Former Illini Ayo Dosunmu out for the season with shoulder injury

Former Illini basketball star, Ayo Dosunmu, will officially miss the rest of the 2024-2025 season due to a left shoulder injury. Dosunmu will reportedly undergo surgery on a nagging injury to his left shoulder causing “shoulder instability”. It is certainly difficult news for Ayo Dosunmu who had emerged as a key piece to a rebuilding Chicago Bulls franchise. The Chicago native tried to return to action on Friday vs the Toronto Raptors and played rather well. However, with the Bulls rebuilding and Dosunmu emerging as a piece for the future, it was probably best to err on the side of caution.

Dosunmu was putting up career highs in all major categories including 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. On December 5th, 2024, Ayo Dosunmu had his first career NBA Triple-double vs the San Antonio Spurs.

What’s next for Dosunmu?

Dosunmu will return for the 2025-2026 season in what will be a contract year. The former Illini star will be in the final year of a 3 year 21 million dollar deal with the hometown Chicago Bulls. This is a very favorable contract for an extremely productive two-way player. With the Bulls rebuilding for the future, Dosunmu may be the victim of trades for draft-pick assets. However, Dosunmu has shown steady improvement throughout each year and thoroughly entrenched himself in the starting lineup.

He has shown that he is a strong two-way player that can get hot from behind the arc. He has improved his ball-handling and can make plays off the bounce for his teammates. That kind of player should be able to find a role anywhere in the NBA.

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