s most stunning success story this season emerges — once again.
Cavs player Darius Garland walks up the left side of the floor with the ball. He launches to his right, dribbling between his legs.
Ayo Dosunmu is waiting for him. The Bulls youngster, who is 22 years old, clings to Garland’s left hip. Kevin Love throws a screen at him, which he avoids, then throws another at Evan Mobley, the projected Rookie of the Year. Dosunmu pushes his 6-foot-8 wingspan toward Garland as he recovers, reattaching himself to the Cavaliers’ finest player.
Despite this, the 2022 All-Star detects daylight and speeds up toward the rim. Dosunmu, on the other hand, leaps from behind, slapping the ball out of bounds with his left hand.
Garland’s shot was his first of the game. According to Second Spectrum monitoring, he’d try eight more times with Dosunmu as his nearest defender and only make one of them. The Bulls won by a score of 101-91.
Of course, none of this was in Chicago’s plans, including starting the 2021 second-round selection and having him defend the rival team’s top player.
“Anyone who tells you they anticipated this is lying to you,” one Bulls front office member said.
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“I didn’t believe his shooting would transfer when I went down his game further,” one Eastern Conference scout says. “He had some nice tools: he was long and wiry, and he could really go downhill and to the basket, particularly going right, albeit his left hand required a lot of work.”
The Bulls have given up first-round selections in 2023 and 2025, as well as second-round picks in ’23, ’24, and ’25, to develop a squad that is on the brink of making the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season. As a result, it’s vital for the Bulls to sign contributing young players when the chance arises.
And when Dosunmu continued to plummet in the Bulls’ selection room, toward the end of the first round, then No. 31… No. 32, cautious hope began to build. According to the second team source, there was some short conversation about younger players who could have more upside down the road. The Bulls, on the other hand, intended to assemble a squad capable of winning this season, and Dosunmu remained at the top of their list. “It’s enormous. In terms of expanding this squad out in the future, the treasure box isn’t quite full yet. With so much going on this season in terms of injuries and COVID, a second-round pick playing this much and being this dependable is unbelievable.”
Dosunmu has also addressed the most often asked subject about his game, one that contributed significantly to his steep downturn in July: his shooting.
Although he does not shoot often, he consistently hits the shots he takes. Dosunmu has made 44% of his jump shots this season, which ranks in the top 10 among players with at least 200 attempts, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. And he’s making 39% of his 3-pointers on 2.3 attempts per game.
He’s also shocked me with his ball distribution. Following a pass from Dosunmu, Chicago is shooting 52.8 percent, which is the fourth-highest percentage among the 98 players with 300 assist chances this season.
“This boy has had to absorb a lot, and if he didn’t do well, people would say, ‘It’s to be expected, he’s a young person, it’ll take some time,’” Donovan adds. “However, he’s replied to everything.”
DOSUNMU KEEPS MESSAGES TO HIMSELF ON HIS PHONE’S NOTES APP, SERVING AS A RUNNING JOURNEY THROUGHOUT THE BASKETBALL SEASON.
He’s accustomed to visual reminders; as a kid, his family maintained a whiteboard outside the pantry in their Chicago house, where high aspirations like “Player of the Year” were scribbled down. Championship on a national level.
Dosunmu reread his notes from his junior year at Illinois after declaring for the draft and began a new chapter with the pre-draft process, reminding himself every day what he was striving for.
Wednesday, March 16: Mavericks vs. Nets (7:30 p.m.), Celtics vs. Warriors (9:30 p.m.).
Wednesday, March 23: 7:30 p.m., Nets vs. Grizzlies; 10 p.m., 76ers vs. Lakers.
All timings are in Eastern Standard Time.
A first-round selection. A first-round selection. He was continually typing to himself.
Dosunmu explains, “I was working out every day, every day, wanting to be a first-round choice.” “Every time I turned around, there was a first-round selection. That was my intention.” Dosunmu booked up a pub in Chicago for draft night in July and invited around 200 family members and friends.
Dosunmu is the youngest of six children, and his family sat in a VIP part of the theater dressed in black and white, with teammates from high school, college, and even Chicago artist Chance the Rapper showing their support. As Dosunmu remained on the league’s selection board, the mood inside the pub became more strained.
A newborn photo of Dosunmu appeared over the screen during one segment of the program, sending the crowd into a frenzy until they realized the guy they were shouting for had not yet been selected.
Dosunmu sat and waited for his call the whole time. Nothing happened in the lottery, where he was originally anticipated. The first round produced nothing, with tangible suspense building with each choice as Dosunmu remained still.
Then, at three o’clock in the morning, he got a call from his agent.
“You’re going to remain at home.”
Ayo Dosunmu, a talented player at Illinois, set his eyes on the NBA, and he’s doing well with the Bulls so far. USA TODAY Sports/Steven Branscombe
The uneasiness in the air was quickly overcome by joy when the choice was revealed live. Jamarra, his mother, began to wail as she sprang into the air. Kanye West’s “Homecoming” blared over the speakers, prompting Dosunmu’s friends and family to take out their phones to capture the event — and delight in it. The gathering eventually spilled out onto the open-air bar’s streets. Dosunmu took to the platform for a short address, but his voice was scarcely heard above the jubilation of the audience.
“Of course, I was blessed,” Dosunmu recalls of that night. “I was grateful to be here, to be in the NBA,” he said.
But then, he claims, he shifted his attention to his phone. His note-taking app.
“I made a mental note of how hungry I am. This will always inspire me, because no matter how hard you work, you can always work harder.”
Dosunmu thinks it has served as encouragement ever since.
On draft night, he declared, “There aren’t 37 guys better than me.”
“It encourages me every single day,” Dosunmu adds. “Thirty-seven guys were selected ahead of me in the draft. Yes, of course. Every day, that is inspiration.”
During the offseason, Dosunmu hopes to receive a visual reminder of that inspiration on his body. His first tattoo will be the number 38.
