It was the perfect ride-into-the-sunset moment.
All Bulls center Nikola Vucevic did in five games in the EuroBasket tournament this summer was lead Montenegro in scoring (20.8 points), rebounding (11.6) and minutes played (33.9) and shoot a ridiculous 56.3% from three-point range.
Afterward, he announced that, at 34, he had played in his last international competition.
‘‘The biggest impact on that was my family, my kids, my wife,’’ Vucevic said. ‘‘It takes a lot out of my summers. You’ve got training camp for a month, the competition, the preparation for it, so I just felt like it was the right moment to do it. I wanted to finish my national-team competition on a high. That was it.’’
Minutes later, in his first training-camp media session this week, he gave a nice little jab to Bulls fans who like to make him the focus of their blame game.
‘‘I still feel very young, actually,’’ he said with a smile.
Translation: While his international career reached its final act, his NBA career is alive and well. Vucevic isn’t going anywhere.
Well, until he is.
It’s well-known that Vucevic is entering the final year of the three-year, $60 million contract extension he signed in 2023. And while that leaves a cloud of uncertainty hovering over his head, until he’s told otherwise, he’s preparing for a very familiar role.
Vucevic will be a starter for the Bulls when the regular season begins, and he likely will play 30-plus minutes per game. There’s nothing head coach Billy Donovan has seen to sway him away from that.
‘‘He actually played for the national team, and I think he was one of the leaders during the tournament in terms of minutes played,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I know he led Montenegro in minutes played, so he showed the propensity and endurance to do that. I think the other thing is — and credit to him because I’ve always talked to him about this — he keeps himself in great shape, he takes care of his body.
‘‘I’m not going into the season saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got to drop Vooch down to here [in playing time].’ What we’ve got to be able to do is give every player the opportunity. I think Vooch has proven over his career that he’s come [into a season] ready.’’
Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he’s coming off a 2024-25 season in which he stood out. It was his best season with the Bulls in five years.
In 73 games played, Vucevic averaged 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists and shot 53% from the field and 40.2% from three-point range.
Those are numbers not a lot of centers in the NBA can point to and numbers that have made him a bull’s-eye for trade rumors over the last year-plus. Expect those rumors to heat up as the Bulls get closer to the trade deadline in February.
If he is moved, Vucevic said he hopes it will be to a team that has aspirations on making a deep playoff run.
‘‘I had good communication with the front office throughout the summer,’’ Vucevic said. ‘‘As you guys all know, there were many
rumors, different kinds. I always say it’s part of the job I’m in, we’re all in, and it comes with the territory. If a trade would have happened, it would have happened. It didn’t, and I’m glad to be here.
‘‘I didn’t pay too much attention. Maybe before the draft [in June] because that’s when I thought maybe something could happen, but overall I tried to focus on the offseason, my family and the international stuff.
‘‘It’s something that’s out of my control, so I didn’t pay attention to it too much.’’
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